Yes, and lyrics.
Guess What Ariana Grande’s New Song Is About
Portrait of Danielle Cohen
By Danielle Cohen, a writer for the Cut who covers pop-culture news and entertainment.
Since her last album came out in 2020, Ariana Grande has gotten divorced, started dating one of her Wicked co-stars, and been called “not a girl’s girl” by the ex-wife of said co-star. That’s plenty of material for a full-length record’s worth of lyrics, and based on her new single, “Yes, And?,” that’s exactly what we’re going to get.
After a flurry of Instagram posts suggesting a new album was imminent, Grande dropped “Yes, And?” along with its music video on Friday. By all appearances, (“appearances” being the lyrics), the song seems to be addressing Grande’s much-discussed relationship with Ethan Slater.
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Slater, as you may remember, played SpongeBob on Broadway before joining the buzzy cast of the Wicked movie adaptation, where he met and subsequently started dating Grande. When rumors of their relationship first surfaced, Slater had recently welcomed a baby with his then-wife, Lilly Jay, who told tabloids that her family was “collateral damage” and deemed Grande “not a girl’s girl.” While we don’t know the exact timeline, it seems safe to say some drama was involved.
This brings us to the release of “Yes, And?,” a song that includes lyrics like “I’m so done with caring what you think” and “My tongue is sacred” over a house beat. At one point, Grande asks, “Why do you care so much whose **** I ride?” (The word dick appears to be censored in both the clean and explicit versions of the song — she is a Disney adult, after all.) Hmm, I wonder what she’s talking about here!
https://youtu.be/eB6txyhHFG4