Ariana Grande fans are going to have to keep "Breathin" despite the fact that the singer just released some new music. Grande's mom, Joan Grande, tweeted about the song's release, which came out Saturday night, just minutes before
Saturday Night Live.
Grande insinuated on Twitter that there would be some sort of new music out soon that's directly related to her ex-fiancé
Pete Davidson. However, she wants the world to know that it's "far from a diss track." In fact, "it's the opposite," she tweeted.
In another string of tweets, she alluded to the song being about Davidson. "i'm so .... f--kin ..... grateful," she said in one message. "For my ...... ex," the next one read.
In "Thank u, next," Grande calls out Davidson by name in one of her lines. She also mentions her ex-boyfriend,
Mac Miller, who died in September. "Now I listen and laugh / Even almost got married / And for Pete, I'm so thankful / Wish I could say, 'Thank you' to Malcolm / 'Cause he was an angel," she croons in the first verse.
"Thought I'd end up with Sean / But he wasn't a match / Wrote some songs about Ricky / Now I listen and laugh," Grande sings, referring to her exes Big Seanand Ricky Alvarez.
"They heard it before it came out," Grande later tweeted to a fan.
The song is less of a bitter "on to the next" type of song, but rather a sincere thanks to her ex-boyfriends for all teaching her valuable lessons. "One taught me love / One taught me patience / One taught me pain / Now, I'm so amazing / I've loved and I've lost."
In the end of the song, Grande makes it seem that this has been a huge learning experience and she declares she's even met someone new: "Her name is Ari / And I'm so good with that."
On Saturday, the "God Is a Woman" singer announced the name of her new album and title track. It'll be called "Thank U, Next." Grande explained the meaning of the song and meaning behind the title in a Twitter discussion with her fans, as she is wont to do. In what seemed like just another of her lyrical tweets, the artist used the saying that fans quickly determined to be the next big Ariana Grande hit. "cause look what i found .... ain't no need for searching and for that i say.... thank u, next," she wrote on Twitter.
In a subsequent message, Grande typed out more lyrics that directly hinted to her former relationship with Davidson. She wrote, "got so much love..... got so much patience..... i've learnt from the pain .... and turnt out amazin.... say i've loved and i've lost..... but that's not what i see cause look what i got.... look what u taught me."
Grande and Davidson called off their whirlwind romance on Oct. 14 after getting engaged about three months earlier in June. Apparently, "thank u, next" is one of Grande's "old sayings."
On Saturday morning, the "No Tears Left to Cry" singer explained to her 58 million Twitter followers that the new song is about "a new chapter" that encompasses "gratitude, growth, embracing our paths bumps n all."
Despite the song's release just before an episode of SNL, Grande wanted to clarify that this new song does not represent any bad blood with her ex, despite some tension earlier in the week.
On Thursday, Davidson stood alongside SNL host Jonah Hill and musical guest Maggie Rogers in a promotion for the upcoming episode. In the video, Davidson said, "Hey Maggie, I'm Pete. You wanna get married?" Rogers turned down his offer, to which he replied, "0 for three."
Grande appeared very unamused by the joke and took a dig at Davidson in a tweet. "For somebody who claims to hate relevancy u sure love clinging to it huh," she wrote. "Thank u, next."
A source told E! News why Grande retaliated after Davidson made a joke about their relationship. "They made an agreement that they would not address their relationship or discuss it after they split up," the source said. "He violated that agreement and it really hurt her. She knew he would see her tweet."
The source also said that Davidson is "having a hard time with the breakup and making jokes his way of dealing with it."
Davidson made many jokes about the split during a comedy show he co-hosted with Judd Apatow. "Well, as you could tell, I don't want to be here. There's a lot going on," he told the crowd. "Does anybody have any open rooms? Looking for a roommate?"
So both parties have their own methods of catharsis.
It's been a busy music month for the 25-year-old. On Oct. 25, she announced her U.S. and Canada tour dates for Sweetener, which begin in March 2019 in Albany, N.Y.
According to a number of sources, Davidson and Grande are coping with the end of their engagement. Both have been relying heavily on support of friends and family. Grande's older brother, Frankie Grande, gave an update to E! News at Heidi Klum's annual Halloween party about how his sister is doing. "She's a strong powerful woman. She's working really hard and I'm so unbelievably proud of her as I always am as her big brother," he said.
A few days after their breakup, Davidson was seen in New York and another insider told E! News he was "doing fine" and "focusing on himself."