We’re only a few weeks away from hearing Ariana Grande’s new album in its entirety, and she’s continuing to share more about how Eternal Sunshine came together behind the scenes.
Fans got their first taste of Ari’s new music era last month with the release of the lead single from the upcoming album — and her first solo single in three years — “yes, and?”
Making her comeback with a bang, “yes, and?” was a critical and commercial success for Ariana, reaching the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. However, that didn’t mean that the song's message was able to dodge criticism online.
In case you’ve not heard it, the central theme of “yes, and?” is about living your life without caring what others have to say about it.
And while the empowering anthem would typically be well received, the central message was deemed in poor taste due to the apparent references to Ariana’s controversial love life.
As I’m sure you’ll know, Ari’s relationship with her Wicked costar Ethan Slater has been widely scrutinized amid speculation that the couple began an affair while they were both married to their respective partners last year.
Reports that they were dating surfaced online on July 20, only three days after Ariana’s separation from Dalton Gomez was announced on July 17. And by July 26, TMZ reported that Ethan had filed to divorce his wife, Lilly Jay.
To make matters messier, Lilly publicly spoke out against Ariana, describing her as “not a girl’s girl.” She later told the Daily Mail that she’s “focused on rebuilding a life” for her and Ethan’s baby son, who was born in 2022.
It’s worth noting that sources close to Ariana and Ethan have consistently denied speculation that they ever had an affair, and have instead claimed that things only turned romantic once they both ended their marriages.
So, when “yes, and?” dropped and Ariana sang the line: “Your business is yours and mine is mine / Why do you care so much whose dick I ride?,” it’s fair to say fans were a little shocked, with people accusing her of glorifying being a “homewrecker.”
In fact, the backlash online was so intense that she lost more than 350,000 followers on Instagram while the song was simultaneously flying up the charts.
Ari seems to be brushing off the backlash as she continues to promote the album’s release, and now she’s revealed why she chose the song to kick off her new music era despite the risk of backlash.
In a new behind-the-scenes video shared to Instagram on Tuesday, the popstar explained to a room full of record label executives, who had just heard the full album for the first time, why she thought “yes, and?” would be the perfect lead single for Eternal Sunshine.
“Maybe try listening pretending you haven't heard the rest,” she said as they settled in to hear “yes, and?” for a second time. “But the reason why I kinda liked [‘yes, and?’] ... it’s an all-encompassing, like, ‘What the fuck?’”
Quoting the lyrics, Ariana said she thought the empowering message would resonate with fans and set the tone for her no-fucks-given comeback.
“Like, why aren’t we all thinking with the cap of, ‘Everyone’s tired, everyone is healing from someone or something that you can’t see on the surface.’ Everyone is feeling that,” she said. “That’s why I kind of liked [‘yes, and?’] as a, ‘We’re coming back.’”
Interestingly, Ari noted that it might not have been the “obvious” choice for a lead single. However, she suggested it felt like the perfect way to reintroduce herself to the masses after her messy divorce made headlines.
“Pretend it’s been three years since Positions. And pretend this is, you’ve been, like, seeing me in a fucking blonde wig on the Daily Mail for the past year,” she told the room, referencing the fact that she’s been largely focused on shooting the Wicked movies since she released her last studio album in 2021.
“I think I kind of like that being first because it's a surprise, but also because it gives us a lot of a place to go,” she said, hinting at what’s still to come for fans. “It's kind of like the ‘Thank U, Next’ formula, if you will, ‘cause it's like, ‘Thank U, Next’ came first because it had to.”
While we haven’t heard any other singles from Eternal Sunshine, Ariana has been dropping hints about what fans can expect from the album when it comes out next month.
In a video shared to her Instagram account on Feb. 1, Ari described the record as “a concept album” made up of “heightened pieces of the same story, of the same experience.”
She said that some of the songs “are really vulnerable,” while other tracks see her “playing the part that people kind of expect me to be sometimes, and having fun with that.”
