On November 3, minutes before the Saturday Night Live episode, Ariana Grande shook the world with her latest single “Thank U, Next” in which she drops all four of her exes names. Shortly after she tweeted saying, “no drags…. no shade….. jus love, gratitude, acceptance, honesty, forgiveness … and growth” to clarify that the intent of her most recent masterpiece is to show how far she as a person has come due to these past relationships.

The first verse of “Thank U, Next” states:

“Thought I’d end up with Sean

But he wasn’t a match

Wrote some songs about Ricky

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”

At first glance, this may be a whirlwind of names that even the most loyal of fans have to pause to take in. Her relationship with Big Sean dates back to 2014. The pair made their public debut at the 2015 Grammy Awards and kept a steady dating life for a solid eight months before calling it quits due to busy schedules. Following the relationship with Big Sean, Ariana dated one of her backup dancers, Ricky Alvarez. The two began dating after a kiss during a live show back in 2015. After an infamous scandal where the singer was caught licking a doughnut on surveillance footage, they dropped a public apology via Twitter and broke apart after a year together. Possibly the most tragic of all Ariana’s lovers is Mac Miller who recently passed away over an assumed drug overdose. Although they were not dating at the time of Miller’s death, the exes had remained close after the breakup. The sudden death left Ariana’s most recent boyfriend, Pete Davidson, with a bit of a rocky path following up to their split.

Not surprisingly, fans and media are split on the song. Maggie Brown, a long time fan of the “no tears left to cry”  singer, shared her positive opinion on the new release: “I think releasing ‘Thank U, Next’ is the best way Ariana could have responded to everything that’s happening to her recently. It’s totally a kiss-off anthem, but she handles it with the grace, poise, and kindness of a true woman.”     

Other fans see the name drop as a negative slap back, especially when you calculate in the fact that she let the collection of men hear the song before it was publicly released. A second factor that sends fans buzzing is the promise that Pete Davidson managed to break only days after they parted. Allegedly, the two decided to keep the detail to themselves, refraining from speaking to the public about the incident. Shortly after, Pete used his acting career on SNL to make a few remarks about the quick engagement and split that followed. Naturally, Grande didn’t take too kindly to his decision. But, this doesn’t stop even non-fans from appreciating the new beats. “I think that it’s interesting how she painted the breakup in a positive light instead of a negative one.” Ashlee Sunderman explained. “She uses the entire song as a positive and non-sarcastic thank-you note, unlike the expected dismissive narrative. She thanks both her exes and her fans in this song, and this shows an interestingly similar stance.”

Some fans speculate that this is in fact Grande’s way of coming out. During the final bridge of the song, Ariana sings:

“Spend more time with my friends

I ain’t worried ’bout nothin’

Plus, I met someone else

We havin’ better discussions

I know they say I move on too fast

But this one gon’ last

‘Cause her name is Ari

And I’m so good with that (So good with that)”

The majority of the media agrees that the line “‘Cause her name is Ari” is referring more to the inward peace that the singer has found following these breakups. Either way we are thrilled to see such a beautiful young woman move past the heartbreak and find happiness in herself.