Thank U, Next (album)

For other articles with the same name, see Thank U, Next.

Thank U, NextStudio album by Ariana Grande
General information
Artist	Ariana Grande
Release Date	February 8, 2019
Recorded	October - December 2018
Genre	Pop, R&B, trap
Length	41:11
Label	Republic Records
Producer(s)	Ariana Grande (exec.), Scooter Braun (exec.), Charles Anderson, Brian Baptiste, Tommy Brown, Michael Foster, Ilya, Max Martin, NOVA Wav, Happy Perez, Pop Wansel
Studio albums chronology
Previous	Sweetener
Current	Thank U, Next
Singles from Thank U, Next
1. "Thank U, Next" Released: November 3, 2018 2. "7 Rings" Released: January 18, 2019 3. "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" Released: February 8, 2019

Thank U, Next (stylized in all lowercase) is Ariana Grande's fifth studio album, released on February 8, 2019, through Republic Records. The album was recorded between October and December 2018.

Two singles were released from the album, and both debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. With this, Thank U, Next joined Daydream by Mariah Carey as the only albums by female artists to have multiple songs debut at number one. Grande also joined Carey and Britney Spears as the only female artists with multiple number-one debuts; overall she is the fifth artist after Justin Bieber and Drake.

Background

During the Sweetener livestream on August 16, 2018, Grande confirmed that she would start working on her next album in September 2018. Tommy Brown shared a short snippet of a song on his Instagram story on October 4, 2018. Later that day, Grande shared a 45-second-snippet of a song on her Instagram with the caption "tell me how good it feels to be needed" which are lyrics from a song, later revealed to be titled "Needy". On November 1, 2018, Grande revealed on Twitter that she was finishing the album, but she later deleted the tweet. On November 3, 2018, Grande confirmed the title of the album, Thank U, Next.

A music video for Grande's single "Breathin", from her previous album Sweetener, was released on November 7, 2018. In the video, a short scene shows a departures board, where some possible tracks from Thank U, Next are listed, including "NASA", "Imagine" and "Needy". Also, another short scene shows the board in the background blurred. The song titles "Make Up", "7 Rings", "Ghostin" and "Remember" could be seen. Grande also teased "Imagine", "7 Rings" and "Needy" in the music video for the album's title track, "Thank U, Next", released in November 2018.

On December 4, 2018, Grande revealed on Twitter that the album was finished. In an interview with Billboard, the album was described as "deep, bass-driven bangers with trap beats alternating with airy, sad ballads". On January 3, 2019, Grande confirmed on Twitter that "7 Rings" would be the second single from the album. Its track listing was revealed on January 22, 2019 on Instagram. The album was made available for pre-order on January 25, 2019.

It was revealed on Grande's official Japanese Twitter account that a Deluxe Edition of the album would be released on June 26, Ariana's birthday, featuring the "7 Rings" remix featuring 2 Chainz, "Monopoly" with Victoria Monét, and a DVD with the music videos for "Thank U, Next", "7 Rings" and "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored".

Recording

On October 1, 2018, Grande uploaded a photo at studio on her Instagram story. A day later, she uploaded more photos and revealed that at least nine songs were recorded, tagging songwriters and producers Kaydence, Victoria Monét, Tayla Parx, Tommy Brown, Scootie and Mikey (from Social House).

The following is a list of known dates on which Grande was in the studio:

• October 1, 2018
• October 2, 2018
• October 3, 2018
• October 4, 2018
• October 5, 2018
• October 6, 2018
• October 7, 2018
• October 8, 2018
• October 9, 2018
• October 10, 2018
• October 11, 2018
• October 12, 2018
• October 22, 2018
• October 24, 2018
• October 26, 2018
• October 30, 2018
• November 9, 2018
• November 11, 2018
• November 27, 2018
• November 28, 2018
• November 29, 2018
• December 4, 2018

Cover art

Grande revealed that there would be a different version for the physical and digital album cover art. The digital version of the cover was revealed on January 23, 2019 and Grande stated that this was her favorite one yet. It features a pink background and an upside down photo of Grande in the middle, shot by Alfredo Flores, with the title of the album painted on her neck by Brian Nicholson. While the physical version, revealed two days later, features a black background.

Singles

The lead single and title track, "Thank U, Next", was released on November 3, 2018.

The second single, "7 Rings", was released on January 18, 2019.

The third and final single, "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored", was released along with the album on February 8, 2019.

Promotional singles

A promotional single, "Imagine", was released on December 14, 2018.

Tour

Main article: Sweetener World Tour

Grande confirmed that the tour for her album Sweetener would be combined with Thank U, Next. The dates for the North American leg of the Sweetener World Tour were announced on October 25, 2018. The tour began on March 18, 2019, in Albany, New York and ended on December 22, 2019, in Inglewood, California.

Critical reception

The album received universal acclaim from music critics. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine made an early review of the album. He noted the difference between Thank U, Next with Grande's previous album Sweetener saying that "this time Grande is swaggering with the confidence that comes with unquestioned stardom." He added that "the album feels slighter than Sweetener." Erlewine gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars. Sal Cinquemani, writing on behalf of Slant Magazine, gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated that Thank U, Next is "easily Grande’s most sonically consistent effort to date, even if that means some of the album’s sleek R&B tracks tend to blur together."

Commercial performance

After the release of Thank U, Next, it reached the top on US iTunes in just 5 minutes, becoming the fastest album in history to hit #1 on US iTunes.

The album debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard 200 with 360,000 album-equivalent units being Grande's fourth number-one album in the United States. It broke the record for the largest streaming week for a pop album. All twelve songs from the album appeared simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 in the week ending February 23, 2018 and eleven of the tracks appeared in the top 40 of the chart. With this, Grande broke the record for the most simultaneous top 40 songs by a female artist.

The album also broke yet another record of occupying the top three spots on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, a record that was held by The Beatles for the last 55 years.

Trivia

• This is Grande’s first album on which she co-wrote every track.
• The album is Grande's first album not to feature any collaborations.
• The first song written for the album was "Ghostin".
• The last song recorded for the album was "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored".

Gallery

Photo shoot

Photo shoot

Thank U, Next Launch Party

Booklet

Track listing

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

Japanese Deluxe Edition (bonus tracks)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"7 Rings" (featuring 2 Chainz) (remix)	Grande, Monét, Parx, Vitia, Krysiuk, Brown, Foster, Anderson, Rodgers, Hammerstein II, Tauheed Epps	Brown, Anderson, Foster	2:58
14.	"Monopoly" (with Victoria Monét)	Grande, Monét, Anderson, Foster, Tim Suby	Social House, Busy	2:38

Japanese Deluxe Edition (bonus DVD)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Thank U, Next" (music video)	5:31
2.	"7 Rings" (music video)	3:05
3.	"Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" (music video)	3:25

Cut tracks

• "Remember"