Ariana Grande Included An Emotional Tribute To Manchester At The End of 'Sweetener'

17 August 2018, 15:33

By Katie Louise Smith

"Ariana deliberately had 40 seconds of silence on 'get well soon' to make the length of the song 5 minutes and 22 seconds."

Ariana Grande's much anticipated follow up to 2016's Dangerous Woman has arrived and it's her most personal record yet. Sweetener dropped into our lives on Friday (Aug 17) and it is jam packed with bops, ballads and undeniable bangers - from the emotional 'Better Off' to the saucy 'R.E.M.' fans are already claiming their faves.

One song on the album that is really getting the fans in their feelings is the final track called 'Get Well Soon'. Ahead of the release of Sweetener, it was revealed that the song would honour to the lives lost in the tragic attack at Ariana's concert in Manchester last year, but it's her unexpected tribute right at the end of the track that really cements it as the most special number on the album.

Ariana revealed to a fan on Twitter ahead of the release of Sweetener that the song is about her experience with anxiety over a three month period last year, presumably following the tragic attack that took place at her concert in Manchester.

On the track, Ariana sings about self care ("Babe, you gotta take care of your body, yuh yuh // Ain't no time to deny it, that is why we talking about it") and continues to remind her fans that she'll be there for them if they need her ("When you need someone to pull you out the bubble // I'll be right there just to hug you, I'll be there")

She closes out the song with the words "You can work your way to the top," leaving listeners with a message of hope.

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While the song doesn't explicitly reference what happened in Manchester, Ariana added a little something right at the end of the song that you might not have noticed - and definitely weren't expecting.

The run time of the song (5 minutes and 22 seconds, a tribute to the 22 lives lost in the attack that happened on May 22nd) was already common knowledge amongst fans after being revealed in the iTunes track listing but many just assumed that the actual song would be that long.

Instead, the song ends after 4 minutes and 42 seconds and is then followed by 40 seconds of silence, which brings the total running time of the track up to 5m 22s.

It's easily the most powerful part of the album and the hidden heartfelt sentiment hasn't got lost on fans either.

Read the full lyrics to the song here.