When Ariana Grande fans first got a glimpse of her original “Yours Truly” album cover in 2013, they simply said, “thank u, next.”
“Well, it’s horrible. It’s not horrible. You were right,” the Grammy-winning “Positions” artist recalled during a TikTok Q&A session Monday. “You guys were very angry when you saw it. I was very sad about that and I changed it.”
Grande answered fan questions days after she dropped the 10th-anniversary deluxe edition of her debut album. When “Yours Truly” was first announced in July 2013, the original cover art featured Grande in front of a bright pink backdrop wearing a lacy corset and thigh-high stockings and kneeling on a bed of roses.
Weeks later, Grande said in a since-deleted tweet that she was “done messing with” her fans and released the final “Yours Truly” cover art. Instead of the bright pinks that dominated the original photo, Grande opted for a simple, black-and-white photo of herself posing with her eyes closed.
“And you’re right, you’re not always right,” Grande said during the Q&A, before joking, “Your bullying has been consistent for the past 10 years.”
She continued: “You hated it. You were like, ‘This is f— ugly, mom. So change it.’ So I did. Sometimes that works, sometimes it leaves me with wounds that make me question everything I’ve done since — just kidding.”
“Yours Truly” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and continued to gain traction with hits including “Honeymoon Avenue,” “Tattooed Heart” and “The Way,” which featured Grande’s ex-boyfriend and late rapper Mac Miller. The Times’ Mikael Wood wrote that the Nickelodeon star-turned-singer’s debut album “might be the most inviting pop record of 2013, with a bubbly ebullience that makes even its most familiar moves feel fresh.”
“Happy ten year anniversary to a project that changed my life,” Grande said while announcing the deluxe edition Friday. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening and for growing with me every step of the way. love you always. :)”
The new edition will feature live performances of “Tattooed Heart,” Right There” and “The Way,” she said.
Monday’s TikTok Q&A continued with Grande answering other fan questions about specific songs and singles and why she named the album “Yours Truly.”
“I just wanted it to be sort of a love letter — an introduction to the world,” she said. “And how you sign a letter, like a love letter type thing. … [“Yours Truly”] just felt like, ‘Here I am.’ I’m glad that we went with that.”
