The 1975 promoted their upcoming album, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, by doing a set for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge. As is typical, the band followed up a short set of their own recent singles by performing a cover. In this case, the band, complete with backing singers, took on Ariana Grande’s recent #1 hit “thank u, next,” delivering an earthy, gospel-infused version of the self-reflective pop track. Healy spoke about his recent affinity for Grande and her work, ahead of the cover, calling Grande “the main protagonist…in most people’s lives.” He continued: “The person I see spoken about most. And somebody I’ve started to really care about for some reason. She’s had a right old tough time and I like her a lot. I think she’s cool. And she’s got a great voice, and I don’t, so I’m gonna sing one of her songs.”
A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships is out on Friday. They released a video for its latest single, “Sincerity is Scary,” last week. Ariana Grande teased an upcoming video for “thank u, next” last week, in photos in which Grande channels Mean Girls‘ Regina George. Listen to the cover around the 2:22:30 mark on the BBC’s website, and the band’s full set at 2:04:00. You can watch video of the cover below.
