Ariana Grande teases details of 'terrifyingly' personal new single

Ariana Grande has teased details of her latest single, Imagine, describing the new track as “terrifyingly” personal in an exchange with fans on social media.

The singer confirmed in a Twitter post that Imagine will be released on Thursday night. She went on to reveal that she’d sought inspiration from her personal life when working on new material, sharing an image of a draft tweet on her Instagram Stories.

“A lot of this album mourns failed yet important, beautiful relationships in my life (as well as celebrates growth / exploring new independence)” she wrote. “But for those of you asking about imagine: I would say if ‘thank u, next’ = acceptance… ‘imagine’ = denial. Hope that makes sense.”

When one fan asked if the new single is “a darker version of Thank U, Next,” the singer responded: “Kind of like… pretending it never ended.

"Denial. But I look forward to you hearing it and having your own experience with it. You may take away something totally different and specific to your life!”

She went on to describe the song as “terrifyingly” personal, revealing that she “want[s] to take things off. But my friends tell me not to”.

Last week, Grande fought back tears as she accepted the Billboard Woman of the Year award. Reflecting on the past 12 months, she revealed it had been “one of the best years in my career and one of, like, the worst years in my life,” following the death of ex-boyfriend Mac Miller and her split from SNL star Pete Davidson.

“I’m just saying that because I feel like a lot of people would look at someone in my position right now I guess – Woman of the Year, an artist that could be at her peak and think, ‘She’s really got her s*** together, she’s really on it, she has got it all,” she told the audience.

“I do, but as far as my personal life goes I really have no idea what the f*** I am doing. So yeah, it's been a very conflicting one.”