onInstagram the inaugural single from her upcoming seventh album.
On January 12, the singer released the track and its corresponding music video.
Thelyrics to “Yes, And?
The “Yes, And?”
pre-chorus advises people to pay no attention to what other people say or think about you.
The chorus also tells listeners to keep looking ahead.
The principle of saying “Yes, and…” is foundational for improvisational comedy.
Actors use it to establish trust in a scene partner and to keep things moving forward.
Grande may be doing something similar in her real life as well.
The usage of “Yes, and?”
throughout the song could also be a reference to Grande’s own acting work.
What ‘disguise’ is Ariana Grande shedding?
The second verse of Ariana Grande’s “Yes, And?”
likely alludes tothe drama surrounding Grande’s romance with Ethan Slater.
Slater’s wife Lilly Jay fired shots at Grande for the situation.
“[Ariana’s] the story, really.
Not a girl’s girl.
My family is just collateral damage,” Jay toldPage Six.
In the song, Grande sings, " …
I won’t hide / underneath your own projections / or change my most authentic life.”
That could be her way of saying she’s over whatever negativity people throw her way.
The “Yes, And?”
That line’sGenius annotationlinks to aVoguemakeup tutorial where Grande expressed her previous relationship with makeup.
“I, over the years, used makeup as a disguise or as something to hide behind.
“I think of it as self-expression now and accentuating what is here.”
She mentioned former cosmetic procedures, but that she quit getting them in 2018.
“For a long time beauty was about hiding for me,” Grande added.
“And now I feel like maybe it’s not.”
The Yes, And?
music video ties into the song’s meaning
The “Yes, And?”
bridge also includes a line telling trolls to keep their opinions on Ariana Grande’s body to herself.
The"Yes, And?”
music videoseems to go hand-in-hand with those sentiments since it starts with music critics gossiping about Grande.
However, after hearing her new single, the critics leave transformed.
The theory solidifies the song’s meaning about Grande letting go and living for herself.
