Grande's second studio album, My Everything (2014), continued the pop-R&B sound of its predecessor and incorporated EDM elements. It topped the Billboard 200 and featured four US top-ten singles: "Problem", "Break Free", "Bang Bang", and "Love Me Harder" featuring The Weeknd, the most of any artist that year. Grande's pop-R&B styles extended on her third studio album, Dangerous Woman (2016), which was her first of three consecutive number-one albums in the UK, and spawned top ten hits such as the Grammy nominated title track and "Side to Side".
On her next two albums, Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019), Grande experimented with trap while maintaining her characteristic pop-R&B tones; being projects with her most creative control yet and showing a more personal and vulnerable side, both debuted at number one in several countries and were acclaimed by music critics. The former won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album and spawned the international top three hit "No Tears Left to Cry", while the latter broke several streaming records. Grande became the first solo artist to hold the top three spots on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously when "7 Rings", "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" and "Thank U, Next" did so in 2019. She is also the first artist to have the lead singles from each of their first six studio albums debut within the top ten in the US.
Grande released her sixth studio album, Positions (2020) with its lead single, "Positions" debuting at number one in the US and the UK simultaneously. The song became her third number one hit in the US following "Stuck With U" in collaboration with Justin Bieber and "Rain On Me", also in collaboration with Lady Gaga. A deluxe version of Positions was released in February 2021, with four new songs and a remix of "34+35" featuring Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion. The remix helped the song peak at number two, the highest-charting song credited to three or more female soloist since 2001 when "Lady Marmalade" performed by Christina Aguilera, Mýa, P!nk, and Lil Kim peaked at number one. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming her fifth album to do so. In April 2021, a remix of The Weeknd's "Save Your Tears" was released featuring Grande. The song reached number one in both the US Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100. It spent a total of 69 weeks in the US charts, becoming one of the ten longest-running songs in that chart since its publication.
In November 2021, it was announced that Grande would star in the two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked. The first movie is set to release on November 22nd, 2024.
Ariana Grande’s highly anticipated seventh studio album “eternal sunshine" was released on March 8th, 2024. The title is a reference to one of her favourite films, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” which stars Jim Carrey. The album is a concept album inspired by the events of the film. The lead single “yes, and?" was released on January 12, 2024 and debuted at #1 on the Hot 100. eternal sunshine had a debut at #1 on the Global Spotify charts and on the Billboard 200. The album's 2nd single “we can't be friends (wait for your love)" also debuted at #1 on the Hot 100. During this album cycle, she collaborated with Mariah Carey, Brandy, Monica, Charli XCX, and Troye Sivan on various remixes.
Grande has received various accolades, including two Grammy Awards, ten VMAs, one Brit Award, two Billboard Music Awards, and three American Music Awards. All seven of Grande's full-length albums have been certified platinum by the RIAA. Grande has sold over 90 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Having amassed 98 billion streams globally as of 2021, Grande is one of the most-streamed artists of all time and became the first female artist to surpass 90 billion streams. She was the most-streamed female artist of the 2010s decade on Spotify and Apple Music, and was the only female artist to reach 3 billion total streams on the latter as of 2019. In 2024, Grande became the first artist to have five albums with multiple songs over a billion streams on Spotify. She is the only artist to debut the lead single from all their studio albums in the Top 10 of the Hot 100. Her signature ponytail hairstyle has become an iconic piece of pop culture iconography. In October 2024, she was named the 9th greatest pop star of the 21st Century by Billboard and was the newest artist on the list. In February 2019, she became the most followed woman on Instagram. Forbes ranked her amongst the highest-paid celebrities in 2019, and Time named Grande as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016 and 2019. Billboard recognized her as the "Woman of the Year" in 2018. Her song "Thank U, Next" was in Rolling Stone's 2021 revision of their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2023, the magazine included Grande among the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Recording artists who have cited Grande as an influence or inspiration include Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Lana Del Rey, Bryson Tiller, Charlie Puth, Sufjan Stevens, Troye Sivan, Zara Larsson, Tate McRae, Madison Beer, Jung Kook, Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, Giselle of aespa, and Meghan Trainor.
bAD to YOu
Ariana Grande Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ariana, Normani (ooh)
Uh
Let's go
Baby, I've been feedin' the addiction
Flyin' from there and back, felt like an acrobat
Brown eyed, so I fell into submissionEager to catch myself, like what the hell?
Now we pull your chain
Just to wake you up, wake you up
Push you 'til you break
Now you're steppin' up, steppin' up, ah, ah
Why are you only good to me
When I'm bad to you?
Why are you only?
Why are you only good to me (yeah, yeah, yeah)
When I'm bad to you?
Why are you only?
Loving you and hating you is in, depending on the day
Tell me why are you only good to me (yeah, yeah, yeah)
When I'm bad to you?
Why are you only?
Stopped thinking like a victim
This time, I'll throw it back
Boy, can you handle that?
Got you trippin', gave you no attention
That's when I figured out what you're about
Now we pull your chain
Just to wake you up (yeah), wake you up (yeah)
Now you're steppin' up, steppin' up, ah, ah
Why are you only good to me (hey)
When I'm bad to you?
Why are you only?
Why are you only good to me (yeah, yeah, yeah) (uh)
When I'm bad to you? (So bad)
Why are you only?
Loving you and hating you is in, depending on the day
Tell me why are you only good to me (yeah, yeah, yeah)
When I'm bad to you?
Why are you only? (Ayy, yo)
Why you only nice when I get bad, boy? Cha
Get back on your job like you employed, boy, cha
You know that I'm saucy, got that sauce, soy, cha
I ain't 'bout to stay up on this merry-go-round and round
'Cause we go 'round and 'round
But I don't want no clowns around me (brrr)
I tell him, "Who is you cuffin'?"
I got him huffin' and puffin'
He keep on callin' me, "Baby"
Like I'm a bun in the oven (no, no, no)
I said
Why are you only good to me (oh yeah)
When I'm bad to you? (When I'm bad to you)
Why are you only?
Why are you only good to me (oh, oh)
When I'm bad to you? (When I'm bad to you)
Why are you only?
Loving you and hating you is in, depending on the day
Tell me why are you only good to me (so good)
When I'm bad to you?
Why are you only?
The song "Bad to You" by Ariana Grande, Normani, and Nicki Minaj is about a toxic relationship in which the man is only good to the woman when she is treating him poorly. The woman in the song is questioning why the man is only good to her when she is bad to him, suggesting the relationship is not healthy or sustainable. The lyrics suggest that the woman has been struggling with addiction and has been in a cycle of falling into submission and catching herself. However, now she has stopped thinking like a victim and has decided to throw it back.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the paradox of the relationship dynamic, where the man is only good to the woman when she is bad to him. The woman is confused about the inconsistency of his behavior and questions why he only treats her well when she is being hurtful. The verses suggest that the woman is tired of being in this cycle and wants to break free from it.
Overall, the song highlights the theme of a toxic relationship and the importance of recognizing and breaking free from such a cycle. It emphasizes the importance of self-love and knowing when to walk away from relationships that do not serve our best interests.
Line by Line Meaning
Hello, Charlie (ooh)
Greeting to the listener, possibly a reference to Charlie's Angels franchise.
Baby, I've been feedin' the addiction
I am addicted to you and can't get enough of you.
Flyin' from there and back, felt like an acrobat
Traveling to see you is like an intense physical feat that requires acrobatic skills.
Brown eyed, so I fell into submission
The listener's brown eyes have entranced me and I am now submitting to their power.
Eager to catch myself, like what the hell?
I am surprised by how much I am falling for you and trying to regain control of my emotions.
Now we pull your chain
We are intentionally messing with you and testing your boundaries.
Just to wake you up, wake you up
We are trying to get you to realize how you truly feel about us.
Push you 'til you break
We are pushing you to your limits and testing your emotional reactions.
Now you're steppin' up, steppin' up, ah, ah
You are finally taking a stronger stance in this relationship and asserting yourself.
Why are you only good to me
When I'm bad to you?
Why do you show me love only when I am acting out and causing trouble in the relationship?
Loving you and hating you is in, depending on the day
My feelings for you are constantly fluctuating and changing from love to hate.
Stopped thinking like a victim
I am no longer allowing myself to feel like a victim in this relationship and taking control of my emotions.
This time, I'll throw it back
I am taking the initiative and doing something unexpected to change the dynamic of our relationship.
Boy, can you handle that?
Are you capable of handling the changes I am making to our relationship?
Got you trippin', gave you no attention
I purposely ignored you to see how you would react and it caused you to feel disoriented.
That's when I figured out what you're about
By observing your behavior, I learned more about your true intentions and feelings towards me.
Why you only nice when I get bad, boy?
Why do you only show me love and affection when I am acting out and causing trouble in the relationship, but not when I am being good?
Get back on your job like you employed, boy
Take charge of this relationship and start putting in effort like you are getting paid for it.
You know that I'm saucy, got that sauce, soy
I am confident and sassy, and I am bringing that energy to our relationship.
I ain't 'bout to stay up on this merry-go-round and round
I am tired of going in circles in this relationship and want to break the cycle.
But I don't want no clowns around me (brrr)
I am not interested in being around anyone who is not serious about our relationship or who does not show me genuine respect.
I tell him, "Who is you cuffin'?"
I am questioning who he is actually committing to and if he is taking our relationship seriously.
I got him huffin' and puffin'
My actions are causing him to feel frustrated and worked up.
He keep on callin' me, "Baby"
Like I'm a bun in the oven (no, no, no)
He keeps calling me pet names and acting like we are closer than we really are, which I do not appreciate.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ilya Salmanzadeh, Ariana Grande, Brandon Hollemon, Danny Schofield, Max Martin, Onika Tanya Maraj, Savan Harish Kotecha
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AMinnie
Normani and Ariana really had the nerve to get on a song together and not harmonize whistle notes...cool cool. Cries in it's fine
@Lavoun_g
Minnie rightttt, hopefully they collab again and give us that!!!!!
@almondpsychedelia9400
Omg riiiiight omg
@kiahjizyiik
for real
@lia.azzles1328
Same
@poppyefemey
Normanis whistles would sound like shit compared to Ari's
@Being24KIshu
Nicki Minaj: I'm retiring
Also Nicki: Arianaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
@teek8161
BadBuddy 😅😅😅 right!?!
@ltmonster8917
Omg 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@allanthomas3701
She said she had songs recorded that hasn’t been released yet, but she’s still in retirement. This song was probably recorded months ago