By Kelly Wynne
Culture Writer
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Ariana Grande broke down in tears while she spoke with Ebro Darden on Beats Radio 1 Friday. Grande released her latest album, Sweetener, on Friday, and with it came the release of track "Get Well Soon," a track dedicated to mental health and the victims and survivors of the Manchester Bombing at her May 22, 2017, concert.
The track is 5 minutes and 22 seconds, a time only reached by an added 40 seconds of silence at the song's end. Fans were quick to point out the time echoed the date of the bombing in tribute to the Manchester victims.
While speaking about the song, Grande stumbled tearfully through her words and explained the necessity of kindness and following happiness.
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"People are permanently affected by this s***. It's perspective. It changes everything," she said. "It changes your life quite a bit, you know? You really want to be more present and follow happy impulses and figure it out later, you know? You want to stay in the moment."
Grande explained her viewpoint after the tragedy. She noted how her life, and fans' lives, have changed in security and fear, though she noted she tries to stay brave for her fans.
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"You try not to give into fear because obviously, that's the whole point of being here. That was the point of finishing my tour, to set an example for my fans who were fearless enough to show up to the f****** shows. Like, are you kidding?," Grande explained. "You know, you want to set the same example and you want to keep going. You want to not be afraid because of course, that's what they want. If you give them that, they've won. And we did everything to not. We still do anything to not. But the truth is it's f****** scary."
"Get Well Soon" is a track which Grande designed to be a "musical hug" for her fans. The song veers from Grande's typical dance-pop tunes, not in sound, but in message. The song expresses anxiety and struggling mental health with lyrics like "My body's here on earth but I'm floating, girl what's wrong with you come back down."
The song also addresses fans directly, Grande singing "When you need someone to pull you out the bubble, I'll be right there just to hug you."
Grande explained she wants fans to know she's with them always, and the tragedy has only increased her dedication.
"There's some dark s*** out there, man," she said tearfully. "We just gotta be there for each other. It's not just about that. It's also about personal demons and anxiety...more intimate tragedies as well. Mental health is so important. People don't pay enough mind to it because we have things to do, schedules, jobs, kids, places to be and pressure to fit in...I feel like the lyrics can be kinda corny when talking about wanting to hug you and stuff, but I do."
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