Who's Afraid Of Little Old Ari?
Ariana Grande’s New Album Petal May Be Her Tortured Poets
Even with just one song so far, the upcoming record gives off a vibe similar to Taylor Swift’s 2024 masterpiece.
Taylor Swift may not be the only pop star holding space in The Tortured Poets Department (and no, I’m not talking about Post Malone). Last month, Ariana Grande surprised fans by unveiling her new album Petal, which she found time to make while filming a movie, promoting another, announcing a West End show, and preparing to tour her 2024 record, Eternal Sunshine. And the more she’s revealed about the new era, the more I’ve noticed a specific but exciting pattern.
Petal feels like it will be Grande’s Tortured Poets — and not because of the recent breakup reports.
Even without hearing the majority of Petal, it already carries a similar air as Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department. Gray seems to be the color of the Petal era, with Grande embracing a grayscale aesthetic for the visuals and using a full black-and-white photo on the album cover. Swift went in a similar direction with the Tortured Poets imagery — just replace the flowers with literary motifs.
The lead single from Petal, “hate that I made you love me,” is oddly Tortured Poets-coded in multiple ways. The melodic structure and moody, plodding synths recall Swift’s “Fortnight,” with both artists showcasing the lower registers of their ranges. The lyrics recall “But Daddy I Love Him,” where Swift also addresses her fans directly and makes it clear they don’t control her life.
Admittedly, what made some fans on social media notice the comparisons is Grande’s split from Ethan Slater, mirroring Swift’s 2023 breakup with Joe Alwyn, which, before her record-breaking Eras Tour, set events in motion that ended up inspiring Tortured Poets. On June 8, just days after Grande kicked off the Eternal Sunshine Tour, People reported that the two “have been quietly broken up for several months,” sparking even more speculation that the split may have led to Petal.
On the contrary, sources told TMZ that Petal was “not at all inspired by the breakup” and doesn’t focus on her relationship with Slater. However, Petal doesn’t have to be an album of heartbreak to be Grande’s Tortured Poets. The media and public perception are also points of contention on Swift’s album, with songs like “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?” and “Cassandra,” and Grande is no stranger to taking on the press in beautiful and poetic ways, as seen on Eternal Sunshine.
Above all, Petal and Tortured Poets seem to be made in the same vein, with both Swift and Grande feeling inspired during transformative whirlwind moments in their careers. They found the time to get their feelings out, no matter what they were doing or where they had to travel.
The two now have a connection on the charts, too. With “hate that I made you love me” debuting at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, Grande now ties Swift for the most number-one debuts among female artists. As Grande said about Swift during her Wicked press tour, “Great company!”
