RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Add Page Six on Google Ariana Grande sings about a steamy romance on "Bad Thing (Bunny Hop)" — and fans are convinced the lyrics are about her reconciliation with ex-turned-boyfriend Ricky Alvarez .
In the song off the Grammy winner's new "Petal" album, released Friday, Grande asks whether a man has "been this fine the whole damn time."
The actress, 33, sings, "Meet you by the staircase where we / Fell in love, let's do it twice."
She refers to the connection as a "bad thing" in the new release, which features lyrics about "all of this time [she's] been wastin.'"
The former Nickelodeon star adds, "You've been really good through all this noise / The frequency's changing."
Another verse includes, "I can learn your body language / 'Cause it never used to be like this."
X users speculated that the parenthetical in the song's title may be a reference to Alvarez, as "bunny hop" is never mentioned in the lyrics.
One fan pointed out that Grande's "Dangerous Woman" album, which features the "Sam & Cat" alum sporting a pair of rabbit ears on the cover, came out during her and Alvarez's relationship.
Another wrote , "Folks, it's so simple. We barely even know exactly when she started with [Slater] and much less when they actually ended. Most likely she and Rick have been together for way longer than we know. Obviously it's for him!!!!!"
A third insisted , "the lyrics match their situation perfect."
Grande's rep did not immediately respond to Page Six's request for comment.
Grande and her former backup dancer, notably, dated between 2015 and 2016 — and sparked reunion rumors in June.
Page Six confirmed earlier this month that the duo is back together following her breakup from "Wicked" co-star Ethan Slater .
While news broke of the "Victorious" alum and Slater's split last month, it is unclear when exactly the pair called it quits — and Grande recorded "Petal," her eighth studio album, early this year.
The songwriter called the record "a little feral" in an Apple Music interview on Wednesday.
"I wrote from a place I don't usually, which was, like, an unfiltered rage that I think we all feel sometimes," she explained.
While Grande is "usually too shy to tap into that," she "didn't filter [herself] as much" this time around.
"I usually do a lot of rewrites and make things a little kinder," the "Thank U, Next" hitmaker shared with the outlet. "This time, I didn’t. … It’s definitely from a place I’ve been maybe too shy or polite to tap into before. This kind of just feels like, ‘F–k it’.”
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