Ariana Grande is officially back in music mode, but not everyone loves his latest release. The pop superstar released “Hate That I Made You Love Me” on Thursday night, marking the first taste of her upcoming album “Petal.” While Grande called the track one of her “favorite songs” she’s ever written, some fans quickly flooded social media with harsh reactions, calling the song “boring,” “average” and even questioning whether AI had a hand in its creation.
Ariana Grande returns to music with “Hate That I Made You Love Me”
Grande officially kicked off her latest era of music by releasing “Hate That I Made You Love Me,” the lead single from her upcoming album, “Petal,” which is set to drop July 31. The release marks Ariana’s first major musical release since 2024’s “Eternal Sunshine,” which arrived amid intense public attention surrounding her personal life and relationship with her boyfriend. Ethan Slaterwhom she met while filming Wicked.
In recent years, Grande has focused on acting, earning praise for her portrayal of Glinda in “Wicked” and its follow-up film, “Wicked: For Good.” Still, fans couldn’t wait to see what Grande had in store for her when she returned to the studio.
Fans didn’t hold back their reactions
Unfortunately for Ariana, not everyone was impressed. Shortly after the single’s release, social media lit up with mixed, and sometimes brutal, reactions from disappointed listeners.
“The song is so boring,” one user said, while some fans admitted they were expecting more from the lead single from Ariana’s eighth studio album. “A bit disappointing, especially for a lead role,” one fan shared, while another described the track as “a bit average.”
Others were even harder. “Oh my god, what made her choose this as the lead… it sounds AI generated,” one user wrote as more fans compared the single to the material from “Eternal Sunshine”, arguing that it didn’t sound like a new era for the singer. “So disappointed. Nothing new, this could literally fit in the ‘Eternal Sunshine’ album,” another fan shared.
However, not everyone hated the new single. While some listeners criticized the track online, others rushed to Ariana’s defense and welcomed the singer’s long-awaited return to music.
“The voice of an angel has returned with the gift of a beautiful song for us!” wrote one supporter. “Your voice…I missed you so much,” another fan commented, while others called the single “literally the best song ever” and declared it “PERFECTION.”
Ariana Grande previously called this song her “favorite”
Grande first announced “Hate That I Made You Love Me” on May 8 via Instagram, telling fans that the track was deeply personal to her. Calling it “one of my favorite songs I’ll ever write,” Ariana revealed that it was created alongside her longtime collaborators ILYA and Max Martin.
“Produced by my favorite collaborators and dearest human beings in the world, the brilliant @ilya_music, the one and only Max Martin (and me),” she wrote. “I just can’t wait until it’s yours.”
Later that month, Grande teased the release with snippets of the instrumental backing track before revealing the song in its entirety.
Grande’s music video features a familiar face
Ahead of the music video’s release on Monday, Grande teased fans with a short clip featuring the actor Justin Long. In the preview, Long is seen driving before nervously glancing in his rearview mirror, only to find Ariana sitting in the backseat watching him.
The casting continues Ariana’s recent tradition of recruiting recognizable Hollywood faces for her visuals. Penn Badgley previously starred in the video for “The Boy Is Mine,” while Evan Peters appeared in “We Can’t Be Friends”. Over the years, Grande has also recruited stars like Charles Melton And Jonathan Bennett for some of his biggest music video moments.
Ariana Grande has built an award-winning career
Although her latest single received mixed reactions online, Ariana’s music career has long been buoyed by major success. Over the years, Grande has won three Grammy Awards, multiple Billboard Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and American Music Awards, cementing herself as one of the biggest names in pop music.
She’s also notched dozens of chart hits, including songs like “Thank U, Next,” “7 Rings,” “No Tears Left To Cry” and “Positions.”