Hate That I Made You Love Me

In a post shared on Grande's Instagram, she stated: "One of my favorite songs I'll ever write." She also revealed that it was produced by her "favorite collaborators and dearest human beings in the world", mentioning Ilya Salmanzadeh and Max Martin, as well as herself.^[1] Grande recorded the song at Jungle City (New York), Godzilya (Los Angeles), and MXM Studios (Stockholm), and wrote the lyrics by herself. She composed and produced the song along with Salmanzadeh and Martin, while it was mixed and mastered by Serban Ghenea and Randy Merrill, respectively.^[2]

"Hate That I Made You Love Me"

"Hate That I Made You Love Me" is a pop and R&B ballad with trap elements, featuring a minimalist and midtempo production with synthesizers. Grande delivers a subdued vocal performance and uses her lower register.

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"Hate That I Made You Love Me" is a mid and down-tempo pop, alt-pop, R&B, and synth-pop ballad that features trap elements and Grande's subdued vocal delivery over a sauntering instrumental.^[a] Built around moody and minimalist synth production, the song addresses the admiration Grande has received throughout her career and the ways in which public support can later become criticism.^[10] It expresses regret over a relationship while also reflecting Grande's conflicted feelings about fame and public scrutiny.^[11][12][13] Lines like "you all gave me your hearts" in the bridge extend beyond a romantic relationship and reflect her experiences with public scrutiny, including commentary surrounding her appearance and body.^[14]

According to iHeartRadio's Sarah Tate, although "Hate That I Made You Love Me" initially appears to focus on relationship struggles, its lyrics also reflect Grande's complicated feelings toward fame and public attention.^[15] Sam Prance of Capital interpreted the track as containing multiple meanings, similarly to Grande's 2024 single "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)".^[16] DIY's Daisy Carter highlighted Grande's use of a lower vocal register on the song, describing it as a "woozy, hypnotic cut".^[17] Jake Viswanath from Bustle noted parallels with Taylor Swift's 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department in its subdued synth-driven production, lower vocal register, and lyrics addressing public scrutiny.^[18]

On May 8, 2026, Grande shared the cover artwork of "Hate That I Made You Love Me", the lead single from her eighth studio album, Petal (2026).^[1][19][20] Its black-and-white cover artwork features a close-up image of Grande partially obscured by her hair, resembling the visual style used for the cover of Petal.^[21][22] "Hate That I Made You Love Me" became available for pre-order in digital and physical editions, including 7-inch vinyl, cassette, and CD—featuring two versions: an a cappella and instrumental version.^[23][24][25]

A snippet of "Hate That I Made You Love Me" was released on May 18; accompanied by a black-and-white teaser visual featuring fragmented text and photographs of Grande, the clip uses processed ambient sounds resembling falling water droplets rather than audible lyrics or vocals.^[26] On May 26, Grande shared a black-and-white promotional image for Petal on Instagram, with the accompanying caption referencing the song's lyric, "cause i barely tried".^[27] "Hate That I Made You Love Me" was released on May 29 via Babydoll Music and Republic Records,^[28] along with an accompanying lyric video featuring a style inspired by comic books.^[29][30][31] The song was serviced to US hot AC radio on June 1.^[32] It was later serviced to US pop and rhythmic radio on June 2.^[33][34] A cappella and instrumental versions were released to digital platforms on the same day.^[35][36] Grande continued releasing alternate digital editions of the single over the following days, beginning with a live-from-rehearsal version on June 3,^[37] followed on June 4 by further versions focused on alternate vocals, the music video edit, guitars, and a stripped-down arrangement.^[b] She first performed "Hate That I Made You Love Me" during the Eternal Sunshine Tour.^[43]

"Hate That I Made You Love Me" received mixed reviews from music critics.^[44][45] In a mixed review, Paolo Ragusa of Consequence considered its central theme less compelling than Grande's previous relationship-oriented singles, arguing that it revisits ideas explored on her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine (2024), without offering significant new insight into her perspective. Ragusa nevertheless described the track as "breezy", though not an especially "eventful" return for her.^[46] Vulture's Craig Jenkins argued that both the production and songwriting recalled earlier pop trends, especially the styles of artists like Taylor Swift and the Weeknd, and felt that the "dour" track lacked the rhythmic energy and immediacy of many of Grande's previous lead singles.^[9]

Stereogum author Margaret Farrell described "Hate That I Made You Love Me" as possessing an "uncanniness" and highlighted its bubbly yet off-kilter production and Grande's use of a lower vocal register. Farrell noted an underlying sense of unease beneath the song's melodic surface and compared aspects of its sound to Modern Talking's "Cheri, Cheri Lady" (1985).^[47] Jordi Bardají of Jenesaispop described it as a "subtle and direct" song and praised its melody, which he called "beautiful", though presented in a "more delicate package" than Grande's previous singles.^[48]

On its release day, "Hate That I Made You Love Me" recorded 8.8 million streams on Spotify, becoming Grande's third biggest debut on the platform after "Yes, And?" (2024) and the remix of the Weeknd's "Die for You" (2023).^[44] In the entire world, the song debuted at number one on the Billboard Global 200 chart, becoming Grande's fifth chart-topper after drawing 63.4 million streams and selling 81,000 downloads worldwide from its May 29 release through June 4, according to Luminate.^[49] The song remained at number-one for two more weeks.^[50] In September 2026, it was named by Spotify and Billboard as the most-streamed and top-performing Global 200 song of the summer, respectively.^[51][52]

"Hate That I Made You Love Me" also entered at number one in Switzerland,^[53] the UK Singles Chart,^[54] and the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Grande's tenth number-one on that chart. She became the seventh solo female artist to amount ten number-ones on the chart, and the thirteenth overall. She also tied Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson, and Bruno Mars for the seventh-most number-ones (10) and Taylor Swift for the most number-one debuts among female artists (8), and the second overall after Drake. The song's number-one premiere was fueled by 23.6 million streams, 18.9 million radio airplay audience impressions, and 70,000 copies.^[55] On the UK Singles Chart, it was her eighth single to debut on top and first since "Positions" (2020).^[54] While it only spent one week at number one, it remained in the top-ten for 13 weeks.^[56]

The song also debuted in the top-five in Austria,^[57] Germany,^[58] Ireland,^[56] New Zealand,^[59] and Australia,^[60] and in the top-ten in France,^[61] the Netherlands,^[62] and Sweden.^[63] It was Grande's second top-five hit in Germany,^[58] her fifth in Austria,^[57] and her third top-ten hit in France.^[61] Twelve weeks of the song's run on the Irish chart was in the top-20, five non-consecutive weeks of which were in the top-ten.^[56]

Directed by Christian Breslauer and starring actor Justin Long, the music video for "Hate That I Made You Love Me" was released on June 1, 2026.^[64] Its teaser was released on May 27, which features Long driving a car before noticing Grande staring at him through the rearview mirror. It concludes with the song's title displayed in a font resembling posters for the 1986 film, The Hitcher.^[65] Polish cinematographer Janusz Kamiński shot the visuals for the song's music video.^[45][66] On June 3, two behind-the-scenes videos were released exclusively to music streaming services: the "Bad News Montage" exclusively on Apple Music^[67] and the "Bunny Hop Montage" exclusively on Spotify.^[68]

Throughout the horror and comedy-themed video,^[70][71] Long's character attempts to move on from the past while repeatedly encountering Grande's character, and creates an increasingly surreal narrative where reality and imagination become difficult to distinguish.^[72] The video first shows Long's character perhaps burying Grande in the desert, before becoming haunted by recurring visions of her. Grande awakens in an underground bunker, where she reads journals of her songwriting and insecurities. After Long accidentally crashes his car and inadvertently sets himself on fire while trying to rid himself of her, multiple versions of Grande surround him at a diner. Flustered, Long returns to the burial site, where he discovers the door to the bunker, while Grande escapes and buries him alive.^[73][74][75]

Publications highlighted Long's presence.^[76] Vulture writer Jason P. Frank drew comparisons to his performances in Barbarian (2022) and Tusk (2014).^[77] Chris DeVille of Stereogum highlighted a sequence in which Long's character survives being engulfed in flames.^[78] Critics also noted continuation of elements from Grande's other music videos, such as film-inspired visuals,^[77] and the use of a single bright colorful element to contrast with the general muted color palette.^[69] The video received seven nominations at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year and Best Pop Video;^[79][80] it won Best Visual Effects and Song of Summer.^[81]

Credits were adapted from the "Dandelion White" vinyl jacket.^[2]