Ariana Grande has officially launched her next album era with the release of Hate That I Made You Love Me, the first single from her upcoming album Petal.
Ahead of the song’s release on Friday 29 May, Grande described the track as one of the most personal songs she has ever written.
“One of my favourite songs I’ll ever write.”
The self-penned mid-tempo track introduces a more emotionally exposed and confrontational side to Grande’s songwriting, with lyrics exploring heartbreak, identity and emotional detachment.
On the song’s pre-chorus, Grande sings:
“Just know that I will find my way from you.”
“Like flowers from a tomb while you decide who you are.”
“And I can see right through, ooh-ooh, like shadows on the moon.”
“And it’s all bad news.”
Justin Long stars in upcoming music video
The official music video for “Hate That I Made You Love Me” is scheduled to arrive on 1 June and will feature Justin Long.
The single marks the beginning of Grande’s Petal campaign, which she has recently described as “a little feral” compared to her previous releases.
In a video shared on Instagram, the singer explained that the album explores breaking free from emotional burdens, insecurities and outside expectations.
“Surprise! It’s called Petal. It’s basically about something that is full of life and growing through the cracks of something cold and hard and challenging.”
“It’s kind of about breaking up with all different kinds of negative attachments, whether it’s my own monsters in my own head, external voices, things that no longer serve me.”
Grande said the songwriting process allowed her to explore emotions and ideas she had previously held back from expressing publicly.
“It was a writing experiment for me to use that as a template so that I could be talking about one thing and sharing something, and people could use it however they want and apply it to their own lives.”
“It’s a little feral as well. It’s definitely from a place where I have been maybe too shy or polite to tap into before and this kind of just feels like, f*** it.”
Petal follows the success of Eternal Sunshine
Grande’s previous album, Eternal Sunshine, was released in March 2024 and became the longest-running No. 1 album of her career on the Billboard 200.
The project produced several major hits including We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love), Yes, And? and The Boy Is Mine.
Petal is scheduled for release on 31 July, with Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Tour beginning shortly before on 6 June in Oakland.
Ariana Grande enters a more personal creative phase
The new era appears to signal a creative shift for Grande, both sonically and lyrically, leaning into darker emotional themes and more direct storytelling.
The imagery and language surrounding Petal have already sparked significant discussion online, particularly around Grande’s description of the project as both vulnerable and unfiltered.
