Hot 100 Haus: Ariana Grande’s ‘thank u, next’

Welcome to Hot 100 Haus, where writer Chris Will breaks down each No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 for 2019.

Hot 100 – No. 1 for the week of Jan 5, 2019:

“thank u, next” – Ariana Grande

Written by: Ariana Grande, Charles Anderson, Michael Foster, Tayla Parx, Tommy Brown, Victoria Monét

Produced by: Tommy Brown, Charles Anderson, Michael Foster

But Why:

It actually makes complete sense that the No. 1 of the New Year is “thank u, next.” The title alone encapsulates the mood for most people looking for a fresh start in 2019, and it’s even more appropriate given its singer had without a doubt the most roller-coaster 2018 in entertainment. On top of that, the track’s breezy, feel-good flow and Grande’s strikingly blunt and mature lyrics together form the perfect mood for looking into the New Year. We would all ideally like to take the ups and downs from the past 12 months and chalk them up to positive growing experiences, and in doing so, turn any bitterness and regret into acceptance and appreciation. And though most would probably want the coming year to fare better than 2018, with better opportunities and more positive experiences, “thank u, next” provides an appropriate blueprint on how to keep a healthy mindset throughout the inevitable strife.

Outside of the 2019 mood/goals/vibes/etc, the song’s name-dropping, tabloid-grabbing power is clearly another factor keeping it buoyant, as her exes are still sounding off on their reactions on the track (Buzzfeed just released an article about Pete’s rather confusing complaint about the track being ultimately a non-issue for him, aside from small children making fun of his mother at her workplace about it).

Stats On Stats: Per Billboard.com’s weekly top 10 article, Ariana Grande’s first No. 1 celebrates its seventh week at No. 1 and eighth week on the chart. Digital sales for the song are up 86 percent to 43k downloads sold the previous week (holiday shopping boost), putting Ariana at No. 3 on the Digital Song Sales chart. “thank u, next” also keeps its placement of No. 5 on the Radio Songs chart (90 million audience impressions, still haven’t figured out how that’s calculated but sounds rather impressive). Additionally, the track slips to No. 9 on the Streaming Songs chart.

This all would be insignificant data if it weren’t for the fact that the No. 2 song in America, Halsey’s incendiary “Without Me” is leaning closer and closer to grabbing that top spot. It’s currently No. 1 on Digital Song Sales (47k downloads, up 27 percent) and No. 4 on Radio Songs (91.8 million impressions, *shrug emoji).

Next Week’s #1: Ultimately, Halsey looks like a clear contender for the summit, which would make “Without Me” her first solo No. 1, as well as her first as a leading artist (she was billed as a feature on The Chainsmokers’ chart-topper “Closer”). It also means that there would be two back to back No. 1s by female pop artists, which probably hasn’t happened since ‘Nam, since men and hip-hop have dominated the charts for what feels like an eternity and a half (“SICKO MODE” stays a smash, though).

Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower,” the lead single from the Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack, could also be a possible No. 1 next week, as it’s currently sitting at No. 1 iTunes. On top of that, Into the Spider-Verse looks like it’s only growing in popularity since its mid-December release (I saw it yesterday, and it’s essentially a visual nerd-gasm, and “Sunflower” has a few surprisingly well-placed spots in the movie). That’s more of a long shot than “Without Me,” as per Billboard’s breakdown it hasn’t seemed to make any significant moves on radio and streaming in the past week.

Feel Old Yet: 10 years ago, the year 2009 kicked off with Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” sitting prim and proper on top of the Hot 100 for a second non-consecutive week, kicking T.I. and Rihanna’s “Live Your Life” back off the No. 1 spot for the second and final time.

It was the last time Beyoncé would reign queen of the Hot 100 until December of 2017, when she topped the charts on the remix of Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” re-tread “Perfect.”

I Have Feelings: As far as Commercially Successful Modern Pop Stars Who Are Here For The Gays™, Ariana has always been a personal fav, so to see her not only have a song finally go No. 1 on the Hot 100, but to have it stick around for almost two whole months is wonderful and delightful as a pop music fan. It also gives me hope that the divas will make a chart comeback in 2019, with more female artists getting the recognition they deserve and owning the charts like in past years. There’s been a theory floating around the interwebs that R&B is the next reigning genre, and with the top two songs in the country firmly centered in R&B-influenced pop, that seems like a strong possibility. Hopefully that bodes well for 2019, but frankly I’ll only be satisfied if Normani has a solo top 10. I digress.

“thank u, next” is a wonder of a pop song, and because it’s been thoroughly dissected and broken down by pretty much every mainstream music blog on the internet, I won’t go too far into the mechanics of why it’s so popular. I will say I enjoy it immensely because it has a near-perfect (if not actually flawless) bridge as far as pop songs go, particularly that part about how even if her future husband doesn’t stick around she’s still going to be collecting stacks on stacks for this track (which may actually be the best flex of 2018). Also, her Ellen performance of the track was fun, fabulous and adorable on all accounts, and it made me very happy to see her shining the spotlight on Victoria Monét and Tayla Parx, who wrote the smash with Ariana. Personally I really wanted “Imagine” to hit No. 1, too, solely due to the way she sings “kiss me and take off your clothes,” but alas that seems to have been relegated to being a buzz track at the moment.

Let us know your thoughts on “thank u, next,” and look out for future installments as more tracks hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year!

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