Ariana Grande is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her debut album, Yours Truly, and dropped a deluxe edition of the smash-hit album. For her “Live From London” version of “The Way,” the 30-year-old belts out her hit song in the official audio video with Mac Miller’s vocals added in. At the very end, Ariana pays tribute to Mac. As the video fades to black, “Feat. Mac Miller” is written in white.
“The Way” was the lead single from Yours Truly and dropped ahead of the album. The song became a smash hit. Ariana and Mac were featured in the sexy music video, their undeniable chemistry on full display. In honor of the song’s 10-year anniversary in March 2023, Ariana reposted the music video for “The Way” on her Instagram Story and wrote “I love you” at the bottom of the post for Mac.
The Wicked star and Mac first collaborated on a Christmas song in 2012 and developed a friendship. After working together on “The Way,” things quickly became romantic between them. They went public with their relationship in 2016. Ariana and Mac broke up in May 2018 but remained friends.
Unfortunately, Mac died months later in September 2018 at the age of 26 from an accidental drug overdose. In a heartbreaking tribute on Instagram after his death, Ariana wrote that she “adored” Mac from the moment they met. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t fix or take your pain away. I really wanted to,” she added.
Ariana opened up about losing Mac in her 2019 Vogue cover story. “It’s pretty all-consuming,” Ariana said about her grief. “By no means was what we had perfect, but, like, f**k. He was the best person ever, and he didn’t deserve the demons he had. I was the glue for such a long time, and I found myself becoming . . . less and less sticky. The pieces just started to float away.”
In the years since Mac’s death, Ariana has always found a moment to give her beloved ex a shoutout. She’s sung about Mac in songs like “Thank U, Next,” “Ghostin,” and “Just Like Magic.” After all these years, Mac still holds a dear place in Ariana’s heart.