Ariana Grande was named Billboard’s Woman of The Year this week, but let’s be real. She should be named Billboard’s Most Resilient Artist of the Year. Still dealing with the devastation from the bombing at her 2017 Manchester concert, Grande’s world was rocked yet again this year when her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller died of an accidental overdose in September. Grande ended her quickie engagement to comedian Pete Davidson shortly after Miller’s death, but in her new song “Thank U, Next,” the singer is letting fans know that she’s doing okay, thanks in large part to the lessons she learned from her highly publicized romances.
Dropping “Thank U, Next” on Saturday, Grande’s ode to her exes in an unmatched example of learning lessons in heartbreak. Finding the good in goodbye, Grande concludes the R&B-infused pop track with a reminder that the most important relationship is with yourself. And we’re so good with that.
Only a few days after releasing the track, which acts as the lead single from Grande’s follow-up to Sweetener, the pop star performed the song on The Ellen Show on Wednesday. Taking inspiration from the 1996 film First Wives Club starring Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton, Grande was joined by two back up dancers and recreated the trio’s iconic performance of “You Don’t Own Me.”
Set in front of a mock restaurant to match the film, Grande slipped midway through the performance when getting off a chair, catching herself and letting out an “Oh my God” before getting back into the song. The performance was one of Grande’s most impressive, with the singer understandably getting emotional while singing about her exes but pushing through anyway. Like we said, most resilient.
Showing no signs of slowing down, Grande has also dropped another music video for Sweetener, this time for her inspirational single “Breathin.” Teaming up once again with director Hannah Lux Davis (“Bang Bang,” “Love Me Harder,” “Into You,” “Side To Side”) Grande stuns in the song’s visuals, with ethereal shots of the singer swinging among the clouds and floating in smoke. Grande also poses on a pile of luggage, or more appropriately ‘baggage,’ and runs through a crowded train station to symbolize fighting through confusion and chaos.
Grande’s Sweetener tour kicks off on March 18 and includes four Canadian dates, including April 1 in Montreal, April 3 in Toronto, April 25 in Edmonton, and April 27 in Vancouver.