After the longest three years of my life, Ariana Grande returns. The release of her new single, “yes, and?” on January 12, 2024, shocked all her fans as it is seen as an introduction to her upcoming album, “eternal sunshine”. The album is prepared to make its way into the music industry on March 8, but the pop song already brings its new attributes to the genre as it had been quite some time since her last album’s release on October 30, 2020. The singer’s comeback was announced through various forms of social media including Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok, leading expectations for this song to be at an all time high. In comparison to her other albums, I hoped for “yes, and?” to address rumors about her career through the originality of her lyrics.

As soon as I became aware of the announcement, the excitement flooded through me. I was in anticipation of the release, counting down the days until Ariana releases the single. I hoped for this song to cheer me up on any day and bring me back to the days when I was younger, but I was concerned that the amount of pressure would affect her way of singing. As the countdown struck zero, my headphones were on and the music quickly filled my ears. It surprised me instantly as the song started off much more upbeat than expected. The song takes the listener on a journey as you are able to hear how Ariana wishes for one to respond to controversy or rumors. The song sends a message to the fans to mind their own business and not care what others think about them.

Before the singer even began her lyrics, I knew this was about to be a fan favorite. I was taken back to the first time I listened to her music as her vocal range never failed to astonish me. Feelings of nostalgia and excitement overwhelmed me throughout the experience as the quality of this song captured the essence of pop music. Her voice and whistle notes were clear as could be, almost as if you could hear Ariana herself echoing across the walls of my bedroom. Her lyricism was an aspect I was always fond of from an early age, but this song was able to respond to the hate she has been receiving in ways I have not heard before. For context, American actor and singer Ethan Slater began dating Ariana Grande on a movie set, leading speculation and controversy to arise as both split from their spouses. The term “homewrecker” was repeatedly used to describe Ariana as people believed her to break Slater and Lil Jay’s, his highschool sweetheart, relationship. This song is seen as her response to the situation.

My experience while listening to this song can only be described in one word: unique. Each lyric was able to shock me to my core as she confidently called others out and every note was able to catch my attention. She connects with her fans as she sings, “and if you find yourself in a dark situation, just turn on your light and be like ‘yes, and?’” These lyrics are able to show her indifference towards the rumors and encourage her fans to do the same. I was able to connect to this song as I feel a strong connection with the singer’s music from early childhood, but others may view her new era of singing in a negative light. The lyrics, “no, I won’t hide underneath your own projections or change my most authentic life” lead some to believe her lyrics in this song come off as rude or ignorant, while others believe there were more ways the song could have shown the original authenticity of Ariana Grande. However, the song itself was able to add a touch of nostalgia through its unique aspects, but there are those whose previous expectations were not fulfilled due to the change in style. Her previous albums, such as “Dangerous Woman” from 2016 or “Yours Truly” from 2013, were not as controversial and simply expressed her feelings through her pop songs. I wouldn’t say the single was “bad”, I would simply say it’s different. Yes, this song is incredible regarding the music itself, but the path she took to respond to the controversy was very bold.

All in all, Ariana Grande released a song that led various opinions to flood throughout social media. The song caught me by surprise, but was able to grow to my liking after a few plays. This single was simply different in consideration of her lyrics, whistle notes, and the tempo of the song itself. Others may believe “yes, and?” to be worse than the rest of her music, but I believe the experience took me back to her old songs, and led me to thank her for her new ones.