If you are anxiously awaiting the new Ariana Grande album, Petal, you can kill some time between now and its release by searching the singer’s name on Google and then clicking the icon that releases flower petals on your screen. The album is due to arrive on July 31, so in the meantime, and amid the falling plant stuff, let’s look at Grande’s latest single, “Hate That I Made You Love Me”.
Behind the Lyrics
Grande seems animated by a breakup of sorts here. The busted relationship feels kinetic and fuels a kind of motion forward. She’s not missing what’s gone. Instead, the singer feels liberated. According to the verse, she’s also proficient at saying goodbye, so chalk this up to one of many busted connections. Time to move on.
I can’t tell you why,
But something inside is dancing with fire.
Eyes lit like the sky,
Turned tears into diamonds, got good at goodbyes.
Co-written with hitmakers Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh, Grande’s tune echoes Tom Petty’s chip-on-the-shoulder vibe when someone’s done him wrong. And there’s no beating around the bush here. Grande refers to her detractors as a collective gray and gloomy cul-de-sac of a grave. She’ll either allow herself to be buried alongside them or escape the dead-enders.
Just know that I will find my way from you,
Like flowers from a tomb while you decide who you are.
And I can see right through, ooh-ooh, like shadows on the moon,
And it’s all bad news.
Breaking up With All of You
This is Grande’s response to fame and how quickly adoration can become contempt. But like some toxic relationships, both parties provide the gas for each other to burn. Pop stars need fans. And “fanatics” aren’t rational actors.
The pop star could ignore the detractors. Or use their massive platform and take them head-on in a new single, like “Hate That I Made You Love Me”. And as the subject of a hit song, now the critics get a platform too.
Yeah, I, I, I hate that I made you love me,
Sorry if I made me your type.
Yeah, I, I hate that I made you love me,
’Cause I barely tried, yeah, I, I, I.
Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue