Grande originally wrote the song while engaged to Davidson, during a tumultuous point in their relationship.
The lyrics acknowledge four of her past relationships: "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" refer to Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, Pete Davidson, and the late Mac Miller, respectively. Grande explained in an interview that "thank u, next." is a phrase that she and fellow singer/songwriter Victoria Monét use. The song is based around a chord progression of G ♭ maj7–F 7–B ♭m 7–D ♭ 7. Grande's voice ranges from a low A ♭ 3 to a high E ♭ 5. The song is written in the key of B-flat minor in common time with a tempo of 108 beats per minute. It features elements of synth-pop in its production. "Thank U, Next" is a self-empowerment pop and R&B song that mentions many of Grande's past relationships. Problems playing this file? See media help. The song was released on November 3, 2018, without any prior official announcement or promotion. The singer also revealed "Thank U, Next" would serve as her fifth album's name, which she had been teasing for months on Twitter. The following day, Grande tweeted more lyrics, revealing that they indeed belong to a track named "Thank U, Next", which she described was lyrically and conceptually the opposite of her Dangerous Woman track "Knew Better". On November 2, 2018, the singer tweeted lyrics of a mysterious track, after her ex-fiancé, Pete Davidson joked about their broken engagement on Saturday Night Live. It was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. The music video received widespread critical acclaim and has been noted by journalists as a pioneering release for pop culture in 2018. Following its release, it shattered many viewership records on Youtube, including the record for the most-watched music video in YouTube within 24 hours, with over 55.4 million views, and the largest YouTube Premiere at the time, with 829,000 viewers watching and participating in its live stream.
The music video referenced the early 2000s' cult classic films Bring It On, Legally Blonde, Mean Girls and 13 Going on 30, and featured several celebrity cameos. Its music video, directed by Hannah Lux Davis, was released on November 30, 2018. The song has been certified five-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Reaching number one in 20 other countries, "Thank U, Next" also broke numerous streaming records, including the record for the most streams received by a song in a single day for a female artist on Spotify, and the largest on-demand streaming week for a female artist ever recorded in the US. It debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and spent seven weeks at the top of the chart, earning Grande her first number one single. "Thank U, Next" was an international commercial success. The song was also included in Rolling Stone's 2021 revision of their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It has been listed as one of the 100 songs that defined the 2010s decade by Billboard, and was featured in several year-end and decade-end rankings. Upon release, "Thank U, Next" was met with critical acclaim critics praised its catchiness and positive message. Several versions of the song were recorded due to the uncertainty of her relationship with Davidson at the time, as well as hesitation from Parx regarding whether Grande should list the names of her exes in the song's lyrics. Considered a modern cultural phenomenon, the song's title and its lyrics spawned several catch phrases and online memes. Written by Grande, Tayla Parx and Victoria Monét, along with its producers Tommy Brown, Charles Anderson, and Michael Foster, "Thank U, Next" is a celebratory ode to Grande's failed relationships, following her highly-publicized breakup with then-fiancé, Pete Davidson. It was released on November 3, 2018, through Republic Records, as the lead single from her fifth studio album of the same name (2019), without any prior announcement or promotion.
" Thank U, Next" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer Ariana Grande.