Ariana Grande gave her ex-boyfriend Ricky Alvarez a shoutout at her Austin concert—and he was there to hear it. According to E! Online, the pop star modified her hit song "Thank U, Next" during her Eternal Sunshine Tour concert in Austin, Texas, on her birthday, June 26.
Instead of singing the original line "Now I listen and laugh" in the verse about her exes, Grande sang, "Wrote some songs about Ricky / I know he still got my back." Fans reacted strongly to the lyric change—especially because Alvarez, the dancer she dated from 2015 to 2016, was in the audience.
Fan-captured footage shows the moment Alvarez heard the shoutout. The 33-year-old dancer smiled while a man believed to be Grande's dad Edward Butera shook his hand. Her mom Joan Grande also gestured toward Alvarez during the tribute.
This wasn't the first time Grande tweaked the lyric for Ricky's benefit. On her first night at the Moody Center on June 24, she sang a different version: "Wrote some songs about Ricky / And they still really slap."
The public reunion comes days after Grande and Alvarez shared a meal together at De Nada Cantina in Austin, according to social media photos. Grande wore her Eternal Sunshine Tour merch while Alvarez wore an Elysia band tee.
The timing follows news that Grande and her Wicked costar Ethan Slater had quietly split after nearly three years together. Grande and Alvarez have maintained a friendship over the past decade.
