no tears left to cry

What makes 'No Tears Left to Cry' harmonically distinctive is the deliberate tonal friction between its sections. Grande and her co-writers intentionally placed the verse and chorus in different harmonic worlds — the verse floating in major-inflected ambiguity through add2 voicings, the chorus grounded in natural A minor. This was directly inspired by Lauryn Hill and En Vogue's approach to chord changes, transplanted into a modern dance-pop context. The extended 10-chord chorus progression is unusually long for pop, giving the harmony room to breathe and develop. Savan Kotecha noted they kept the lyrics simple specifically because the chord changes and melodic shifts were already complex enough. The UK garage rhythmic framework adds another layer, as the syncopated beat interacts with these harmonic shifts to create a song that feels both emotionally grounded and kinetically propulsive.

After the Manchester Arena bombing during her Dangerous Woman Tour in May 2017, Ariana Grande became reluctant to record new music, preferring to spend time with loved ones due to the emotional impact. 'No Tears Left to Cry' was the first song she wrote with Max Martin, Ilya Salmanzadeh, and Savan Kotecha for Sweetener, after working with Pharrell Williams for most of the album. Grande told them she wanted the song to be positive, saying 'I don't have any tears left to cry,' and Martin then sang the chorus melody. They composed the music before writing the lyrics, and Grande suggested the verse and chorus be in different keys, inspired by her work with Williams. She also wanted it to start as a ballad and become uptempo like Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive.' Kotecha cited Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and En Vogue's 'Don't Let Go (Love)' as inspiration for the track's chord changes. A lot of time was spent on the pre-chorus until Ilya found a fixed groove, and simpler lyrics were chosen to balance the already complex chord changes.

Released in April 2018 as the lead single from Sweetener, 'No Tears Left to Cry' marked Ariana Grande's powerful return after the devastating Manchester Arena attack. Built on a UK garage beat with modulating keys between verse and chorus, the song transforms grief into euphoric dance-pop, debuting at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping charts in thirteen countries.