Ariana Grande is reflecting on her new “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)” music video.

On Saturday (March 9), the 30-year-old pop superstar took to social media to share a heartfelt message about her loving homage to the 2004 Jim Carrey sci-fi romance that inspired her new album title, Eternal Sunshine.

“Thank you for creating such a safe space, for holding my hand, and for thoughtfully bringing this entire album to life with this one video. Though we will make many more, this video is the album to me,” Grande wrote on Instagram alongside a teaser of the visual, giving a shout-out to co-star Evan Peters and director Christian Breslauer. “A tremendous thank you to the incredible crew who made this what it is.”

Grande followed her note with a long list of the crew members involved in the creation of the video.

Breslauer, who also directed the singer and actress’ “Yes, And?” video, shared his gratitude in the comments section. “Thank you for writing from the heart, leading the way and trusting me with something so precious,” the director wrote.

The midtempo track is the second single from Eternal Sunshine, following the January Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping hit “Yes, And?” In celebration of the album’s release, Grande will perform on Saturday Night Live this weekend as the Josh Brolin-hosted episode’s musical guest.

Eternal Sunshine, which arrived Friday (March 8), is already setting is already setting records. Spotify announced through social media on Saturday that the project is the company’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2024 so far.

Check out Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends” post on Instagram below.

Drake making songs with up-and-coming artists is a story as old as time. The “Drake Effect” is a real thing and has been studied by music scholars across the globe. Usually it works in the artist’s favor, like when he linked up with the Migos on the “Versace (Remix).” The song went crazy on the charts and their careers took off. But then there are times when the song performs well, yet it doesn’t translate to longevity like with BlocBoy JB and “Look Alive.” Now it’s newcomer 4Batz’s turn.

Earlier this week, social media went abuzz when the Canadian superstar teased a remix of 4Batz’s “date @ 8” on his Instagram Story. Then the mysterious R&B singer with an affinity for shiesties posted this video on his X account:

Not gonna lie, this video had me hype. I couldn’t really make out what the song actually sounded like, but they all seemed pretty excited, so I was expecting a certified banger that Flex could drop bombs on. When the Dallas-based singer appeared out of thin air with “act i: stickerz ’99′” back in the fall of 2023 (the first upload of “act i” on YouTube was on Sept. 16, 2023), a Drake collaboration felt like a no-brainer. Some have compared 4Batz to a thugged out Brent Faiyaz or Weeknd. I’ve seen others say he makes R&B music for stick up kids. And I, too, think he makes love songs for the thugs. You know, the ones that also happen to be real lovers. The thugs with big hearts, kind of like Method Man on “All I Need”.

That’s why everyone saw the Drake stimmy coming from a mile away. He is the Certified Lover Boy, after all. Ultimately, though? I was a bit disappointed. Other than some fans on X complaining that the song wasn’t available in the U.S., this didn’t take over my timeline. Usually when Drake remixes a newcomer’s popular song, everything stops for a moment. However, last night most of X was still high on the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets game because on Thursday nights, my sports and music worlds collide on social media. The “act ii: date @ 8 (remix)” didn’t stop all of us in our tracks. I actually didn’t even think to listen to it until 12:30am. My timeline usually explodes around midnight when some heat drops. That was a telling sign for me. So once I finally checked it out, I was let down.

The remix as we know it has changed. There was once a time when a remix meant a different beat and new verses. Nowadays, we get a verse tacked on to the original song. The aforementioned Method Man and Mary J. Blige song is actually the remix to the original album version in which MJB doesn’t make a appearance. No one remembers the OG version. The same can be said about Craig Mack’s “Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)” where the beat was the same, but Craig Mack added a new verse to go alongside verses from Biggie, Rampage, LL Cool J, and Busta Rhymes.

This track has some of those features, but they aren’t significant enough to make a big deal about. Drake’s contribution, while good in terms of sound and bars, feels stitched on like bad patchwork. We don’t even get a new verse from 4Batz. This feels like two different songs and is essentially a home game for the Canadian rapper in that it doesn’t challenge him. It’s almost too on the nose. Drake does go into his real yearner bag, though, and delivers a good verse. “A thousand on your f—kin’ hair/Two hunnid on your f—kin’ nails,” he croons, essentially reminding 4Batz that he’s dealing with cats in different tax brackets now. It would’ve been cool if 4Batz added a verse to 40’s breakdown. These two collaborating on, say, “act iv” would’ve hit much harder, hopefully they’ll work together in the near future. I must admit, though, Drake’s addition sounds great on some good speakers, streets just needed 4Batz to go in too. That would’ve knocked this remix out of the park because these two are a match made in Thug Matrimony.

Shouts to the real lovers, the real yearners, the real tricksters, though. I’m calling it now, Thug Love is making a comeback this summer. Somebody get Ja Rule and Bobby Brown on the phone.

(WMG) revealed its interest in acquiring the French music company.

Believe shares rose 2.5% to 15.88 euros ($17.38) after WMG announced its interest in the owner of distributor TuneCore, publishing administrator Sentric and such record labels as Naïve and Groove Attack. Last week, Believe announced it had interest from an unnamed party, which caused the share price to exceed the 15 euro ($16.52) per share offer from a consortium led by CEO Denis Ladegaillerie and investment funds EQT and TCV. After the potential suitor was given a name, Believe’s share price rose even more. WMG, which hasn’t made an official offer, said it would pay “at least” 17 euros ($18.60) per share. WMG shares fell 4.4% to $33.93 this week. 

With Believe trading at 15.88 euros ($17.38), investors don’t appear convinced that WMG will make an offer at 17.00 euros. Not only would WMG need to pass regulatory scrutiny, the Ladegaillerie consortium has a head start and appears to be moving quickly to close the deal. Last week, the consortium said it waived the board’s condition that an independent expert weigh in on its offer’s fairness to shareholders. WMG’s announcement singled out the maneuver, stating that “WMG considers that such a waiver violates a number of rules of French securities regulations which are meant to protect shareholders (including the sellers and their investors) and the Company, and that the validity of such waiver could be challenged.” 

Sphere Entertainment Co. shares rose 10.1% this week to $48.77, adding $127 million to the company’s market capitalization and bringing its year-to-date gain to 43.5%. Three of four live music companies posted gains in an otherwise muted week for music stocks: German promoter CTS Eventim gained 2.2% to 75.10 euros ($82.19), while on Thursday (Mar. 7), Live Nation shares surpassed $100 for the first time since May 2, 2022. The concert giant finished the week up 2.7% to $99.75. 

The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index fell 0.9% to 1,700.37 this week as half the stocks were gainers, nine were losers and one was unchanged. Streaming stocks had an average gain of 4.2% thanks to an 18.4% improvement by music streamer LiveOne. Abu Dhabi-based streaming company Anghami rose 3.2%. The bigger streaming companies lost ground, however. Spotify fell 1.6% to $259.40, a rare stumble for a stock that has gained 38.1% year to date. Deezer shares dropped 0.4% to 2.24 euros ($2.45).

K-pop stocks were down across the board this week. JYP Entertainment, home to Twice and Stray Kids, fell 8.0%. SM Entertainment, home to aespa and Girls’ Generation, dropped 6.5%. HYBE sank 2.3% and YG Entertainment, the company behind BLACKPINK, slipped 1%. The four companies have an average year-to-date loss of 22.7%. HYBE’s 16.7% decline in 2024 is the best of the group. Elsewhere, JYP Entertainment shares have fallen 33.1% and SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment dropped 20.6% and 20.4%, respectively. 

Stocks were mixed globally. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.2% to 16,085.94 and the S&P 500 declined 0.3% to 5,123.69. U.S. stocks reached new records on Thursday following comments by Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell that indicated the central bank will ease interest rates. “If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year,” Powell told the House Committee on Financial Services on Wednesday (Mar. 6).

Stocks ended the week on a down note after Friday’s U.S. jobs report offered mixed messages to investors. Total confirmed payroll rose by 275,000 in February, but at the same time, the unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 3.9% and wages rose just 0.1% in February — not necessarily welcome indicators, but perhaps signs that the Federal Reserve can move ahead with future rate cuts without fearing the economy will overheat. 

In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 fell 0.3% to 7,659.74. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index rose 1.4% to 2,680.35. China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange index improved 0.6% to 3,046.02.