Thank U, Next

The first soloist to have three singles occupy the top three spots on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously.

Thank U, Next is the fifth studio album by American singer Ariana Grande, released on February 8, 2019, by Republic Records. It came six months after her fourth album Sweetener (2018). Grande began working on it in October 2018 after the death of ex-boyfriend Mac Miller and the end of her engagement to Pete Davidson. Described as her most personal record up to that point, it is primarily a pop, R&B and trap album. The album topped charts in 17 countries, broke streaming records for the largest weekly streams for a pop album and a female album in the United States, and was certified double platinum by the RIAA.

Quick Facts

Artist

Ariana Grande

Released

8 February 2019

Recorded

October–December 2018

Genre

Pop
R&B
trap

Length

41:11

Label

Republic

Producer

Charles Anderson
Brian Baptiste
Tommy Brown
Michael Foster
Ilya
Max Martin
Happy Perez
Pop Wansel

Lore & Background

The recording of Thank U, Next began less than two months after Sweetener's release. Grande assembled a production team from producers and songwriters with shared rapport to cope with the trauma following Mac Miller's death. Songwriters included her longtime collaborators Victoria Monet, Max Martin, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Tommy Brown, Tayla Parx, and Social House. The development was unusually swift but productive: Grande and her team wrote about nine songs in merely a week, and completed most of the recording after another two weeks. Grande's team kept champagne in the studio, notably Veuve Clicquot, as later referenced in her collaboration with Victoria Monét, 'Monopoly'. Monét contributed to six songs, including 'Ghostin', the first and simultaneously longest song to develop. Grande found creating 'Ghostin' difficult and initially requested the song's exclusion from the final track listing. The producers conducted most of their recordings at Jungle City Studios in New York City, with additional sessions at Right Track Studios, MXM, Conway Recording Studios, the Record Plant, Wolf Cousins Studios in Stockholm, and Entirety Studios in London.

Reader's Guide

Released on February 8, 2019, Thank U, Next was preceded by two singles: the title track and '7 Rings', both of which debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Grande's first two number-one songs in the United States. 'Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored' became the third single on the day of the album's release, peaking at number two on the Hot 100. All of the album's 12 tracks entered the Hot 100, with the singles occupying the top three spots, making Grande the first soloist to achieve this feat. The album landed at number two on the US Billboard 200 Year-End chart of 2019. Globally, it was the eighth best-selling album of 2019, and fourth best-selling album by a female artist. Upon its release, Thank U, Next received critical acclaim, with praise for its cohesiveness, production, and Grande's vulnerability. It was named by several publications as the best album of 2019 and was included in numerous year-end and decade-end lists. The album and its songs received nominations for four Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year), an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award and a Juno Award. In support of both Sweetener and Thank U, Next, Grande embarked on the Sweetener World Tour from March to December 2019, which grossed over $146 million from 97 shows.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Imagine	Ariana Grande, Andrew Wansel, Nathan Perez, Priscilla Renea, Jameel Roberts	3:32
2	Needy	Grande, Victoria Monét, Tayla Parx, Tommy Brown	2:51
3	NASA	Grande, Monét, Parx, Brown, Charles Anderson	3:02
4	Bloodline	Grande, Max Martin, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Savan Kotecha	3:36
5	Fake Smile	Grande, Wansel, Perez, Renea, Kennedi Lykken, Justin Tranter, Joseph W. Frierson, Mary Lou Frierson	3:28
6	Bad Idea	Grande, Martin, Salmanzadeh, Kotecha	4:27
7	Make Up	Grande, Monét, Parx, Brown, Brian Baptiste	2:20
8	Ghostin	Grande, Monét, Parx, Martin, Salmanzadeh, Kotecha	4:31
9	In My Head	Grande, Wansel, Perez, Brittany "Chi" Coney, Denisia Andrews, Lindel Deon Nelson, Jr., Roberts	3:42
10	7 Rings	Grande, Monét, Parx, Brown, Anderson, Michael Foster, Njomza Vitia, Kimberly Krysiuk, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II	2:58
11	Thank U, Next	Grande, Monét, Parx, Brown, Anderson, Foster, Vitia, Krysiuk	3:27
12	Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored	Grande, Martin, Salmanzadeh, Kotecha, Kandi Burruss, Kevin Briggs	3:10
Total length			41:11

Did You Know?

Grande initially begged her manager Scooter Braun to remove the song 'Ghostin' from the album, but he convinced her to keep it.
The final track 'Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored' replaced a song called 'Remember' that was too personal for Grande to release.
The album's cover art was shot by Alf.