Ariana Grande - AG4 (2018 album)

I like this more than anything on Sweetener.

wow where did this come from, i love this, so much better than nearly all of Sweetener

she’s the greatest

Very nice song. Smooth and catchy. The lyrics are pretty good too.

Have any other popular songs expressed this particular sentiment? (Not looking to play “who wore it better,” just curious...)

ever? in history? lol

props to her on breaking loose from that hideous cave-troll comedian

xp Sure

(Or within ILM’s usual parameters when we list songs that work a particular theme, etc.)

this song is brilliant

the production reminds me a lot of her first album... the record scratches are really nice & unexpected

there's also a light bounciness to the production but a weightiness to the subject matter -- and that subject matter still being treated with a sense of humor and attitude -- that reminds me of mariah in a way that is flattering for not being overt (like "baby i")

The song is so disarmingly plainspoken and unpretentious; it feels like an artist simply and directly expressing something real and immediate (which it is).

(Or within ILM’s usual parameters when we list songs that work a particular theme, etc.)

― too busy or too stoned (morrisp), Sunday, November 4, 2018 8:47 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this song is readymade for one of those threads, where 6-7 genuine examples are provided and then everything else suggested doesn't really work. this is a great song though and that is a good question, it was honestly my first thought after reading about it last night

Yeah, my girlfriend and I discussed the same question after hearing this song for the first time. It's a lovely song. I mean, the tropes of the angry/spiteful/sad break-up song are so omnipresent in pop music, that this really does feel like something completely new. Having the maturity and humility to look at your past relationships and choosing to focus on how those people helped you grow, and expressing appreciation for them rather than seething in bitterness and sadness...I just feel like I never see that anywhere, let alone in music. I love when art pushes you to reflect on how you might approach life differently, and I didn't think an Ariana song would ever do that for me, but uh..it did.

otm. Jezebel wrote this thing about the song being "powered by pettiness", and it felt like such a misreading of its intent. It's easy to be cynical about celebrity relationships and the Hollywood news cycle, but Ariana's sunny KIP outlook strikes me as anything but petty.

i dunno i mean, she said there's no shade but it's definitely shady c'mon! the repetition of "thank you, next" comes off as belittling to her exes -- especially pete -- even as she praises them. like, if an ex of mine positioned me in a succession of boys who were around to teach a lesson before the next one came along i would kinda be like "fuck off!"

i guess to me the reason this song is so good is that it works on both levels -- there is def something mature and forward looking and sweet about it, but i also just think there's something undeniably shady about the song on a base conceptual level

otm

She doesn’t belittle Mac. Also, I don’t think she’s belittling the others, she’s being honest about them. When she says “thank you,” it’s genuine — there’s nothing catty in it. Though obv. the song plays on yr expectations of what a post-breakup song with that title would be.

(That guy Ricky insta’d a “reaction shot” of himself hearing the song; and she was like, “Haha sorry, I gave you the worst line”)

it kinda exists in a space between petty and legit grateful, which is how i feel about a lot of my exes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0iD0pI3o0

i love this song so much but admittedly she could remake "into you"/"touch it" for the rest of her career and i'd be satisfied

Also, a fun live performance of "thank u, next" is posted @ https://www.ellentube.com/

pic.twitter.com/1V5zcCe75W

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) November 8, 2018

that "mmmah mmmah yeah" part she does 2/3rds of the way thru breathin' <- i'm dead

i guess Genius says she's singing "my air" so ... w/e

Number 1 in the uk. Her first since Problem in 2014 astonishingly.

does anyone have the vinyl for this? and if so, is the clean versions?

i bought vinyl from Amazon and they sent me clean mp3s. i can't imagine the vinyl is clean, is it?

shaping up to be a huge hit stateside too. personally i don't understand the appeal

it’s the right song at the right time

xp whatever one thinks of it, it's undeniably unique subject matter / POV for a pop song - a rare thing - I totally get its appeal on that alone + it is very much of the moment

I love this song and that Ellen performance is so endearing.

so nice to see a little perfect bubblegum pop coming back around after a few years of nothing but drivel, not to mention its sincerity <3

hmmm

It’s now her first-ever #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

thank u, next

I just saw the ellen performance : it's great and so fresh and alive (the misstep, dance moves, laughters...).
regarding the track, I like the "hiii" she does a couple of times, right at the end.

just browsed several pieces of writing about this tune and am annoyed that it appears to be more frequently often described as "synth pop" and "pure pop" (?? blech) than anything else. if any r&b 'influence' is acknowledged it tends to be mentioned in passing wrt production -- no mention whatsoever of her delivery or cadence. like, hello?! the triplet verses? the punctutated 1e--2e--3e-- delivery of the chorus's final line? have any of these writers turned on an 'urban' radio station for the past 5 years?

it was also described as "bubblegum pop" upthread and supposedly a reprieve from the 'drivel' that has been successful on the charts lately (presumably rap music) so maybe it is instead i who is not seeing something. any help?

Nah, it’s totally R&B-“influenced”... that’s partly why it’s such a big hit, IMO

if a black artist recorded it it would be simply described as "r&b", no influence invoked or assumed. so i agree! but the number of people who seem to have failed to notice or are otherwise ignoring or downplaying this fact is worryingly high. (it's also possible that the articles i browsed were not representative and that all my hand-wringing is senseless.)

It is rnb but the most pop/mainstream side of it maybe (it reminds me of early 90s rnb/pop hits)

maybe my vernacular of bubblegum wasnt so appropriate. i just meant that its light, breezy, fun, simple and memorable in the same way songs like 'call me maybe' were - not abrasive, maximalist and full of millenial whoops.

the "My Boo" progression

The much-anticipated (and -teased) video has premiered:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl1aHhXnN1k

this is very nice but unfortunately the ellen performance is still the official video

cute video!

Yeah the video is silly and cute but the Ellen performance is the shit !

just got around to the ellen performance, it is indeed very endearing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX_vx_s6Gr0

really don't like the trans gag character in the thank u next video

I was looking up Ariana Grande guitar chords (I don’t have a guitar) and discovered the chords to “Pete Davidson” are just BAE over and over and I can’t believe I just wrote the Da Vinci Code pic.twitter.com/L48k3V7o5i

— Grace Barry (@gracelbarry) December 6, 2018