- Ariana Grande changed the lyrics of her song Thank U, Next to praise ex Ricky Alvarez.
- The former Argentine footballer was in the audience.
- Ariana Grande split from Ethan Slater earlier this year.
Ariana Grande is still friends with ex-boyfriend Ricky Alvarez. The singer gave a sweet shoutout to her ex by changing the lyrics of one of her songs during her recent concert in Austin, Texas. Alvarez was in the audience.
The singer was performing as part of her Eternal Sunshine tour on June 26, her birthday. She changed the lyrics of the track, Thank U, Next, about Alvarez. Ariana Grande dated Alvarez between 2015 and 2016.
In the verse about her ex-boyfriends, Grande sang, "Wrote some songs about Ricky / I know he still got my back," changing the second from "Now I listen and laugh."
Videos from the concert show Ed Butera, Grande's father, giving a fist bump to Alvarez after the lyrics.
Ricky Alvarez shakes Ariana Grande's father's hand after another ‘thank u, next' lyric change:
— Pop Base (@PopBase) June 27, 2026
“Wrote some songs about Ricky, I know he still got my back” pic.twitter.com/s4E11am01n
A day earlier, Ariana Grande and the former Argentine footballer had been spotted having a group lunch together, as per E! News. The singer wore a black Eternal Sunshine Tour T-shirt. Alvarez donned an Elysia band t-shirt that showed off his tattoos.
While Alverez's appearance at the concert sparked rumours if he was getting back with Ariana Grande, a source told TMZ they were just good friends.
This was not the first time Grande tweaked some lyrics about Alvarez. On the first of her three-night show in Austin, the Wicked actor changed the same line in Thank U, Next to "Wrote some songs about Ricky / And they still really slap."
During her June 6 show, Grande tweaked the words to Thank U, Next to reference her 2023 divorce from Dalton Gomez.
Instead of crooning, “Only wanna do it once real bad, gonna make that s--t last,” Grande chose to keep quiet and held up two fingers as she laughed.
A few days later, news broke that Grande had called it quits with Ethan Slater, her co-star from Wicked. The couple broke up earlier this year after three years together.
Ariana Grande To Release New Album
The Wicked: For Good actor is set to release Petal, her eighth album, next month. The track is a follow up to Eternal Sunshine and will land in the middle of Grande's tour.
Grande said Petal was about “growing through the cracks of something cold and hard and challenging”, as per Billboard. The 12-track album is “something that is full of life,” the Grammy winner said.
Petal will be out on July 31.
