Ariana Grande is back with new music, but not everyone is ready to crown the comeback.
The pop superstar dropped her new single, ‘Hate That I Made You Love Me,’ late Thursday night as the first preview of her upcoming album ‘Petal.’ Grande has called the track one of her favorite songs she has ever written, but fan reaction online has already turned messy.
Some listeners praised her vocals. Others called the song boring, underwhelming and even questioned whether it sounded AI-generated.
Ariana Grande Returns With A Divisive Single
‘Hate That I Made You Love Me’ marks Grande’s first major music release since 2024’s ‘Eternal Sunshine.’ Her new album, ‘Petal,’ is set to arrive July 31.
The release also comes after a busy acting stretch for Grande, who earned praise for playing Glinda in ‘Wicked’ and ‘Wicked: For Good.’ That made fans especially eager to hear what her next pop era would sound like.
Instead, the first reaction was split.
“This song is a total snooze fest,” one user wrote.
Another fan called it “pretty underwhelming, especially for a comeback track.”
A third complained that the track felt too close to her previous album, writing that it could have been a B-side from ‘Eternal Sunshine.’
Fans Question Whether The Song Sounds Too Safe
Some criticism went even further.
“What on earth made her choose this as the lead single?” one user wrote. “It sounds like it was churned out by AI.”
That reaction quickly became one of the bigger talking points around the song. For some fans, the issue was not Grande’s voice. It was the track’s lack of surprise.
Still, the single had plenty of defenders.
“The voice of an angel has blessed us with another beautiful song!” one supporter wrote.
Another fan added, “Your vocals… I’ve missed them so much.”
Grande Had Big Hopes For The Track
Grande first teased the song on Instagram on May 8, saying it meant a lot to her personally.
She said the track was created with longtime collaborators ILYA and Max Martin, calling them her favorite collaborators and close friends.
The music video is also getting attention. Grande teased the visual with a clip featuring Justin Long, who appears nervous behind the wheel as Grande stares from the backseat.
The casting follows her recent run of star-packed videos. Penn Badgley appeared in ‘The Boy Is Mine,’ while Evan Peters starred in ‘We Can’t Be Friends.’
Grande has survived mixed reactions before. With hits like ‘Thank U, Next,’ ‘7 Rings,’ ‘No Tears Left To Cry’ and ‘Positions,’ she still has one of pop’s strongest track records.
For now, though, ‘Hate That I Made You Love Me’ has done one thing clearly. It has everyone talking before ‘Petal’ even arrives.
