F Sharp: Ariana Grande and the power behind the breakup anthem

When pop singer Ariana Grande released “thank u, next” earlier this month, she launched a new kind of breakup anthem into the world. “thank u, next” details Grande’s resolve to move on from past relationships — including Saturday Night Live cast member and ex-fiancé Pete Davidson. While I’m not a fan of most of the production choices behind “thank u, next,” the song achieves its mission lyrically — to empower women in the limelight to take control of their own breakup narratives.

The breakup song is a staple in mainstream music. As long as there are songs celebrating new love, there will be popular tracks on the devastating end of it too. Yet, when a woman pens a song about a relationship running its course, listeners tend to read into it more. Songs like Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River” and The Weeknd’s “Call Out My Name” are directed at past relationships fans have successfully identified and should be read as such, but men can get away with writing these songs without the critical observation of every subsequent career move.

Pressure from the public makes it difficult for female celebrities to escape from the exhausting weight of their past relationships. Take Taylor Swift’s ballad “Dear John,” which dissects the toxic relationship between Swift and singer-songwriter John Mayer, who is 13 years her senior. As the song progresses, it’s revealed that he becomes more controlling, and Swift is too afraid to speak up for herself in the relationship. When he leaves her, she realizes that she was only one in a long list of girls he has taken advantage of in the past.

“Don’t you think I was too young to be messed with? The girl in the dress cried the whole way home,” Swift laments in the nearly seven minute song.

The track is both brutal and gorgeous — a true standout in her discography. It is also one of the first songs that come to mind when people argue that Swift’s entire career can be reduced to breakup songs that emasculate her partners. Since then, fans have scoured her lyrics for references to past relationships to an obsessive degree, and critics have called her out for being a one-trick pony of sorts. Some would argue she would not have had the same success if not for the songs she dedicated to her former boyfriends.

Then there is Selena Gomez, a performer whose list of exes hasn’t been as extensive as Swift’s but has been subject to the same critical eye. The 2018 single “Back To You” sees Gomez reminiscing about the pitfalls of a relationship. Looking back on her relationship with a clearer head, she can see how problematic their love was. In the chorus, she admits that despite the trials they went through, if given the chance, she would start the relationship over again.

Despite its placement on the “13 Reasons Why (Season 2)” soundtrack, from which it can be interpreted as a reflection of the relationships highlighted in the show rather than Gomez’s personal life, listeners couldn’t help but make connections between the song’s subject and her on-again, off-again ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber. The two rekindled their romance at the start of the year, only to call it off for good shortly after. Jelena shippers jumped at the nostalgia-driven lyrics, prematurely limiting their focus to the context of Selena and Justin’s relationship.

Not even Beyoncé, the queen of female empowerment, is safe from being defined by her past relationships. The entirety of “Lemonade” is a concept record about dealing with infidelity in a relationship and moving past it. While not a breakup album per se, many of the individual tracks can be deconstructed as such. Tracks like “Don’t Hurt Yourself” put the alleged cheater (Jay-Z) on blast with raging guitars and screaming vocals from Beyoncé. Slower cuts like “Sand Castles” show Beyoncé in her most vulnerable state, as she struggles to find the strength to forgive and move on from the broken trust in her relationship. It’s one of the more charged and empowering listens of the decade, dealing with themes of racial tension and cultural identity.

Grande’s latest song may not change how women are viewed through the lens of their relationships, especially when she lists her former lovers by name. However, while most breakup songs are written from a place of lingering hurt, “thank u, next” looks back on Grande’s romantic trysts with a graceful smile.

“One taught me love, one taught me patience, one taught me pain,” she sings.

What I find most remarkable is the second verse, where she reveals that she’s moved on from dwelling on the hardships of her relationships and is now working on self-love, instead of diving right into a new relationship. She carries the lessons she learned from her relationships to improve herself. It’s a smart move for the pop star — one that demonstrates maturity.

Grande may receive scrutiny for relationships down the road, but she’s paved the way for that to change going forward. Reframing “thank u, next” as a discovery of self-love was a brilliant move, one that can hopefully shift the language around creating and discussing breakup songs by women in the future.

Baylee Shlichtman is junior majoring in journalism. Her column, “F Sharp,” runs every other Monday.