Ariana Grande to Release A Cappella Versions of ‘The Boy Is Mine’ & ‘We Can’t Be Friends’

As she continues plucking away at her upcoming Eternal Sunshine deluxe edition, Ariana Grande is treating fans to multiple new versions of both “The Boy Is Mine” and “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love).”

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The 31-year-old pop star shared plans to drop digital bundles for both singles on Instagram Stories Wednesday (July 17). The “Boy Is Mine” package will include her previously released remix with Brandy and Monica, as well as instrumental, solo a cappella and group a cappella versions. The latter will also feature the ’90s R&B-pop icons, who guested on the track after making surprise cameos in Grande’s Penn Badgley-led music video for the track.

As for “We Can’t Be Friends,” the two-time Grammy winner will unleash an a cappella version, an instrumental version, a string version and an instrumental string version. The bundle follows the heartbreaking dance track reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March, supported by a music video inspired by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind that starred Grande opposite Evan Peters.

Both bundles will arrive Friday (July 19). Physical single copies featuring selections of those new versions are also available on Grande’s website.

The Wicked star’s new releases arrive as Eternal Sunshine spends its 18th week on the Billboard 200. Upon its debut, the album topped the chart for two weeks.

Grande recently confirmed that a deluxe edition of the LP is in the works, featuring brand new music to complement the original set of 13 tracks — not that fans should expect it to arrive any time “super soon.” “I definitely thought this album was perfect as it was, and I still kind of feel that way,” she told Evan Ross Katz on a recent episode of his Shut Up Evan podcast. “With time, I’ve been inspired to write more songs and inclined to do this deluxe. I’m really tempted to put a creative button on this storytelling, and I have a lot of ideas.”

“I don’t just want to slap the music onto what I already think is a perfect version of the album,” she added at the time. “I want to let it live in this current state a little while longer, take my time to execute my vision for this deluxe and make sure that it’s worth the wait and as special as I think it can be.”

Hannah Dailey

Billboard