Singing an Ariana Grande song with the pop star herself? Imagine a world like that.
Except one lucky fan doesn’t have to — he lived it in real life. In a recent moment captured in a video posted to Grande’s Instagram Story, the “Yes, And?” singer overheard a nearby driver listening to her Thank U, Next fan-favorite “Imagine” on full volume. She then had her car pull up parallel to the fan’s vehicle and rolled down her window to say hi.
“What’s your name? Edwin, nice to meet you!” Grande said after singing along to her own whistle notes for a moment. “I was like, ‘How is this real? Is that me?’ This made my day!”
Edwin — whose filmed POV has also been circulating on social media — replied breathlessly, “Oh my god, I adore you. I can’t believe … I’m this close to you!”
Afterward, the Grammy winner shared a video taken by someone who was in the car with her and wrote that she’d “made a friend.” “i couldn’t believe my ears !!!!!!” she added. “it was blasting. thank you edwin for making my day. im still crying.”
It’s been a long time since fans got to hear Grande sing even a little bit of “Imagine,” which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019. She hasn’t toured since December of that year, when she concluded her global Sweeter trek in support of albums Sweetener and Thank U, Next — both of which topped the Billboard 200.
The Wicked star has since released two more LPs: 2020’s Positions and 2024’s Eternal Sunshine. Though she’s teased that a smaller run of performances may be in the works for the latter project, Grande has also leveled with fans recently about wanting to focus more on acting and musical theater and less on pop star activities going forward.
“I’m always going to make music, I’m always going to go on stage, I’m always going to do pop stuff, I pinky promise,” she said on the Nov. 6 episode of Las Culturistas. “But I don’t think doing it at the rate I’ve been doing it for the past 10 years is where I see the next 10 years … Whatever makes sense, or whatever roles we see fit, or where I could really do a good job or honor the material, I would really love to [act more]. I think it’s a lot better for me.”
Watch Grande and Edwin’s spontaneous meet-and-greet below.
