When asked on Twitter about the inspiration behind her new song, Grande replied that Boyfriend “captures a common theme in the lives of so many people I know.”

“People want to feel love but don’t want to define their relationship & have trouble fully committing or trusting or allowing themselves to fully some someone. even tho they want to,” she continued, in what could be an ode to the six-week long saga that was this year’s Love Island.

The singer also explained that the new track, which she described as a “nostalgic bop”, aimed to capture the state of limbo of being in an undefined relationship, and the feeling of intense vulnerability when you want to commit to an official relationship, but simultaneously are afraid of getting hurt. A relationship status, in other words, that could best be summed up as “It’s complicated.”

“We wanted to make something uplifting that captures that feeling of being afraid to take the leap & trust, being afraid of being hurt or feeling like you won’t be enough for that person…but also how it feels to have a crippling crush on someone,” she added.

Ariana Grande’s new song Boyfriend perfectly sums up the state of modern dating culture