Vulture Is Being Blunt At Their Review For Ariana Grande's New Single

[RAMROD 116,384]

Ariana Grande’s New Single Is One of Her Worst

Breakup rumors have circled Ariana Grande and her partner, Ethan Slater, since last year’s Wicked: For Good press run, when TikTok and blog theories toyed with the idea that Grande’s commitment to work was pushing her lover away (despite his role as her Glinda’s Tinman).

Whether or not there was ever actually a schism, the rumor mill was confident and uninformed. Grande now appears to address it all in “Hate That I Made You Love Me,” the glum sigh of a lead single from her forthcoming eighth album, Petal, and first new music as herself since Eternal Sunshine’s parade of deluxe add-ons ended in early 2025. She returns with a shrug for unnamed nuisances, and that attitude unfortunately extends to the beat and vocal delivery. This feels like a snooze compared to most of the songs that have launched her album campaigns, making it one of her worst lead singles yet (though not as bad as “Problem”). But it’s also a (too) time-tested hit formula.

The bloopy Max Martin and ILYA production that accompanies Grande’s subdued vocals and downcast, disdainful lyrics — “You studied my crown and borrowed my body” — makes trying to figure out who she’s talking to or about the song’s most exciting bit of action. The next major point of interest is the punchy, barely contained synth bass that eats up much of the mix, but even that is pulling from a predictable arsenal of Max Martin tendencies. Most artists who’ve worked with the Swedish legend and his cohort lately have ended up in a similar musical ballpark. His current two-year streak of new-age Coldplay soup, glossy Weekend retro jams, and good-to-aight Europop fare from Swift all share the same problem: It sounds like what pop stars were making a decade ago. The dour synth-pop of “Hate That I Made You Love Me” felt fresher in 2014 on Swift’s “Clean” and Grande and the Weeknd’s “Love Me Harder,” or in 2012 on P!nk’s “Try.”

What made Grande stick out back then was a limber voice that begged to be dressed in sounds that swing. She rarely sang on anything as rhythmically inelastic, as borderline R&B-averse;, as this new track. She delivers her lines on “Love Me” without her famously word-obscuring melisma, so we get what she’s saying. But showing this much restraint makes the song feel like a soundcheck, unlike her other lead singles, from the feisty “Yes, And?” to the cloying Iggy Azalea team-up “Problem” to the bubbly “The Way” with Mac Miller, which set out to get people’s feet tapping. So this has to be a pump fake, right? She’ll coax brilliance out of Max (and herself) on the rest of the album, right?

https://www.vulture.com/article/review-ariana-grande-hate-that-i-made-you-love-me.html

[NUTELLA 24,754]

LMAO it's a lovely song w a memorable chorus & plenty of replay value.

People love to bitch, but time will be kind to it.

Vulture can sit on a knife

Edited May 31 by NUTELLA

[MountainMonster 2,491]

Seems the people don’t agree. 

[SlowLoris 1,203]

I mean... Yeah it's pretty bad.  Sounds like something a 16 year old gen z kid would write after vaping and scrolling tiktok too much

[REALITY 79,996]

I’m sorry, but are we really gonna act like this was her worst lead single when yes, and? exists?? I could not care less about that song 

Edited May 31 by REALITY

[PartySick 171,895]

I don't find value in publications being bitchy 'cause they think it's compelling or whatever  

It's a fine song and I'm not even an Ari fan

31 minutes ago, REALITY said:

I’m sorry, but are we really gonna act like this was her worst lead single when yes, and? exists?? I could not care less about that song 

Aw, I liked Yes, And?  

It's the 'tude I love the most. Sarcastic and confident

[nATAH 55,915]

I actually kinda like it now

[anton 104]

this is not very kind for a cute song.

 

 

Edited May 31 by anton

[zevthepaparazzo 2,364]

for once I agree with vulture

[Ladle Ghoulash 49,144]

4 hours ago, NUTELLA said:

memorable chorus

The chorus is virtually indistinguishable from the verses and is entirely forgettable and the song, on the whole, basically goes nowhere lol. A true set and it forget it classic: once you’ve heard the first 15-20 seconds, you’ve heard the whole thing!

Edited May 31 by Ladle Ghoulash

[Ladle Ghoulash 49,144]

3 hours ago, REALITY said:

I’m sorry, but are we really gonna act like this was her worst lead single when yes, and? exists?? I could not care less about that song 

Ngl not even the biggest fan of yes, and and I do think it mops this song. I just don’t understand why an artist with such a great voice insists on singing such melodically nothing songs lol

[doppelganger 4,016]

Song is cute but bland. But I'm guessing this is what people want these days. 

[Wet Fire 8,296]

The chorus is highly disappointing. The rest of it is nice, but sounds like it has been done by herself before. Why is Ariana going on the Taylor route? You start feeling like she is taking refuge in the same melody, same chord progression, same vocalisation?

[ChromaticaBoy 1,111]

46 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

The chorus is virtually indistinguishable from the verses and is entirely forgettable and the song, on the whole, basically goes nowhere lol. A true set and it forget it classic: once you’ve heard the first 15-20 seconds, you’ve heard the whole thing!

UGHHH THANK YOU

[gagzus 21,449]

5 hours ago, PartySick said:

I don't find value in publications being bitchy 'cause they think it's compelling or whatever  

It's a fine song and I'm not even an Ari fan

Aw, I liked Yes, And?  

It's the 'tude I love the most. Sarcastic and confident

The majority of the reviewers they chose for Pop music tends to be non-pop fans play publications because they won’t have “inherent bias” apparently. But funnily enough it’s the only genre they won’t let pop writers review, for example at Pitchfork  they often make rock and dance lovers review pop music. But will let pop reviewers do rock and dance, but not Pop. It’s weird