While we are decidedly not getting any new music from Britney Spears (much to our chagrin), we are getting a new track from Ariana Grande—her first new solo music in three years with the song “Yes, And?” People reports.
The upcoming single is set for release on January 12, and Grande teased the news on Instagram today, writing, simply, “yes, and? 1.12.” Grande wore red lipstick in the accompanying photo, which appears to be artwork for the song.
Shifting the conversation back to her music is likely a welcome respite for Grande, who has been in the headlines since the summer for her relationship with Ethan Slater. She hasn’t released music of her own since her 2020 Positions album, but she has appeared as a featured artist on multiple singles, like a 2021 track with Kid Cudi on the Don’t Look Up soundtrack, a remix of The Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears” (also in 2021), and a 2023 remix of his track “Die for You.” For the holiday season, she collaborated with Jimmy Fallon and Megan Thee Stallion for 2021’s “It Was a…(Masked Christmas)” and, that same year, worked with Kelly Clarkson on “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me?”
Though she hasn’t had new music of her own in three years, Grande marked a milestone in August: the tenth anniversary of her debut album, Yours Truly, which she celebrated with an album reissue featuring new live recordings.
Grande’s focus as of late has been on her beauty brand, REM Beauty, and her role in the upcoming film adaptation of Wicked, in which she plays Glinda the Good Witch (and where she met Slater).
Tumultuous though it was, last month Grande expressed gratitude for 2023, which she described as “one of the most transformative, most challenging, and yet happiest and most special years of my life.” (In addition to beginning a relationship with Slater, Grande also divorced her husband of two years, Dalton Gomez.) She added “I’ve never felt more at the mercy of and in acceptance of what life was screaming to teach me. i’ve never felt more fulfilled by or present in my work, being able to cherish every moment. i gave everything i could have possibly given of my heart and of myself to the projects i was fortunate enough to be a part of and learned so much from every brilliant, beautiful, soul that i had the privilege of creating art with and crossing paths with this year.”
In addition to the new single, we can expect a new album soon. Last month, she shared a photo dump on Instagram that included a clip of her napping on a studio couch. In the clip, Grande curled up as a collaborator asked her about her mindset during “almost the last day of this album.” Her response? She said she was “so tired, but so happy and grateful.”
