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Ariana Grande joins Thundercat to perform 'Them Changes', fans say 'Mac's smiling down on you all'

The 2015 song 'Them Changes' was earlier praised by Ariana on her Instagram stories

Ariana Grande joined musician Thundercat on stage at the Adult Swim Festival to perform the song 'Them Changes'. Taken from Thundercat's EP 'The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam' and third studio album 'Drunk', the 2015 song 'Them Changes' was earlier praised by Ariana on her Instagram stories. The official Pop Crave account tweeted a clip of the performance and wrote, "Ariana Grande & Thundercat perform 'Them Changes' on Adult Swim."

In the press release for the duet, Thundercat spoke on his collaboration with Grande, having met through his long-time friend and her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, whom the artist remembered on social media in September upon the two-year anniversary of Miller’s death. Says Thundercat, “It feels like Ariana and I are forever connected through Mac and this is part of the healing process.”

Fans were quick to talk about the performance on Twitter with one saying, "I love my girl but this performance is bad...probably the instrumental is louder than her," while many fans recalled Grande's ex-boyfriend Mac Miller with one saying: "And to think she covered this song the day before everything it's so beautiful to see the two of them keeping Malcom's legacy." and other fan saying: "Mac’s smiling down on y’all". More fans praised the performance as tweets read, "Bruh I don’t usually feel Ariana‘s music AT ALL. Though I acknowledge she’s fine AF! That said this s**t here...this s**t here...and this s**t here...is I feel like Marvin Berry on 'Back II The Future' calling Chuck: Ariana Grande THAT'S your sound boo!" Another fan said, "I knew this song thanks to Ariana Grande and love it so so much. And now seeing them sing this together, OMG I'M CRYING AND SCREAMING. Thundercat love you both." 

One more fan who loved the performance wrote, "The bass tone, the harmonies, that absolute f***ing style. I f***ing stan this performance," while another tweeted, "I just showed my dad this song the other day and he loved it! I've always thought Ariana Grande’s live lounge cover was dope. In other words, this is awesome Ariana Grande and Thundercat."

Thundercat first came to prominence as a member of crossover thrash metal band Suicidal Tendencies. He has since released four solo studio albums and is noted for his work with producer Flying Lotus and his appearance on Kendrick Lamar's critically acclaimed 2015 album 'To Pimp a Butterfly'. In 2016, Thundercat won a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Performance for his work on the track 'These Walls' from 'To Pimp a Butterfly'. 

Ariana's R&B-influenced sixth studio album 'Positions' was recently released and the eponymous title track debuted at #1 in the UK and US with the single becoming her record-extending fifth number-one debut on the Billboard Hot 100. The album, too, debuted at the top of Billboard 200.