Ariana Grande returned to the music scene with a new song titled “yes, and?” and it seemed to be a message to all the people who criticized her and Ethan Slater’s relationship.

“In case you haven’t noticed / well, everybody’s tired / and healing from somebody / boy come on put your lipstick on / come on and walk this way through the fire (don’t care what’s on their mind),” Ariana, 30, sings on the track, released on Thursday, January 11.

The chorus of the new song continues, “Yes, and? / say that s–t with your chest / and be your own f–in’ best friend.”

Ariana continued with the “mind your own business” theme with other lyrics mentioning how she “won’t hide underneath your own projections or change my most authentic life,” and asking, “Do you care so much whose d–k I ride?”

The song comes on the heels of a tumultuous year for Ariana, and she seemed more than ready to put 2023 in her rearview mirror when she shared her feelings on her Instagram Story on December 29, 2023.

“One of the most transformative, most challenging, and yet happiest and most special years of my life,” Ariana wrote in the now-expired post. “There were so many beautiful yet polarized feelings. I’ve never felt more at the mercy of and in acceptance of what life was screaming to teach me. I’ve never felt more fulfilled by or present in my work, being able to cherish every moment.”

Ariana Grande poses in a gray dress on the red carpet
Steve Granitz / Getty Images

The “Thank U, Next” singer continued, “I’ve never felt more pride or joy or love while simultaneously feeling so deeply misunderstood by people who don’t know me, who piece whispers together and make what they want out of me and their assumptions of my life.”

Ariana added that she had “never felt more tightly held or fiercely protected by those who love and understand [her]” and revealed that she had begun “reacting to things that deserve [her] energy only and removing and protecting [herself] from things that do not.”

The former Nickelodeon star found herself at the center of the spotlight when she quickly began a relationship with Broadway star Ethan, 31, shortly after ending her marriage to Dalton Gomez. The timeline of Ariana and Ethan’s relationship raised the eyebrows of fans, and many believed that the couple may have cheated on their spouses.

A source exclusively revealed to Life & Style in August 2023, that Ariana’s friends were wary of her behavior and didn’t consider the Grammy award winner a “girl’s girl.”

“Ariana didn’t just break girl code, she shattered it into a million pieces,” the insider revealed, adding, “That’s going to be tough to bounce back from. There’s a very real sense of ‘lock up your husband’ when it comes to being around her now.”