Ariana Grande's "Hampstead" Is The Ultimate Breakup Song

Ariana Grande is a natural at finding the classiest way to call people out. In her new song “Hampstead,” from the deluxe version of her 2024 album eternal sunshine, Grande unpacks the tumultuous year that inspired her album, which included her divorce from ex-husband Dalton Gomez and backlash from her romance with Wicked co-star Ethan Slater.

Grande sets the scene over a simple piano with muffled voices around her, singing as if it’s last call at the cabaret bar. “I left my heart at a pub in Hampstead,” she sings. “And I misplaced my mind in a good way / Threw away my reputation, but saved us more heartache.”

“Hampstead” is the London neighborhood where Grande lived while filming the Wicked movies in 2023. During that time, she split from Gomez and found love again with Slater, who had also split from his ex-wife Lilly Jay, causing affair rumors in the tabloids.

In the song, Grande also focuses on the public, reminding listeners that the press doesn’t know the full story of her love life. “Quite frankly, you’re still wrong about everything,” she sings. “So far off, your seat's nowhere near the table, but I find something sweet in your peculiar behavior.”

In the soaring chorus, Grande rejects the premise of her Positions love song “pov,” a sweet ballad about how her then-husband viewed her. “I’d rather be seen and alive than dying by your point of view,” she sings on the chorus, severing her last connection to her ex for good. Naturally, the track’s final lyric sees her looking forward. “Rather be swimming with you than drowning in a crowded room,” she declares.

Along with the deluxe version of her album, Grande also released a short film entitled Brighter Days Ahead, where “Hampstead” is the grand finale. In the video, Grande’s father, Ed Butera, plays a tortured bearded scientist who tries desperately to bring his daughter back to life a la Frankenstein — or “Frankariana,” if you prefer. It ends with the resurrected singer happily crooning and playing the piano alongside her now clean-shaven dad, as a newspaper burns in a fireplace.

Ariana Grande’s “Hampstead” Lyrics

Read the lyrics to Grande’s new song “Hampstead” below.

I left my heart at a pub in Hampstead

And I misplaced my mind in a good way

Threw away my reputation, but saved us more heartache

Yes, I know it seems fucked up and you're right

But quite frankly, you’re still wrong about everything

So far off, your seat's nowhere near the table

But I find something sweet in your peculiar behavior

'Cause I think to be so dumb must be nice

I do, I do, I do, I do

What makes you think you’re even invited?

The doors are closed with lights off inside and all the while

Therе's no one home, you're still outsidе

I wonder why

What's wrong with a little bit of poison? Tell me

I would rather feel everything than nothing every time

Uh-uh, fear me, stranger, a little bit of sugar, danger

I'd rather be seen and alive than dying by your point of view

I do, I do, I do, I do

I don't remember too much of the last year

But I knew who I was when I got here

'Cause I'm still the same but only entirely different

And my lover’s just some lines in some songs

(Mhm, mhm, mhm, mhm)

You think you’ve read the book I'm still writing

I can’t imagine wanting so badly to be right

Guess I'm forever on your mind

I wonder why

What's wrong with a little bit of poison? Tell me (Tell me)

I would rather feel everything than nothing every time (Every, every time)

Uh-uh, fear me, stranger (stranger), a little bit of sugar (sugar), danger (danger)

I'd rather be seen and alive than dying by your point of view

Rather be swimming with you than drowning in a crowded room

I do, I do, I do, I do