It’s hard to deny it, but Ariana Grande and Starbucks are two of the most popular topics in the country these days. Even if you’re not a fan of pop, you’ve probably found yourself singing “Thank U, Next” under your breath after a confrontation with your boss. And sure, maybe you’re not a fan of their coffee, but a Frappuccino might be your go-to summertime treat.
When you hear someone say they’re unfamiliar with either, you raise an eyebrow in disbelief.
Besides both constantly taking over headlines, they have something else in common — they’re both quite familiar with the word “grande.” Ariana Grande was born with the name Ariana Grande-Butera, meaning it’s been part of her entire life. For Starbucks, fans know that “grande” means 16 ounces, or the medium size. (The word itself means “large,” but Starbucks has two sizes even bigger — the venti and the trenta.)
Perhaps that may have been what brought the two together.
Starbucks has been hinting hard at a collaboration with Grande, but only gave a few strange clues on social media so far. And those clues are similar to the famous Denny’s “zoom in on the syrup” tweet from years back.
When you zoom in, you’ll realize that even these clouds are familiar with Grande’s music.
Zoom in on the heart. 💚 pic.twitter.com/h9MuCBJQRo
— Starbucks (@Starbucks) March 4, 2019
When you zoom in, you see “Thank You, Next” and a message to follow the sun. Starbucks fans were quick to pick up on it.
I see @ArianaGrande references and I’m pleased
— Papi Caro (@_CaroQuevedo) March 4, 2019
But is it a social media manager who happens to be a fan? Or, is it a hint that Grande will be stopping at Starbucks a lot more in the near future?
ariana grande references + green heart emoji = ariana grande inspired matcha drinks?
— josh (@needyprobIem) March 4, 2019
This was one of the best suggestions. Those would probably sell out even faster than their reusable cups do.
Even without knowing what it was, fans outside of America already had one big request. Make it international, too.
What can you say? Ariana Grande has fans everywhere she goes.
That wasn’t the only cloud tweet that Starbucks posted. The first one seemed innocent until the two others came along.
We know you've always wanted to know. ☁️ pic.twitter.com/7XmMoQzqEc
— Starbucks (@Starbucks) March 4, 2019
Posted first, it makes it seem like this Ariana Grande collaboration may have something to do with clouds.
At this point, nobody would have expected that Grande would be involved at all.
After the heart cloud, Starbucks went on to post this second photo of the sky.
A beautiful photo, yet with another secret message.
Zoom in on the cloud. ☁️ pic.twitter.com/Wc5mldyfRm
— Starbucks (@Starbucks) March 4, 2019
This guess sounds like it’s incredibly plausible.
If it’s not what’s coming out, maybe Starbucks should consider it.
One employee already knows what it is. But, they’re not spilling any tea. Talk about loyalty. Starbucks, give this gal a raise!
as a Starbucks employee, I see what you did there 😏
— mara treibergs (@maratreibs) March 4, 2019
you’ll find out tmrw!! it’s 100% worth the wait
— mara treibergs (@maratreibs) March 4, 2019
But one person threatened to spill the fun, saying they already got a notification.
Who knows if this is accurate, or what it may have to do with Grande, but possible spoilers ahead if you really want to wait.
Caramel cloud macchiato. This is the second new release drink that I got an email for a day before the announcement.
— Valerie Betz Johnson (@Valynn726) March 4, 2019
Even if their marketing team may have goofed, Starbucks still pumped out more secret cloud photos.
Check out this one.
Time to vote! What do you see in the clouds? 🌜, 🐓, or 🥐. pic.twitter.com/oBhka9UDKa
— Starbucks (@Starbucks) March 4, 2019
At this point, people were wondering whether or not Starbucks was hacked. Why so many cloud photos? On with the coffee, already.
We're really into clouds.
— Starbucks (@Starbucks) March 4, 2019
One thing’s for sure — Starbucks really likes having fans look deep into their screen.
But, there’s one more to go. This time, it’s a rainbow.
Zoom in on the rainbow. 🌈 pic.twitter.com/omEOJ7yDu9
— Starbucks (@Starbucks) March 4, 2019
Even though I couldn’t see it, meaning that my eyes have probably died due to the number of secret words I’ve had to look at in the last few tweets, others on Twitter say that this message is the strangest of all.
“You Dew You.”
Alright, You Dew You too, Starbucks👍😎
— dang 👾 (@xprtxprt) March 4, 2019
So, is Mountain Dew in the mix as well? Or, was this some sort of elaborate prank?
Did I just got ”pranked” by Starbucks?😂🤷🏻♀️ pic.twitter.com/szVkRRKnp8
— bey 🍉 (@daisy_bey) March 4, 2019
Many confused Starbucks fans were a bit miffed. Especially since this one seemed hard to find.
But have no fear, Ariana Grande fans.
Something is definitely happening, as Grande confirmed it on Twitter. But of course, she mostly used emojis.
So, what have we learned?
Well, we learned that Starbucks doesn’t care how high we need to set computer monitor settings, and also, that they’re releasing something that’s loosely related to Grande and clouds.
We out here vibin', we vibin', we vibiiiiiiinnnn'
— Starbucks (@Starbucks) March 4, 2019
Tomorrow, all questions should hopefully be answered.
But maybe we can ease up on the cloud photos until then, Starbucks?
