Honestly, the internet was a mess when the teaser for yes, and? first dropped. People were dissecting every pixel of a sweatshirt. Ariana Grande has this way of making the world stop, but this time felt different. It wasn’t just "new music." It was a shield. Or a weapon, depending on who you ask on X.
The song landed on January 12, 2024, as the spearhead for her seventh studio album, eternal sunshine. It didn't just walk into the room; it kicked the door down. We’re talking about a track that debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It made her the woman with the most number-one debuts in history, tying her with Taylor Swift at the time.
But if you look past the charts, the actual meat of the song is where things get sticky.
The Messy Reality Behind the Lyrics
You’ve probably heard the bridge. It’s the part where Ari basically stops singing and starts talking directly to the people obsessed with her love life.
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"Why do you care so much whose d*** I ride?"
That line wasn't just for shock value. It was a targeted strike. The timeline of her divorce from Dalton Gomez and her subsequent relationship with her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater was, let’s be real, a tabloid nightmare. People were throwing around words like "home-wrecker" and "infidelity" without having a single receipt.
Ariana’s response? A house-pop shrug.
She worked with Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh on this. They didn't go for a sad ballad. They went for a high-energy, 1990s-inspired ballroom beat. It’s cheeky. It’s defiant. Some fans loved the "unbothered" energy. Others felt it was a bit cold, especially given the messy rumors involving Slater's ex-wife, Lilly Jay.
The song essentially tells the audience to mind their own business while simultaneously putting that business on a platinum platter. It’s a paradox. You can’t really blame people for being curious when the art itself is a response to the curiosity.
That Paula Abdul Reference You Might Have Missed
The music video, directed by Christian Breslauer, is a massive hat-tip to the late 80s. Specifically, it’s a shot-for-shot love letter to Paula Abdul’s 1989 "Cold Hearted" video.
In the original, Paula is dancing for a group of skeptical record executives. In Ariana's version, she’s performing for a group of "critics" in a warehouse in Montauk. (Fun fact: the coordinates at the start of the video actually point to Montauk, a nod to the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).
- The dancers start as stone statues.
- They "crumble" into life.
- The critics, who start off rolling their eyes, end up dancing by the end.
It’s a classic trope. The artist "winning over" the haters through the sheer power of their talent. Paula Abdul actually saw it and went on social media to say she was "honored" by the homage. It’s rare to see that kind of cross-generational pop love without a lawyer getting involved first.
Why the Song Sounds So Familiar
If you felt a sudden urge to strike a pose while listening, that’s because yes, and? heavily interpolates (or at least deeply channels) Madonna’s "Vogue." It’s that snapping house beat. The spoken-word sections. The overall "get on the dance floor and forget your problems" vibe.
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Some critics called it "recycled." Others called it a "clever evolution" of the house revival we’ve been seeing with Beyoncé’s Renaissance. Honestly, it fits Ari’s voice better than you’d expect. She trades her usual r&b runs for something more clipped and rhythmic.
The Backlash and the Numbers
Not everyone was a fan. In the days following the release, reports surfaced that Ariana lost over 350,000 Instagram followers.
People were divided. One side saw a woman reclaiming her narrative after a year of being dragged through the mud. The other side saw someone who seemed to be dismissing the pain of others involved in her personal drama.
The song’s title is actually an improv comedy term. "Yes, and..." is the golden rule of improv—you accept what your partner says and add to it. By using it as a title, Grande is essentially saying: "Yes, I’m doing this, and what are you going to do about it?"
Important Stats to Know
- Billboard Debut: No. 1 (her 8th career topper).
- Spotify Global Chart: Debuted at #1 with 11.2 million streams.
- Writing Credits: Ariana Grande, Max Martin, Ilya Salmanzadeh.
- Album: eternal sunshine (Released March 8, 2024).
What This Means for Ariana's Career
This track was a pivot. Before this, we had the Positions era, which was all about domestic bliss and soft r&b. yes, and? was the sound of a woman who had been through a "Saturn Return"—a period of massive life upheaval that astrologers say happens around age 29 or 30.
She leaned into the "villain" narrative. Instead of a long Notes app apology, she gave us a dance track. It was a bold move that set the stage for the rest of the album, which turned out to be much more vulnerable and reflective than this lead single suggested.
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Songs like "we can't be friends (wait for your love)" eventually showed the softer, more heartbroken side of the story, but yes, and? was the necessary armor she needed to put on first.
Next Steps for Your Playlist
If you want to understand the full context of the yes, and? era, listen to the album eternal sunshine in order. The transition from the "Intro" to "Bye" and eventually to "yes, and?" tells a much more nuanced story than the single does on its own. Also, check out Paula Abdul’s "Cold Hearted" on YouTube right after watching Ari’s video—the side-by-side comparisons of the choreography are actually pretty wild to see.