Ariana Grande & Thundercat Slay Performance As He Says They’re ‘Forever Connected’ By Mac Miller’s Death

Ariana Grande joined Thundercat — a close friend of her late ex, Mac Miller — to perform ‘Them Changes’ at the Adult Swim Festival!

Ariana Grande, 27, gave fans a pleasant surprise when she hopped in front of the guest mic during Thundercat’s set at the Adult Swim Festival that was livestreamed on Nov. 14! Her appearance wasn’t announced beforehand, and fans proceeded to freak out as Ariana and Thundercat did a duet performance to the latter’s hit, “Them Changes,” amid the panel for Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Meatwad vibed out in the background).

Ariana and Thundercat twinned with leopard cat ears for the performance, and even posed for a selfie backstage! “Love you too Ari,” Thundercat wrote over the photo, which was in response to Ariana tweeting a video of their performance and writing, “thank u brilliant trio for having me love u always @thundercat.”

Thundercat played the bass throughout the performance, and it was reminiscent of the time the talented musician strummed the same instrument for Mac Miller’s performance of “What’s The Use?” during his NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert that took place just a month before the rapper’s death in Sept. 2018. Thundercat was close friends with Ariana’s ex-boyfriend, who had died at only 26 years old from an apparent overdose.

“It feels like Ariana and I are forever connected through Mac [Miller], and this is part of the healing process,” Thundercat said in a statement for their performance at the Adult Swim Festival, per Vulture. After Mac’s death, Thundercat also reflected on their Tiny Desk Concert performance in an Aug. 2019 tweet: “Well, that @nprmusic tiny desk was as special as you would think it was. I LITERALLY flew into dc while I was in the middle of a tour myself in Europe to do that with him. We performed, and I hopped right back on a plane afterwards…..”

This isn’t Ariana’s first time performing “Them Changes.” She first covered Thundercat’s 2015 single (which is found on his 2017 album Drunk) for a performance at BBCRadio’s Live Lounge in Sept. 2018, just two days before Mac died. Ariana had dated the “Self Care” hip-hop artist between Aug. 2016 to May of 2018.