Thank U, Next
Thank U, Next is the fifth studio album by American singer Ariana Grande. It was released on February 8, 2019, by Republic Records, six months after her fourth studio album Sweetener (2018), which was conceived in the midst of Grande's personal struggles, including the death of ex-boyfriend Mac Miller and the end of her engagement to Pete Davidson.
This article is about the album. For its title track, see Thank U, Next (song).Thank U, Next
February 8, 2019
- Jungle City, Right Track (New York City)
- MXM, Conway (Los Angeles)
- The Record Plant (Hollywood)
- Wolf Cousins (Stockholm)
- Entirety (London)
41:11
- Charles Anderson
- Brian Baptiste
- Tommy Brown
- Michael Foster
- Ilya
- Max Martin
- Happy Perez
- Pop Wansel
Grande began working on the album in October 2018, enlisting writers and producers such as Tommy Brown, Max Martin, Ilya Salmanzadeh and Pop Wansel. With Thank U, Next, Grande did not utilise the traditional promotion cycle that she employed for her previous album releases. Musically, the album is predominantly pop, R&B and trap. It was described as Grande's most personal record up to that point, with its lyrical content reflecting on personal flaws, grief and denial, as well as independence and self-empowerment.
The album was preceded by two singles: the title track and "7 Rings", both of which debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Grande's first two number-one songs in the United States. "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" became the third single on the day of the album's release, peaking at number two on the Hot 100. All of the album's 12 tracks entered the Hot 100, with the singles occupying the top three spots, making Grande the first soloist to achieve this feat. The album topped the charts in 17 countries, and broke many streaming records upon release, including the records for the largest weekly streams for a pop album and a female album in the United States. It was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and landed at number two on the US Billboard 200 Year-End chart of 2019. Globally, it was the eighth best-selling album of 2019, and fourth best-selling album by a female artist.
Upon its release, Thank U, Next received critical acclaim, with praise on its cohesiveness, the production and Grande's vulnerability throughout the record. In support of both Sweetener and Thank U, Next, Grande embarked on the Sweetener World Tour, beginning on March 18, 2019. The concert tour was commercially successful, grossing over $146 million from 97 shows.
Named by several publications as the best album of 2019, it was included in numerous publications' year-end and decade-end lists. Thank U, Next and its songs received nominations for four Grammy Awards, an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award and a Juno Award.
Composition
Music and lyrics
Thank U, Next is a pop, R&B and trap record with many influences of hip hop on its beats and productions.[16][17][18][19][20] It explores a diversity of other music genres, including dancehall, soul, pop-rap and many urban influences.[21] Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone stated that the album is about a woman taking her mood "out for a drive until she pedal-to-the-metals it right off a cliff."[22] In an interview with Zach Sang she said: "We walked to the studio everyday, and just made music and it turned everything around in my life. It sounds very corny but it was like, the most beautiful."[23]
Commercial performance
United States
Thank U, Next debuted at number-one on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 360,000 album-equivalent units in its opening week, of which 116,000 came from pure sales. It was Grande's fourth number one album, and second in less than six months; marking the shortest gap between number one albums for a woman at the time since Olivia Newton-John's If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974) and Have You Ever Been Mellow (1975). Its opening week figure of 360,000 was also the largest for a pop album since Taylor Swift's Reputation (2017). Thank U, Next's tracks collected a total of 307 million on-demand audio streams in its first week, representing the largest US streaming week ever for a female artist and pop album. Overall, it earned the eighth-largest streaming debut ever in the US. Billboard also noted that of the 20 largest album streaming weeks at the time, Thank U, Next was the only non-hip hop title present.[120]
On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, issue dated February 20, all 12 songs from Thank U, Next appeared simultaneously; eleven of those songs appeared in the top 40, breaking the record for the most simultaneous top 40 entries by a female artist.[121] The following week, issue dated February 27, all 12 of the album's tracks remained on the chart for a second consecutive week.[122] In its second week, the album remained atop the chart, earning an additional 151,000 units, consisting of 20,000 pure album sales, becoming Grande's first album to spend multiple weeks at number one. It earned 168.6 million on-demand streams in its second week, marking (at the time) the third-largest streaming week ever by a woman, and the second-largest for a pop album, behind its own first week figure.[123]
Thank U, Next was 2019's second-best-performing album on the Billboard 200 chart. It spent 168 weeks on the chart, becoming Grande's longest-running album.[124] Combining singles sales and streaming, Thank U, Next sold 2.056 million units throughout 2019,[125] and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for exceeding two million units in the US in June 2020.[126] As of June 2020, the album has sold 302,000 units in the country.[127]
Elsewhere
In the United Kingdom, Thank U, Next debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 65,000 album-equivalent units. The album became Grande's third number-one on the chart and marked her largest album opening week to date there. Earning 59 million streams, Thank U, Next set a new record for most album streams ever by a female artist in a week in the country, beating her previous album, Sweetener.[82] It spent two additional weeks at number one in the UK.[128] Following its release, "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, replacing "7 Rings", with the latter returning to number one the following week, making Grande the first female solo artist since Madonna in 1985 to simultaneously hold the number one and two spots on the UK Singles Chart and the first musical artist to replace herself twice consecutively at number one in UK chart history. Also, "Needy" peaked at number eight on the chart.[129] Thank U, Next also was 2019's third fastest-selling download by a female artist in the UK, behind Taylor Swift's Lover and Pink's Hurts 2B Human.[130]
In Canada, Thank U, Next debuted at number one on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, marking Grande's third number one in the country. It also scored the largest streaming week by a female artist in the country at the time (29 million audio streams). The album remained atop the chart for three weeks, and became the country's third-most-streamed album of 2019.[131][132] Additionally, all 12 of the album's tracks charted on the Canadian Hot 100 simultaneously, for two consecutive weeks.[133]
In Ireland, Thank U, Next also became Grande's third number one on the Irish Albums Chart, selling nearly 5,389 units, more than the rest of the top five combined (according to Official Charts Company).[134] Upon its release, Thank U, Next became the only female album this decade to feature three Irish number-one singles. Following the success of the album, Sweetener (2018) arose three places to number eight, and Dangerous Woman (2016) re-entered the top 50 at number 43.[83] In Australia, Thank U, Next debuted at number one on the Australian Albums Chart, becoming Grande's fourth number one in the territory. All 12 album tracks also appeared on the ARIA Singles Chart.[135]
Thank U, Next has sold more than one million pure copies worldwide. It was the eighth best-selling album of 2019 globally and ranked fourth among female artists.[136]