Ariana Grande Pays Subtle Tribute to Late Ex Mac Miller in New Video for Their First Collab 'The Way'

Grande previously paid tribute to her ex on the song’s 10th anniversary earlier this year, simply writing “I love you” on social mediahttps://youtu.be/hYhIqVKtUL4

The late Mac Miller will always have a place in Ariana Grande’s heart.

On Friday, the pop star unveiled a deluxe edition of her debut album Yours Truly for its 10th anniversary featuring new live versions of some of its songs, including “The Way,” her first collaboration with the rapper — and she paid tribute to him in its official visualizer.

In 2013, Grande, 30, and Miller became friendly while creating and performing “The Way,” her breakthrough hit. In the song’s original music video, the two artists performed together and shared kisses.

The pair then entered a relationship in 2016, dated for two years and split in May 2018 — shortly before the rapper died from an accidental overdose in September 2018 at age 26.

In the visualizer for the song’s new “Live from London” version, a simple video featuring a moving version of the Yours Truly 10th anniversary album cover, she pays homage to Miller by fading out every element of the clip except for the words “Feat. Mac Miller,” which glow in white over a black background at the end.

Additionally, Grande’s new live take on the pop/R&B track features its usual production throughout most of the performance, but when Miller’s second rap verse begins, the song’s bubbly instrumental is replaced by an orchestral string section.https://youtu.be/_sV0S8qWSy0

Ahead of the Yours Truly anniversary, “The Way” turned 10 in March, and Grande honored the rapper in a few simple words on social media. Responding to a fan’s celebratory post of a clip from the song’s music video on social media, she wrote: “I love you,” and then shared the post to her Instagram Story alongside the same message.

Throughout their relationship, the pair also collaborated on Miller’s “My Favorite Part” as well as a remix of Grande’s “Into You,” both released in 2016.

In a 2020 interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Grande spoke about what she admired about Miller’s artistry.

“I think that nothing mattered more to him than music, ever. And he was the kind of person who woke up and rolled into the studio, tumbled out of bed, into the studio next door,” she told Lowe.

The Grammy winner continued, “Nothing was more important. Talk about losing track of time and forgetting to eat, [having to] remind yourself to take care of yourself and be a person. He was a person who gave literally every single second of his thought and time and life to his music.”

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