“thank u, next” Grande’s message of perseverance

Just three weeks removed from a called off engagement with Saturday Night Live host Pete Davidson, Ariana Grande released her new single thank u, next last Saturday.
Looking past the catchy pop beat and unending Instagram caption possibilities the lyrics provide, the song’s message delivers a succinct, but powerful mantra for listeners: “thank you, next.”
With her target audience prone to break-ups, failures and tragedies, the release of thank u, next implores listeners to remember that everything happens for a reason. It’s up to you to figure out that reason, learn from it and move forward a better person.
The overall meaning the song conveys is, while not all relationships work out, one must learn something from it and move on. It’s much more important for a person to grow personally from a failed relationship than to dwell on the past. Grande sings, “I’ve loved and I’ve lost / But that’s not what I see / Just look what I’ve found.”
Instead of seeing her past relationships as something she lost, Grande takes away different things she learned, such as love, patience and pain, and uses those to make herself a better, stronger individual.
This takeaway from the song is much more important than the surface line of being grateful for an ex. It can be all too easy to reminisce on the good times one had while in a relationship; Grande isn’t telling listeners to look back on those good times, she is saying look back and learn from them. Then, set them aside and look toward the future and how you can use what you’ve learned to become better.
From a broader sense, Grande is encouraging listeners to remain strong when faced with adversity.
After a bombing at her concert in May 2017; the passing of rapper Mac Miller, one of Grande’s exes, in September 2018; and the split between her and Davidson in October, it could be easy for Grande to release songs about being sad and upset, or to even take a break from making music for a while. Instead, the 25-year-old singer shows her fans strength and encourages them to handle bad situations in a similar way.
Whether or not people take the song’s message to heart, Grande got one thing spot on with her lyrics when she sang, “Least this song is a smash,” as the song immediately gained traction on social media and racked up millions of plays.