Thank u, next! Why pop stars fell out of love with albums

Chart-toppers used to focus on long-players. Now, in the streaming era, they can release tracks whenever they like – and many, including Ariana Grande, have decided to do just that

What’s your favourite Ariana Grande single of the past nine months? Was it April’s No Tears Left to Cry, or July’s ballad God Is a Woman? Maybe it was September’s anti-anxiety anthem, Breathin. Perhaps you weren’t a fan of Sweetener, the album that housed all three, and preferred November’s Thank U, Next, a single from a forthcoming album of the same title released this Friday. That global chart-topper was followed a month later by Imagine, which has now been replaced by 7 Rings.

Grande’s more-is-more attitude not only demonstrates how rapidly streaming culture has reshaped the way music is released, but, as she outlined in a recent interview with Billboard, how it liberates her from the music industry’s traditionally long-winded release cycle (“Do the teaser before the single, then do the single, and wait to do the preorder, and radio has to impact before the video, and we have to do the discount on this day”). Instead, she releases music direct to her fans, “in the way that a rapper does”.

Artists are just putting out what they want, when they want these days, and calling it whatever they need to