The wait is almost over. Ariana Grande’s next album, Thank U, Next, is set to release just in time for Valentine’s Day, and fans are anxiously looking forward to endless streaming of the pop star’s latest album.
Grande’s latest singles have already made big moves, with “Thank U, Next” spending 11 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (so far) and the “7 Rings” video having the biggest YouTube debut of 2019 so far, so fans are expecting nothing less from the newest album.
Here is everything we know so far about the Thank U, Next album:
Release Date & Track List
The album is officially set to release on Feb. 8 and will be available for pre-order on Friday.
Ariana dropped a couple of hints on when the album was going to come out during a Twitter Q&A this week. One fan told Ari that her birthday was on Feb. 8 and she responded with, “how convenient,” leaving fans guessing that it would come out on that day.
She officially confirmed the date along with the track list via Twitter on Wednesday (Jan. 23).
feb 8 pic.twitter.com/3O5qM9tXF7
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) January 23, 2019
The title of some tracks on the album caught the attention of fans, particularly “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored,” which has some speculating that the song could be about her ex Big Sean.
Ariana has a track called “Breakup with your girlfriend, I’m bored” & it’s about Big Sean. Y’all heard it hear first. pic.twitter.com/tUf7tJDx2n
— ???????? (@merelynora) January 23, 2019
Technically, There’s Two Different Album Covers
And the surprises keep coming. Ariana dropped the pink version of her album cover and tweeted that “this is my fav album cover i think. brian painted me. fredo shot me. made with tru, deep friendship and love. just like this music.” The pink cover continues with Ariana’s upside-down aesthetic.
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) January 23, 2019
But we’re still waiting on cover number two. Ari shared quick note about the Thank U, Next album cover art on Instagram. She acknowledged the display’s black color and wrote, “i know i said the cover art was dark (and it still is) but i had two versions made …. a pink version and a dark version. one for physical one for digital. digital is pink. physical is darker. you’ll see what i mean but …. just thought i’d tell you, technically there’s two.”
Potentially Even More New Music in 2019
This probably won’t be the last time we hear from Ariana Grande this year. She’s set to go on tour for her fourth studio album Sweetener in March, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to stop working on new music. In a recent interview with Billboard, Grande said she hopes to continue making music at a rapid pace. “If I want to tour two albums at once, I’m going to tour two albums at once. If I want to drop a third album while I’m on tour [in 2019], I’ll do that too! Please. [“Thank U, Next” production duo] Social House is my opening act — you don’t think we’re going to have a studio on the bus? That we’re not going to be making records on the road? Of course we are. I want to be able to do what is authentic and honest and natural. It’s the only way that I’ve been able to survive.”
Grande is nominated for two Grammy Awards this year: best pop solo performance for “God Is a Woman” and best pop vocal album for Sweetener. It’s safe to say 2019 is off to a big start for Ariana.