We love petal, We love petal not…

Ariana Grande’s eighth studio album “Petal” is set to release on July 31 and we’re waiting with bated breath. 

Ariana, herself has described the album as “feral” while also decoding the title to be “full of life, growing through the cracks of something cold and hard and challenging.” 

It will be very interesting and somewhat nostalgic to hear her delve back into her “baddie” era and  clapping back at negative influences on her life.  

We heard that briefly in her most recent album “eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead”, with  the tracks “bye” and “past life”. 

In the countdown for the album, Grande released the lead single “hate that I made you love me” on  May 28^th. 

The track started off sounding like Ariana was depicting a nasty breakup, versing lyrics “sorry if I  made me your type”.  

It wasn’t until the bridge in which she sings “is it really my fault you all gave me your hearts at your  own accord?” It’s this pronoun shift that completely flips the song on its head and the lightbulb went  off that this song is directed to her fans or let’s say “fans” – the so called admirers of Ariana who just  can’t seem to grow with her and instead regard her as selfish for moving on from her past style and  aesthetic where they seem to be stuck. 

After making that revelation, looking back at Verse 2 really put the nail in the coffin, in which Ariana  sings “you studied my crown and borrowed my body”. It is widely speculated that this line is directed  toward her impersonators who construct themselves carefully to match her style, mannerisms, voice  and persona. These people who look at Ariana as a caricature rather than a human being. The second part of this line “borrowed my body” can also refer to the media who strive to make  headlines and a quick buck by exploiting Ariana’s physical appearance, which the media attempted  numerous times during the Wicked press tour. 

This song really shows to me, Ariana taking back control from the impersonators, journalists and trolls. 

It presents a confident, self-assured Grande. 

However, the song has sparked debate among fans, with some arguing that it does not quite live up  to the “feral” description Ariana gave the album. Rather than being chaotic or aggressive, the track  feels reflective and controlled, with its power coming from confidence rather than confrontation. 

Alas, we’ll have to wait and see where Ariana chooses to go with the rest of the tracklist. The queen  may just have a few mic-drop-worthy feral moments up her sleeve. All will be revealed on July 31.

Written by: CAITLYN BAMBER