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Ariana Grande is back with new music, releasing “Yes, And?”, the lead single from her upcoming album seventh studio album.
In the Madonna-esque house song, Grande tells critics she doesn't care what they think, alluding to relationship rumors and body-shaming comments she's faced over the past year.
“My tongue is holy / I speak about what I like / Protected, sexy, demanding with my time,” she says in the song’s bridge.
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“Yes and?” marks the pop icon's return to music after telling Allure in 2021 that she was taking a break to focus on “new takes on storytelling.” Grande won her first Grammy in 2019 for Best Pop Vocal Album for “Sweetener” and another Grammy in 2021 for “Rain On Me,” a dance-pop song she performed with Lady Gaga. Her most recent album, “Positions,” released in 2020, was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album, and the lead single of the same name was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance.
During Grande's solo break, she kept busy with television and film jobs. Most recently, she was cast as Glinda alongside Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the new two-part film adaptation Wicked, set to premiere later this year.
In 2021, Grande also served as a judge on “The Voice” and had a supporting role in the sci-fi film “Don't Look Up.”
She also launched a cosmetics line, REM Beauty, which boasts “a world of vivid dreams and limitless possibilities” on its website and shares her name with one of her songs. The brand's upcoming drop on Tuesday is a limited-edition set reminiscent of its debut album, Yours Truly.
Last year, Grande remained quiet despite the difficulties in her personal life – including her separation and divorce from Dalton Gomez and rumors that she was dating “Wicked” actor Ethan Slater. However, she urged viewers to stop making assumptions about her health based on her body after fans commented on her thinner stature.
“I think we should be gentler and less comfortable with commenting on people's bodies no matter what,” she said in the TikTok.
In “Yes, and?” she once again defended herself against body shaming: “Don’t comment on my body, don’t answer / Your business is yours and mine is mine.”
Grande's supporters, known as Arianators, have been looking forward to new music from the pop artist since late last year, when she announced that her seventh album, nicknamed AG7, would be released this year.
The singer announced the release date for “Yes, And?” on Instagram on Sunday, along with the single's cover art — a blurry photo of her wearing bright lipstick.
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