It’s been a hard few years of Wicked hype followed by fatigue and even Elphaba and Glinda are done with it. We are now entering an entirely new chapter in the story of Ariana Grande. The lead single from her new album Petal has arrived along with a fiery music video to match. “hate that i made you love me” has already caused a wave of split opinions from critics and fans picking every detail apart – but that’s exactly what Ariana is speaking about in the lyrics. At this point in her career after all the success and backlash during the Wicked era, Ariana has something to say.

The public narrative around Ariana a lot of the time can be focused on everything but the music, but “hate that I made you love me” is Ariana trying to redirect us back to the music. While the song is lyrically coming from a personal place, the video is more of a theatrical event, horror to be specific, with a Hitchcock vibe, and it’s a genre that Ariana has always loved. The video stars Justin Long who plays Ari’s love interest but it’s far from romantic. He buries her at the start and there’s fire, lots of fire. And then Justin basically turns everything he touches into sh-t, something that Ari seems to be controlling from the grave. She haunts him everywhere he goes and gets the last laugh. It’s so beautifully weird and part of why I’ve always love Ariana so much. She’s quirkier than people give her credit for and she still understands the value of visual storytelling in a way that so many artists do not anymore.

Ari’s new album is also accompanied by the upcoming Eternal Sunshine Tour. It’s her first tour in seven years and represents a crucial moment in her music career. This is the first time that she’s touring as something of both a legacy AND current artist – similar to Miley Cyrus if she were to tour. Ariana is getting the flowers she has spent close to decades earning. Bouquets of them because the tickets were impossible to get with demand through the roof. The tour kicks off this week and will definitely be dominating social media over the summer. Since I don’t have a ticket, I’ll be one of the millions who experiences the show on TikTok.

Next week brings new music from Tinashe. She’ll be kicking off her new era after two back-to-back years of summer hits with “Nasty” and “No Broke Boys”. This week, we've got new tunes from Ariana Grande, Ravyn Lenae, Jungle, Latto with 21 Savage, and Lily Allen with JADE. Plus, a 90s throwback hit with a new viral dance that Gen Zs are loving.

Listen on…

MC’s PICKS OF THE WEEK

“hate that i made you love me” by Ariana Grande

It took me a few days before I caught on to this one for a number of reasons. Part of me did want Ariana to return to non-Broadway tunes with something a little more upbeat, but now that we’re five days removed from the release I can confirm that the song just gets catchier and catchier with every listen. It’s always those slow burn tracks that really end up lasting a while in my playlists too and “hate that I made you love me” is quickly becoming a repeat. For one, the melody of the song is such classic Max Martin pop magic. This mash-up with the song along with “…Baby One More Time” (another Max classic) puts it into perspective. The simplicity of his melodies work so well and are now so nostalgic that they fit perfectly with the hits from back in the day. Some of my favourite lyrics I’ve ever heard from her are on this song – “You studied my crown and borrowed my body” is telling of a society that picks her apart as if she isn’t her own human being. She is singing about the down side of immense and intense fame and becoming such a recognizable figure. Sonically, it feels like you’re listening underwater – or at least what underwater should sound like if it was put into a pop song. The track is chill, maybe not the big “return” that some imagined but this is the sound that Ariana has been doing for a while. Her last album was almost exclusively mid-tempos with the exception of the lead single. The important thing to me in any pop song is the melody and this track is an absolute earworm. With this being the eighth official Ariana Grande album, it’s clear that she’s operating from a place of authenticity and creating music that she relates to both lyrically and sonically versus what’s on trend. Ari’s sound has always been a little more R&B anyway – it’s giving late-90s Mariah, which will always be a win in my book. Listen, I love Ariana’s acting abilities – I truly believe she is a talented comedic actress. But, there’s nothing like Ariana the pop diva. It’s who I fell in love with and it’s who I’ll always want to see more of.

“Handle” by Ravyn Lenae

After earning the breakout hit of her career last year with “Love Me Not”, Ravyn Lenae is back with her first new release since then. Now there’s a whole new crop of eyes and ears tuned into her work, which is exciting and nerve-wracking. “Handle” does not disappoint – it’s a musical departure for Ravyn whose last album was more traditional R&B leaning. This is still rhythmic but with a total rock edge plus some retro pop mixed in there - and she sells it so well. But it’s the incredibly infectious pre-chorus that got me on the first listen. When she sings “Hey, I, Hey I, Hey Oh” it’s almost like some kind of ritual chant, haunting and hypnotic…reminiscent of Madonna with her “hmmmms” in tracks like “Secret” and “Frozen”. I can feel myself being transported to another land of harmonies and lullabies. After a successful single it can be easy to be boxed into one specific sound or genre, but Ravyn is throwing all those rules out the window. “Handle” is the first single from her upcoming album Blue Island out in August, and she is trying to push the boundaries of what pop and R&B are “supposed” to sound like and just doing her own thing. Ravyn hasn’t quite blown up in the same way that Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Dean have in the last few years, but she’s certainly had her own share of success and this new music is a perfect step in the direction that could take her to the next level.

“The Wave” by Jungle

A friend of mine last week asked if I wanted to go see Jungle with him. After hearing this track, it’s an automatic yes. This is a summer smash and deserves a place on all-day party playlists. In this day and age where so much music feels like brain rot thrown into a blender, it’s so refreshing to hear such precious and authentic quality music. This song feels like a warm embrace, the golden age of the 60s and 70s made for a 2026 audience. It’s a feel-good sun kissed track that will make you want to bust out the Ray-Bans and flip-flops. The video is also making noise online, featuring viral dancer Kaycee Rice dancing alongside a troupe of dancers outside a diner – all in one take. This is now the second single from their upcoming album Sunshine that has made it onto my music lounge; maybe it’s a sign that I’m ready to embrace brighter days amid the summer sun. I love this time of year, now let’s see if the music will be enough to keep my spirits up when we hit the inevitable summer heatwaves.

“Hostage” by Latto, 21 Savage

Latto conveniently waited until the drop of her album to reveal 21 Savage as the father of her child, and with a collaborative effort. Latto first revealed her pregnancy back in March, but a recent vlog promoting the record confirmed the baby’s gender and featured 21 Savage confirming that he is the father. The two have kept their relationship private over the last few years, but their new track together puts their love on full display. “Hostage” is a track about a toxic love that is so addictive you just ignore every red flag – “he mine I don’t care if he toxic, I’m holding him hostage”. There are more romantic ways to describe a love than keeping them hostage, but hey, who am I to question anyone’s kinks? The song samples the soul classic “For the Love of You” by The Isley Brothers, however many of you may also recognize the song from Whitney Houston’s 1987 monster-selling album Whitney, where she covered it. It serves as the intro in the case of “Hostage” and it automatically sets the tone for a romantic hip-hop anthem. I do love a good slower paced rap song, especially when love is the topic of the lyrical content. Latto also recently revealed that this album Big Mama would be her last before she retires from music. I don’t believe her for one second, but hey whatever you got to do to sell those records, babe.

“Beg for Me – JADE Remix” by Lily Allen, JADE

Lily Allen is still riding high off the surprise commercial success of her album West End Girl. She spent the weekend headlining the Mighty Hoopla festival in the UK, and released this new remix of “Beg for Me” with JADE to help celebrate the show. The ladies also dropped a teaser video on socials where Lily is seen getting down on her knees in front of JADE who stands like a woman in charge. Lily has been singing JADE’s praises in multiple interviews since the release of this album, so it’s no surprise that she summoned her for a remix of one of the sassiest records on the album. JADE’s razor sharp lyrics perfectly embody what the West End Girl era has represented so far - unapologetic honesty in the aftermath of a relationship that has gone to sh-t. JADE’s new verse includes one-liners like “his fragile ego ain’t worth your tears”, and my personal favourite “men need their toys but no butt plug is going to fill the void”. It was easily my favourite track off the album before JADE’s addition and this just pushed it even further in the right direction. The song samples “Never Leave Me (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)” by Lumidee at the end of the track and serves as the backgrounds to the final chorus for an added touch of 2000s nostalgia that is most pleasing to my millennial ears. The closing portion of the song is wig snatching material. JADE performed the song with Lily during her set this weekend, with Lily crawling on all fours as JADE gives serious dominant energy – making her “beg” if you will. It’s a perfect single choice to keep the album cycle going as Lily prepares to bring the album to European and North American arenas over the summer.

MC’s VIRAL PICK

“Poison” by Bell Biv Devoe

This 1990 classic finds a new audience every couple of years – it’s one of those timeless hits that will forever have a place in the cultural conversation. The groove is undeniable; those original new jack swing sounds can’t ever be beat. This brings us to today and the 2026 reason for the song’s online resurgence. The “Poison dance challenge” is easy, joyous and requires at least one dance partner. It uses the end of the chorus when the famous opening beat beaks in, you know the one that repeats throughout the entirety of track. One of the dancers either gets pushed out the frame or just runs out, before the other dancer turns around on beat. Each of you take turns going in and out the frame doing the same dance. There’s some extra arm and leg choreography towards the end and frankly it’s also a lot harder than it looks. I tried it on my own and did not look nearly as cute as any of the viral renditions I saw on my feed over the last few weeks.

@menahdionne She said this her jam🤣🔥 #genz #genx #posion #dancers #viral ♬ original sound - storyt1menetwrk
@juliaglowala poison poison poison🧪🧪🧪w@Lena #dance #duo #duotrend #dancetrend #fypシ゚ ♬ original sound - dancesstolearnnn
@kayla.lee2 so many things happening 😂. #makingtiktoks #randomthings #trendingdance #poison #fypシ ♬ Poison - Bell Biv DeVoe

The trend has helped the song reach the top ten on TikTok’s viral songs charts in both Canada and the USA. Add that in with the fact that the song is already one of the most streamed 90s hits on streaming services, it’s a meeting of the generations. My question is, which Gen Z or Alpha songs will become hits so timeless that their children will create their own dances to it? I doubt Ricky, Michael and Ronnie of BBD ever imagined their hit would live on in this way close to 40 years after the fact – it really is a great time to be a nostalgia act.

The 2026 “MC’s MUSIC LOUNGE” Spotify playlist is live. You can add it here to keep up to date with my weekly picks throughout the year. 

With Love, 

MC

Photo credits: YouTube/Ariana Grande

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