“Worst Behavior” by Ariana Grande

As we have pointed out in the past whenever Ariana Grande drops a song related to love, fans are going to instantly speculate that it is about one of her real-life romances. And considering that she’s had quite a few, sometimes these analyses devolve into sort of a guessing game. 

But thankfully this time around, if the lyrics of “Worst Behavior” are true-to-life, then it can be more easily ascertained who it is she’s singing of. For if you didn’t know Ari-chan did in fact get engaged two months before this track was released, to some dude named Dalton Gomez. And as such the consensus is pretty much that said relationship is the one at the center of this tune.

But that is not to say that this is purely a love song. Rather as the title implies, it centers largely on the personal mannerisms of the singer. Yes, Ariana is “a little troublemaker”. And she tends particularly to behave so towards the addressee, her romantic interest. But she’s not asking for forgiveness or for anyone to try to change her style. Rather she likes the freedom that being bad, so to speak, affords her. 

And she feels that occasionally embracing her naughty side is not only good for her own wellbeing but also the overall state of the romance at hand. And what she is asking of her partner is that he does not overreact when she does have such lapses.  Instead she is imploring him to “just stay by (her) side”.

Chorus

And the choruses further explore the songstress’s ideology for this relationship. For instance, she does not idealize a lot of talking going on between the two of them. It is also implied that maybe at one point in time she left him, as now she is pledging to “stay”. Indeed it can even be further said that the addressee is hesitant – or let’s scared – to fully commit his heart based on the vocalist’s past actions.

And as for the parts which Arianators really feels point to Dalton, those are also found in the choruses. For here the singer reveals her desire to keep her relationship with the addressee a secret. She’s not interested in publicizing their romance, as she feels this union is truly the one.

And in real life, Ariana did in fact keep her romance with Dalton Gomez by and large a secret. That is perhaps why news of her engagement did not make headlines as forcefully as it normally does when a star of her standing decides to get hitched.  Or maybe it’s because Dalton himself is not a celebrity. 

But either way, if taken literally, the lyrics of this song allude to the singer and addressee possessing conflicting lifestyles – as to be expected between a music superstar and a real estate agent. And yes, the wording also puts forth that Ariana is in fact the bad one in this relationship. 

So accordingly, she is letting her significant other know that when her “worst behavior” does manifest itself, he shouldn’t read too deeply into it. Because after all, she is very much in love with him.

Facts about “Worst Behavior”

This song was released on 19 February 2021 as part of the Deluxe Edition of Ariana Grande’s album “Positions” (2020). Said Deluxe Edition witnessed the introduction of three other brand-new songs to the project in addition to this one – “Main Thing”, “Test Drive” and “Someone Like U” (which is an interlude). Additionally there is now a remix of her platinum selling single, “34+35“, this time around in conjunction with A list rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat.

Meanwhile the first time the songstress teased “Worst Behavior” was on 17 February 2021.

On the same day this track was released, it managed to reach number 3 on iTunes US sales chart.

As aforementioned, Dalton Gomez is a real estate agent. He is said to have started dating Ariana Grande in January of 2020.  The cat was really let out of the bag the following month when TMZ captured the two of them kissing, with the identity of Gomez being unknown at the time. 

But for the most part, as also stated earlier, their relationship was kept underground. It would appear that this was at least partially due to the coronavirus lockdowns and the fact that both of them quarantined. Even more specifically, they endured quarantine together. And their engagement was announced to the world on the date of 20 December 2020.

Thomas Lumpkins (aka Tommy Parker), Mr. Franks and TBHits produced “Worst Behavior”. And as is kinda standard these days they also co-wrote song, with further participation coming from Tayla Parx and Grande.

This song is a product of Republic Records.