Ariana Grande changed a lyric in her hit song "Thank U, Next" during her Eternal Sunshine tour stop at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Monday night, July 13, this time swapping in a line that appeared to reference her ex-boyfriend Ricky Alvarez in a present-tense way.
The original 2018 line reads, "Wrote some songs about Ricky/ Now I listen and laugh." On Monday, Grande, 33, instead sang, "Wrote some songs about Ricky/ We always find our way back." The new lyric drew an immediate reaction from the audience.
According to Billboard, this is at least the third variation Grande has tried in recent weeks. People previously reported that during her June 26 birthday show in Austin, which Alvarez attended, she sang, "Wrote some songs about Ricky/ I know he's still got my back." Two days before that show, she tried, "Wrote some songs about Ricky/ And they still kinda slap."
Grande and Alvarez dated for approximately one year before breaking up in 2016. Billboard also reported that Grande spent the Fourth of July weekend in Florida with Alvarez and her family.
The lyric change comes during a segment of the show where Grande sits on a couch surrounded by dancers and reads from a notebook, reciting lines that name several of her former relationships. The song references rappers Big Sean and Mac Miller, as well as former Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson.
At press time, a spokesperson for Grande had not returned Billboard's request for comment on the lyric change.
Grande previously dated her Wicked costar Ethan Slater, whom she reportedly broke up with earlier this year after three years together.
The singer is halfway through her 41-date tour supporting her 2024 album Eternal Sunshine. She was scheduled to return to Barclays Center the following night, Tuesday, July 14. Her eighth studio album, Petal, is due out on July 31.
