Ariana Grande Breaks Spotify Record With Breakup Anthem ‘Thank U, Next’
Ariana Grande has turned her recent heartbreaks into a record-breaking hit.
Last week, Grande released “thank u, next,” a song that chronicles her healing and learning lessons from her exes. Vox reports that the song is “a farewell letter to all the men she’s loved before,” including her ex-fiance Pete Davidson of Saturday Night Live, and her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, who recently passed away due to a drug overdose.
Grande’s lyrics have connected with fans across the globe, as the singer opens up about her love life.
“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.”
Today, the singer took to Instagram to celebrate another milestone with her fans. Grande’s post featured a photo of the singer with platinum blonde hair, gazing into the camera with her head resting on her hand. The post states, “thank u, next has surpassed 100 MILLION streams on spotify in only 11 days. it is the fastest song in HISTORY to reach this milestone.” Grande captioned the post with a black heart emoji.
Fans responded with over 744,000 likes in less than an hour and flooded the post with positive messages for the singer. One user commented, “So I know a couple thousand of those are definitely from me and I see a Grammy coming for you.” Another wrote, “Thats freaking AMAZING!! I am so proud of being an #arianator.”
Earlier this week, Billboard reported that “thank u, next” landed the singer her first No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song replaced “Girls Like You,” a song by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B, which has held the coveted spot for seven weeks. This debut also marks the first time a woman has debuted at No. 1 since Adele’s hit “Hello” in 2015.
“Thank u, next” is the fourth No. 1 debut of 2018. “Thank u, next” follows prior 2018 No. 1 debuts for Childish Gambino’s “This Is America,” and Drake’s “Nice for What” and “God’s Plan.” Grande’s song has pushed 2018 into a record-tying year on the Billboard charts, which is now tied with the record set with four No. 1 debuts in 1995. That year, the hit songs were Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone,” Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy,” Whitney Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” and Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day.”
