We imagine Ariana Grande won’t come out of her musical hiatus just for anybody, but The Weeknd giving her a call to feature on a song is enough to see her in the studio. Singing together on a track is becoming normal for The Weeknd and Grande since their “Love Me Harder” days when they first tested their ability to combine their vocal powers to elevate a song to a new level.
This time, Grande and The Weeknd are no longer saving their tears for another day, they’re here to sing about a love so strong one can barely “articulate” it. “It’s hard for me to communicate the thoughts that I hold,” the Weeknd sings in the opening lines of the song, before going on to assure his lover, and his listeners, that he’s ready to let her/us know just how he feels.
How does he feel really? “You know what I’m thinkin’, see it in your eyes / You hate that you want me, hate it when you cry/You’re scared to be lonely, ‘specially in the night / I’m scared that I’ll miss you, happens every time.” The one thing ruining this beautiful match is the singer’s desire to not commit, because he “can’t afford love.”
Grande’s verse further gives us an insight into this perfect relationship that sees both lovers on the wall about accepting their feelings, as she sings: “Baby boy, it’s so hard ’round you / And yes, I’m blaming you.”
Originally released in 2016, The Weeknd’s song “Die For You” witnessed a resurgence over the last year and a half when it went viral on TikTok. Bolstered by this newfound audience, The Weeknd dropped a video for it as a way to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his album “Starboy.”
To keep fans listening to the song and draw in a new audience, The Weeknd remixed it with Grande, who went AWOL from music in order to film the musical Wicked as Glinda the Good Witch.
“Wrote and recorded a verse for my friend after a 14-hour day on set,” Grande shared in a muted TikTok teaser showing herself in front of an open Pro Tools session. “This certain exception had to be made…”
In the past, The Weeknd has positively talked about what it’s like to work together on a record with Grande, who he called “a BEAST on pro tools.” So it’s not a wonder that he’s always coming up with ways to sing or perform together with her.