Relationships

There's A Theory Ariana Left Secret Tributes To Mac Miller On 'Positions'

by Candice Jalili
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You ready for a tear jerker? OK, then allow me to point you toward this theory about Ariana Grande’s Mac Miller tributes on Positions. Fans have discovered a few secret nods Grande may have left for her late ex throughout the album. "Here's a reference I guarantee you missed in Ariana Grande's new album Positions," TikTok user @maraleebell began in her video outlining the theory. "If you listen real close to the verses of the title track, you'll hear crickets." From there, she plays Grande singing the line, "Heaven sent you to me," with what sounds like crickets chirping in the background.

And, according to @maraleebell, "That's not the only time crickets are featured during the album.... We hear them one other time in a very specific place." From there, @maraleebell points viewers' attention toward the line in Grande's song "just like magic," which goes, "Take my pen and write some love letters to heaven," followed by cricket sounds.

So, what's the big deal? Well, as @maraleebell put it in her video, "A special somebody has a song called 'Crickets.'" That special somebody, of course, is Miller. While Miller passed away in 2018, his song "Crickets" was released posthumously earlier this year. Fans are now theorizing Grande subtly plays crickets throughout the album whenever she references Miller as a secret homage to her ex.

Listen for yourself here:

Aaand also here:

Shortly after Miller's death in 2018, Grande posted a tribute to him on Instagram:

i adored you from the day i met you when i was nineteen and i always will. i can’t believe you aren’t here anymore. i really can’t wrap my head around it. we talked about this. so many times. i’m so mad, i’m so sad i don’t know what to do. you were my dearest friend. for so long. above anything else. i’m so sorry i couldn’t fix or take your pain away. i really wanted to. the kindest, sweetest soul with demons he never deserved. i hope you’re okay now. rest.

Since then, she's honored him many times through her music. With "thank u next," she overtly called him out, singing, "Wish I could say, thank you to Malcolm ‘cause he was an angel." The line was so personal that it brought her to tears when she performed it in his hometown of Pittsburgh.

Most recently, fans have come to believe the song "imagine" on Positions is also a tribute to Miller.

If these references are indeed for Miller, they're a heartfelt way to honor his memory.