Five Burning Questions About Ariana Grande’s ‘Hate That I Made You Love Me’ Chart Debut

On this week’s Billboard Hot 100 (dated June 13), Ariana Grande’s “Hate That I Made You Love Me” debuts at No. 1. It arrives as the lead single from her upcoming eighth album, petal, out July 31. 

In an Instagram post announcing the track, she called it “one of my favorite songs I’ll ever write.” Grande co-wrote and co-produced “Made You Love Me” with Max Martin and ILYA. It becomes her 10th Hot 100 No. 1 as a writer and third as a producer.

Elsewhere, the single debuts at No. 3 on the Streaming Songs chart; No. 25 on Radio Songs; and No. 1 on Digital Song Sales. (The song was available for digital purchase via seven options, while its physical offerings included two cassettes, 7” vinyl and a cappella and instrumental CDs.)
So, what does this first week showing mean for Ari’s new album? And with her Eternal Sunshine Tour now underway, what kind of rollout campaign can we expect from her while on the road? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.

1. This week, Ariana scores her milestone 10th Hot 100 No. 1 with “Hate That I Made You Love Me,” which debuts with 23.6 million official streams from its May 29 release through June 4. Is that number higher, lower or about what you expected for her lead single’s first week?

Katie Atkinson:  I would say what I expected, in the sense that I expected Ariana to return on top. While she never truly left pop-star mode during the two-part Wicked press run, thanks to her pair of Eternal Sunshine drops, there was no guarantee fans would still be checking for her music. (Clearly, they were.) The other gamble here is that “Hate That I Made You Love Me” has a pretty chill tempo, but between social media dissecting the cryptic lyrics and the way the earworm squirms its way into your memory after just one listen, it’s already left its mark.

Hannah Dailey: If anything, it’s a little higher, only because the song itself doesn’t sound like the typical splashy, big statement we might expect from an album’s lead single. But if we’ve learned anything about Ari, it’s that her fans always show up for her — so I’m not surprised they’ve been listening as much as they have been.  

Kyle Denis: That’s around exactly what I expected after hearing the song for the first time. I was a big fan of “Hate That I Made You Love Me” from my first listen, but I remember being inundated with split opinions across social media throughout the song’s first week of release.

When you couple that mixed initial reception with the song’s lowkey feel — there isn’t a major vocal climax, nor are there lyrics as quotable as “One taught me love/ one taught me patience…” — I’m not surprised “Hate” only pulled enough streams for a No. 3 debut on Streaming Songs.

But based on how well the song has held on streaming over the past few days, especially since the Eternal Sunshine Tour has kicked off, I expect “Hate” to eventually top that ranking. 

Lyndsey Havens: A bit lower. I really would have expected any new Ari single, let alone the lead single from a new album, to pull enough streams to top the Streaming Songs chart. But, to put it in perspective, the first week streams for “Made You Love Me” are not that far behind the first-week streams that “Yes, And?” raked in as the lead single for Eternal Sunshine (it debuted with 27.2 million streams, according to Luminate). I’m curious, though, if there’s any spike – or if it simply sustains – following its live debut on opening night of her Eternal Sunshine Tour. I, for one, have had it stuck in my head ever since.

Michael Saponara: At this point, when Ari’s releasing a lead single, I’m expecting it to top the charts, so her 10th No. 1 didn’t come as a huge surprise. However, I thought it would be a tougher battle with Ella Langley and Drake having a stranglehold on the Hot 100 recently. We have to give a shout-out to the Arianators who did their thing to ensure Ari would get back to the summit. 

2. Ari described her upcoming album as a “little feral” in an Instagram clip she posted. On a scale of 1-10, how “feral” would you say “Made You Love Me” is?

Katie Atkinson: I’ll say 5, because it doesn’t feel sonically feral to me, so I’m hoping we get a little weirder on petal. But the potential double or triple meanings of the lyrics is definitely on the wild side. When she sings “I hate that I made you love me/ Sorry if I made me your type,” is she singing to a former romantic partner? Or when she cattily adds at the end of the chorus “’Cause I barely tried,” is she talking to the fake fans that she never asked for in the first place? The music video starring Justin Long seemingly points to the former inspiration, but the overwhelming online theories since its release have pointed to the latter. Lyrically taking aim at fans of any level definitely feels like a savage choice!

Hannah Dailey: I guess the lyrics are a little feral, but the combination of the tone of her language and the song’s overall sound feels so matter-of-fact. She knows that what she’s saying is hard to hear for the person or people she’s singing to, but for her, it’s a truth she’s long accepted and come to terms with. So I guess I’ll split it down the middle and say 5. 

Kyle Denis: About 2-3. But then again, Ari’s lead singles aren’t always the best representation of their parent album’s full range of sound and emotion. Considering her past second singles include “Into You,” “God Is a Woman,” “7 rings,” “34 + 35” and “We Can’t Be Friends,” I’m expecting the next Petal single to really drive home this whole “feral” thing. 

Lyndsey Havens: 6. I think it’s important to consider that Ari’s take on “feral” has likely changed over the last few years, away from eye-popping sexplicit lines toward simply telling it like it is – and sometimes, the truth stings a bit. Only now, she doesn’t really care. As she says herself in the opening line: “something inside is dancing with fire,” and if “Made You Love Me” is just the start of that burn – with other scorching lines like “you studied my crown and borrowed my body” or “is it really my fault you all gave me your hearts on your own accord? I don’t really think so” – I can only imagine what the rest of petal will hold.

Michael Saponara: Oh, this is like a 2. Things will get more feral with Petal, especially with a reported recent split with Ethan Slater, but low-octave Ari was still a welcomed sight on “Hate That I Made You Love Me,” which falls into the more delusionally spiteful category than feral. 

3. She taps another famous actor, Justin Long, as the male lead in the song’s music video. This follows recent appearances by Evan Peters in “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For You Love)” and Penn Badgley in “The Boy is Mine.” What actor would you like to see star in a future Ariana Grande music video?

Katie Atkinson: Ooh, I love this question. Part of me wants to go timely and choose someone like Belmont Cameli from Off Campus or Connor Storrie from Heated Rivalry (so I guess it would be a hockey-themed video), but Ariana’s choices skew way more millennial than that. So instead, I’m going to suggest Taylor Kitsch from Friday Night Lights, who is a millennial heartthrob and has been in way too few shows and movies since his breakout role.

Hannah Dailey: Aaron Taylor-Johnson. 

Kyle Denis: Leon Thomas has spoken about wanting to return to acting — and considering their history collaborations on television and new music — I’d love to see him be the male lead in a future Ariana Grande music video. And given her affinity for horror, it could be fun to see Sinners stars like Michael B. Jordan or Jack O’Connell surprise in an Ari music video at some point. 

Lyndsey Havens: I would love to see Rob Pattinson get a bit spooky and ethereal in a future Ariana video. 

Michael Saponara: Ari’s been in her bag with these videos. Bringing Justin Long back into the mainstream fold was a nice touch, but I’m thinking there’s a Jacob Elordi cameo in the pipeline somewhere. They were photographed together in January at the 2026 AFI Awards.

4. Ariana kicked off her Eternal Sunshine Tour this week. Considering petal will arrive amidst the outing, how likely do you think it is that she’ll revamp the show and setlist after its release?

Katie Atkinson: Given that she said back in January that after this tour “it might not happen again for a long, long, long, long time,” I’d say it’s incredibly likely that she’ll revamp the setlist in real time to include petal singles as they’re released and deep cuts once the album is out. I’m also curious to see whether she’ll live-debut any petal songs before they’re commercially released. Basically, I think a lot will evolve during these next three months, so RIP to Arianators’ bank accounts who will feel the need to attend more than one show to get the full Eternal Sunshine Tour experience.

Hannah Dailey: I don’t think she’ll totally revamp the tour, especially because Petal is arriving so late in her run. I could see her making room for one or two additional tracks from the project, though. I think it was smart that she released “Hate That I Made You Love Me” so far in advance, so that she would have enough time to work that nod to Petal into the setlist at least. 

Kyle Denis: Petal arrives on the same day as the fourth-to-last show of the tour’s North American leg (July 31), which means that we’ll probably get a heftier dose of that album during her 10-show residency at London’s O2 Arena. Then again, there’s really nothing stopping her from debuting Petal tracks live at various dates in the lead-up to July 31. I’m rooting for that option, but my gut tells me she’ll keep the focus on “Hate That I Made You Love Me.” 

Lyndsey Havens: As much as I would love to see an Eras Tour-type addition to the set post-petal, it feels very clear to me that the show being presented is so intentional and deliberate and took some much time and care, that I can’t see Ari and her team wanting to change that near the finish line. I hope she celebrates a bit on stage during release night (she has a show the night the album drops) and would love to see some new songs tossed into the set list during her Aug. 3 show in Chicago (the first following the album’s release) – especially if, as Ari said, this will be her last tour for a long, long time. 

Michael Saponara: I think the show will remain the show for much of the Eternal Sunshine Tour. However, I could see Ari keeping things fresh while mixing in a new song or two as a surprise from Petal at the later dates on the trek. 

5. Keeping in mind that she’s on the road until its release, what are you hoping that Ari might do as part of petal’s rollout campaign?

Katie Atkinson: Since Ari is a collaborative queen, I’m very excited to see who might feature on this new music. Will she reunite with a frequent collaborator like The Weeknd or Doja Cat? Or she could tread new territory with fellow superstars she’s never worked with before — maybe Billie Eilish or mutual admirers BTS? Or, is the petal and CONFESSIONS II timing too good to be true and we could get a pair of new duets from Madonna and Ariana on BOTH projects? (A girl can dream.)

Hannah Dailey: She did a lot of magazine interviews for the Wicked press cycle, but those were more focused on her work as an actress (and honestly, she was giving a lot of the same answers to the same questions across most of them). But it’s been a long time since we’ve seen her do a long, honest cover story interview that offers a real look into her life right now and where she feels she’s at as a veteran musician and performer. Would love to see her do one of those – with Billboard, preferably. 

Kyle Denis: I definitely think debuting random Petal tracks live is the way to go, but if she’s not up for that, I’d love to see Ariana’s take on the “surprise song” trend. Outside of Wicked and her litany of hit collaborations, Ariana has seven solo studio albums (soon, eight!), two of which have not been performed on tour yet. That’s a lot of music to cover for someone who tours relatively infrequently, so a rotation of surprise songs is probably the best way to remedy that. How else are we going to get more than three songs from Positions on the setlist?! 

If anything, Petal seems to be hard reset for Ariana to deepen her bond with her true fans and sever ties with the ones unhealthily obsessed with nostalgia-blinded versions of her. With that in mind, I’d love to see her sidestep traditional promo spots (we got more than enough of that between the two Wicked films, and will likely get more this fall for Focker-in-Law) and focus on intimate pop-ups that display how her writing and production processes have grown over time. Maybe even some small, jazz lounge-y shows on the nights when she’s not selling out arenas! 

Lyndsey Havens: There are some built in nights off on tour, and while those are surely to rest, a pop-up Blue Note set in L.A. or NY would be incredible. There’s a moment in the show where Ari sits on a stool at the end of the stage and lets her vocals rip, without much added production at all. A full set of that in an intimate jazz club? Yes please. Otherwise, there’s a really beautiful story that Ariana tells on the Eternal Sunshine Tour through cinematically filmed interludes between each of the five acts. I would love if petal continues that narrative arch, and maybe we even get another short film following the final night of tour that puts a bow on this chapter in her life.

Michael Saponara: With Ari spending a week in NYC on tour before Petal’s arrival, a Jimmy Fallon reunion could be in the cards on The Tonight Show (The “Wheel of Musical Impressions” segments are classic). Selfishly, an interview with Narduar would be fun to dig into her rich musical history without having to touch on things in her personal life too much.