Six weeks on from the release of her internet-destroying and surprisingly uplifting single “thank u, next,” Ariana Grande has returned with a new single. It’s called “imagine,” and you can listen to it at the top of the page. It’s a utopian love song: “Stayin’ up all night / Order me pad thai / Then we gon’ sleep till noon / Me with no makeup / You in the bathtub / Bubbles and bubbly.” It’s a sultry, lusciously produced R&B song that gives Grande the space to work in some vocal pyrotechnics without overloading the track with unnecessary frills. And tell me you don’t hear her channeling Mariah Carey in that breakdown at the end.
“imagine” is the second single from Grande’s forthcoming fifth studio album, Thank U, Next, due out at the beginning of next year.
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