"Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" is a song by American singerAriana Grande. It was released on February 8, 2019, byRepublic Records as the third and final single from her fifth studio album,Thank U, Next (2019). The song was written by Grande,Savan Kotecha,Kandi Burruss,Kevin Briggs, and the producersMax Martin andIlya Salmanzadeh. Thepop,R&B andtrap song consists of aninterpolation theNSYNC song "It Makes Me Ill" in thebridge. The lyrics depict Grande convincing a man to break up with his girlfriend.

"Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored"
Single byAriana Grande
from the albumThank U, Next
Released	February 8, 2019 (2019-02-08)
Studio	MXM (Los Angeles) Wolf Cousins (Stockholm)
Genre	Pop trap R&B
Length	3:10
Label	Republic
Songwriter(s)	Ariana Grande Max Martin Ilya Salmanzadeh Savan Kotecha Kandi Burruss Kevin Briggs
Producer(s)	Max Martin Ilya
Ariana Grande singles chronology
"7 Rings" (2019) "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" (2019) "Rule the World" (2019)
Music video
"Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" onYouTube

"Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" debuted and peaked at number two on theBillboard Hot 100, allowing Grande to become the second artist afterthe Beatles to have songs on the top three positions of the Hot 100 and the first solo and female artist to accomplish this feat. Outside of the United States, "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" topped the charts in eight countries, including Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and received platinum or highercertifications in 13 countries. An accompanyingmusic video was directed byHannah Lux Davis and depicts Grande in alove triangle with a couple including adoppelgänger of herself. A scene in the video was compared toSingle White Female (1992), while some publications criticized it forqueerbaiting. Grande included "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" on the setlist of theSweetener World Tour and performed the song with NSYNC on the first show at the 2019Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Grande announced the inclusion of "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" on theThank U, Next track listing on January 22, 2019.^[1] It replaced the initial song "Remember", as she believed that it was too personal to release and wanted a "fun" song instead.^[2][3] Grande additionally uploaded a snippet of the song on hersocial media accounts prior to its release.^[4] It was released as the third and finalsingle fromThank U, Next on February 8, 2019,^[5][6] and was distributed tocontemporary hit radio andrhythmic contemporary radio in the United States on February 12, 2019.^[7]

Musically, "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" is apop-R&B^[8] andtrap-pop song,^[9] which includes Grande's "semi-rapped, disenfranchised" vocals placed over a "booming" bass,^[10] and is accompanied by a "subterranean click beat".^[11] "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" contains aninterpolation of theNSYNC song "It Makes Me Ill" from their third studio albumNo Strings Attached (2000),^[12] which is heard in thebridge.^[2][13] Grande inherits thecadence and lyrics from "It Makes Me Ill",^[14] and changes the lyric in the original song: "You can say I'm crazy, if you want to / That's true, I'm crazy 'bout you" to the lyric in "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored": "You can call me crazy cuz I want you / And I never even never fuckin met you".Billboard staff writers believed that Grande altered the song to become "a hyper-sexualized, alluring and suspenseful paean",^[15] while Elias Leight ofRolling Stone noted that the lyrics contrast from the "tale of envy [...] overflow[ing] with jealousy" in "It Makes Me Ill" to the possibility of "escap[ing] dullness" in "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored".^[14] "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" was written by Grande,Max Martin,Ilya Salmanzadeh,Savan Kotecha, and the songwriters of "It Makes Me Ill",Kandi Burruss andKevin Briggs.^[12] The lyrics depict Grande convincing a man to break up with his girlfriend.^[16][17]

Rolling Stone writerRob Sheffield praised "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" for being "the perfect way to endThank U, Next and compared it to theBritney Spears song "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)".^[18] Ross Horton ofThe Line of Best Fit described the song as "positively filthy" and opined that Grande's vocals should contain an "advisory warning".^[16] Writing forThe Independent, Helen Brown stated that "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" is "sexy" with Grande "embracing her inner mean girl".^[19]The Irish Times writer Ed Powers opined that it is "a sultry exorcism" where Grande searched for "merciful oblivion in the arms of a forbidden lover".^[20] At the 2020Hito Music Awards, "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" won the award for Best Western Song.^[21]

However, Wren Graves ofConsequence of Sound believed that the placement of "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" onThank U, Next as the final track gave the album "a sour aftertaste".^[22] Writing forHotNewHipHop, Devin Ch described the song as a "humorous quip at worst",^[23] whileEntertainment Weekly writerMaura Johnston claimed that "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" is "self-indulgent" and negatively compared it to Grande's song "7 Rings" through the characterVeruca Salt.^[24]

In the United States, "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" debuted at number two on theBillboard Hot 100 behind Grande's "7 Rings", which was her 13th top 10 song on the chart. With "7 Rings", "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored", and "Thank U, Next" simultaneously occupying the top three positions on the Hot 100 chart dated February 23, 2019, Grande became the first artist to monopolize the entire top three positions on the chart sincethe Beatles did so in 1964, and the first solo and female artist to accomplish this feat.^[25] The song remained on the chart for a total of 20 weeks,^[26] and wascertified triple platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on June 15, 2020, for sales of over 3,000,000 equivalent units in the United States.^[27]

The song debuted on theBillboardStreaming Songs andDigital Songs charts at number two, lodging 59.2 million first week streams, and 36,000 digital downloads sold within its first week respectively.^[25] Additionally, on theDance Club Songs chart dated May 4, 2019, "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" became Grande's seventh overall number one song and her fourth number one song in 2019, which was assisted with remixes byDirty Werk, Country Club Martini Crew andEric Kupper.^[28] On theMainstream Top 40 chart issued May 4, 2019, it peaked at number three and remained for 20 weeks.^[29] "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" ranked at number 21 on The 25 Most-Consumed Songs of 2019 chart compiled byBuzzAngle Music, having sold more than 2,258,795 units.^[30] The song debuted at its number two peak behind "7 Rings" on theCanadian Hot 100 chart dated February 23, 2019,^[31] and was certified quintuple platinum byMusic Canada (MC) on January 12, 2024, for 400,000 track-equivalent sales in the country.^[32]

In the United Kingdom, "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" debuted at the top of theUK Singles Chart on February 15, 2019 – for the week ending date February 21, 2019 – with 85,000 combined sales and replaced "7 Rings", which fell a spot to number two that week.^[33] Grande became thefirst female artist to replace herself at number one on the UK Singles Chart and the second female artist tooccupy the top two spots on the chart sinceMadonna in August 1985. She also became the first female artist to achieve three chart-topping singles in under 100 days and the fourth overall artist afterElvis Presley,John Lennon, andJustin Bieber, and was the first female artist with three songs in the top 10 as a lead artist afterRuby Murray in March 1955.^[34] The following week, "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" declined to the number two position, as "7 Rings" regained its number one peak. Grande subsequently became the first artist in British chart history to self-replace for two consecutive weeks.^[35] The song received a double platinum certification by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI) on June 13, 2025, for sales of 1,200,000 track-equivalent units in the United Kingdom.^[36]

In the Republic of Ireland, the song peaked at the summit of theIrish Singles Chart and became Grande's fifth song to top the chart. The latter achievement allowed Grande to become the second female artist with the most number one songs in the 2010s decade, afterRihanna's six songs. Grande was the first person to replace themselves on the chart sinceEd Sheeran in 2017, and was the second female artist sinceBritney Spears to reach four number ones on the chart in less than a year during the 2000s millennium.^[37]

In Australia, "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" debuted at the number two peak on theARIA Singles Chart dated February 24, 2019, where it remained for 13 weeks.^[38] It was eventually certified 4× platinum by theAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) in 2023, for selling 280,000 equivalent units in the country.^[39]

"Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" topped theNew Zealand Singles Chart issued February 18, 2019, and charted for 14 weeks.^[40] The song was later certified double platinum byRecorded Music NZ (RMNZ) for selling 60,000 units in the country.^[41]

An accompanyingmusic video for the song was released at midnight on February 8, 2019, which coincided with the release of the album.^[6] It was directed by American music video directorHannah Lux Davis and filmed inside a mansion in theHollywood Hills.^[42] The music video is Davis' third consecutively-directed video fromThank U, Next, after the album's title song and "7 Rings". Davis stated that the video's concept was based around alove triangle between Grande and a couple including adoppelgänger of the former, which Davis described as an "element of narcissism".^[43] It features actorCharles Melton and model Ariel Yasmine.^[44][45]

The video begins with Grande arriving in a nightclub while sporting a platinum wig. She notices Melton and his girlfriend Yasmine, the latter resembles Grande with her "sky-high ponytail".^[46] Although Melton is holding Yasmine, he is fixated by Grande's appearance.^[46][47] Grande is next seen at a house party without the platinum wig, as she attempts to gain Melton's affection.^[48][49] Throughout several scenes, Grande and Yasmine intimately dance together and caress the other person's hair,^[5][50] while the former portrays a "third wheel" as she follows the couple while rolling her eyes.^[51] Towards the end of the video, Grande advances towards the couple as they are lounging poolside.^[48] She approaches Melton, but swiftly pushes him away before turning towards Yasmine as they both lean in to kiss.^[44][52]

Billboard staff considered the music video to be "sexy and stylish",^[42] while Tallie Spencer ofSpin opined that it "complements the song's sassy tone".^[50] Writing forMTV News, Madeline Roth considered it to be "trippy" and compared the scene where Grande changes her appearance to the filmSingle White Female (1992),^[46] whileElle writer Alyssa Bailey noted that the music video is portrayed as "a goodCW drama".^[6] However, some publications accused the video's climax forqueerbaiting.^[44][48][53]

Grande debuted the live performance of "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" on theSweetener World Tour on March 19, 2019, where it was the fourth song included on the setlist inAlbany, New York.^[54] She performed the song at both shows of theCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2019.^[55] During the first show on April 14, 2019, Grande paused midway through the song to introduce NSYNC membersJC Chasez,Chris Kirkpatrick,Joey Fatone, andLance Bass on stage to sing "It Makes Me Ill" with "intense choreography".^[56] They then followed up their performance with NSYNC's 1997 song "Tearin' Up My Heart",^[57][58] with Grande performing the dance moves while the video screens resembled aVHS tape with numbers and ripples.^[59] NSYNC's appearance during both performances elicited a loud crowd reaction.^[56][60][61]

American singerLana Del Rey performed acover version of "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" during herBBC Radio 1Live Lounge appearance on September 9, 2019,^[62] which was approved by Grande onTwitter.^[63][64] Nick Reilly ofNME stated that Del Rey's cover "is largely faithful to the original".^[65] It was nominated for Best Cover Song on the2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards.^[66]

• Limited editioncassette /7-inch single^[67][68]

1. "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" (Explicit) – 3:10
2. "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" (Edited) – 3:10

Credits adapted from the album'sliner notes.^[69]

Recording

• Recorded atMXM Studios (Los Angeles,California;Stockholm,Sweden) and Wolf Cousins Studios (Stockholm)
• Mixed at MixStar Studios (Virginia Beach,Virginia)
• Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City,New York)

Personnel