they made a record together five years before they were a couple, and the songs that came afterwards are the least commercial decisions in her catalogue.
the short answer
they met professionally in 2012 and released the way, her debut single, in march 2013 — five years before they were together. they were a couple from roughly 2016 to may 2018. mac miller, born malcolm mccormick, died of an accidental overdose on 7 september 2018, aged twenty-six. two of the most significant songs in her catalogue are about it, and neither is comfortable.
the way, 2013
the way was her debut single, released in march 2013 with his verse on it, and it reached number nine on the hot 100 — the first top ten of her career. it is still one of the best things on yours truly: a piano loop, a rap verse, and a nineteen-year-old singer who already sounded like the record was beneath her.
that is five years before the relationship. they were friends and collaborators first, and she also appeared on his my favorite part in 2016 — which is where the timeline of the two things starts overlapping.
2016 to 2018
they were together from around september 2016 until may 2018. it was public without being conducted in public, which distinguishes it fairly sharply from what came immediately afterwards.
she has spoken about the strain of being close to someone who was struggling, and about the impossibility of the position it puts you in. that is on the record from her, and it is the only part of the private half of this worth repeating.
september 2018
he died on 7 september 2018 of an accidental overdose, four months after the relationship ended and about six weeks after sweetener was released. she was, at that point, engaged to somebody else and in the middle of the most visible year of her life.
the songs
- thank u, next (november 2018) — the verse about him is the emotional centre of a song that names four people, and it is the one that turns the record from a break-up single into something else entirely. the full story of that song is here.
- ghostin (february 2019) — grieving one person while with another, placed in the middle of an album that sold enormously. it is the least commercially minded decision in the catalogue, and it is also the best thing on the record.
- imagine, in my head, needy — the whole of the thank u, next album sits in the shadow of that autumn, and the six-week writing period is a large part of why it is as raw as it is.
questions people ask
when did ariana grande and mac miller date?
from around september 2016 until may 2018. they had worked together five years earlier on the way, her debut single.
what song did ariana grande and mac miller make together?
the way, released in march 2013 as her debut single, which reached number nine on the hot 100. she also appeared on his 2016 track my favorite part.
how did mac miller die?
of an accidental overdose on 7 september 2018, at the age of twenty-six.
which ariana grande songs are about mac miller?
the verse about him in thank u, next, and ghostin on the same album — a song about grieving one person while with another. much of the thank u, next record sits in the shadow of that autumn.