The best music is always created through personal experiences, which is why so many singers sing about other people, whether it’s ex-partners, politicians, or even other artists. But then who is Ariana Grande’s ‘Break Up with Your Girlfriend?’ track about, released on her 2019 ‘thank u, next’ album?
The truth is, we don’t actually know who ‘Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored‘ is written about, and it will probably never be confirmed. The song wasn’t even supposed to be on the album and instead replaced another more sincere track, ‘Remember,’ since Ariana wanted a more ‘fun’ track featured. However, that hasn’t stop fan rumors and theories from springing up all over the place.
Read on to find out everything we know about this number one track, what Ariana’s thoughts are, why it replaced another track, and who these badass lyrics are speaking to.
The Number One Fan Theory
Amassed hundreds of millions of views and listens across the internet, there’s no denying that Break Up With Your Girlfriend is one of Ariana’s most popular tracks, but fans are dying to know who she’s singing too. The most popular fan theory is that the track was directed at her ex at the time, Big Sean.
These theories started even as Ariana announced this track would be released as the fourth track on her thank u, next album. When the music video finally came out, these rumors spread like wildfire. In one scene, there’s a Mean Girls-styled ‘burn book’ in which the pages contain several clues hinting towards her relationship with Big Sean, aka the heart around his name.
There are also notes around this love heart with little scribbles saying things like ‘so cute, so sweet’ and ‘still could get in.’
During the months leading up to this track’s release, Grande’s ex, Big Sean, was currently dating singer Jhene Aiko. It was already rumored the couple had broken up and that this song was Ariana hinting that they were getting back together, or at least she wanted to.
In hindsight, the two didn’t get back together but instead went on to date Ricky Alvarez, Mac Miller, Pete Davidson, Mikey Foster, and then Dalton Gomez.
Other rumors were suggesting that the song may have been about Pete Davidson since he was also in a relationship since getting with Grande, but his name was in a love heart in Grande’s burn book.
An Inspirational and Empowering Twist
Another influential theory that came out after the music video release was that the song’s message is actually about learning to yourself and self-empowerment. Despite crushing on Big Sean and the attractive guy in the music video, the video ends with Ariana hooking up with the boyfriend’s girlfriend in the nightclub, who is actually Grande’s lookalike.
This means that Ariana could be sending the message that yeah, she loves looking at the guy and wants to be with him, but at the end of it all, she actually wants to be with herself, learning to love herself and doesn’t need to be in a relationship to be happy.
This theory, while not confirmed, does seem very likely. It’s only backed up further when Ariana looks in the club’s mirror and sees her doppelganger looking right back at her.
The chances are the song could detail Ariana’s journey into wanting to get back with someone she loved and then finding out that she needed to love herself all along.
Either way, fans adore both potential messages, and there’s something we can all learn from her. Nice touch, Grande.
One of Grande’s Biggest Successes
Whoever this track is about, there’s no denying it’s one of Grande’s most popular tracks yet, which is even more impressive when you consider that she switched it into the album at the last minute. In the US, it took the number two spot on the Billboard’s Top 100, beaten only by her own ‘7 Rings’ track on the same album.
This means Break Up was Grande’s 13th top ten single ever into the charts. Thank U, Next was in the number 3 position, meaning she had all three top spots on just one album! To gauge just how impressive that is, an artist hasn’t done that since The Beatles had back in 1964. That makes her the first female and solo artist ever to do that.
While it doesn’t seem likely that Grande will ever admit who Break Up With Your Girlfriend is about, but nothing seems to have come from it when looking at her relationship with Big Sean. Nevertheless, both Grande and her millions of adoring fans worldwide love the song, making it one of her most popular yet!