by Ariana Grande · 2024
“Twilight Zone” by Ariana Grande is about reflecting on a past relationship that feels surreal and confusing in hindsight, as if it happened in another reality, and coming to terms with the lingering disbelief and emotional aftermath while affirming personal growth and closure.
This song has been Shazamed over 131,158 times. As of this writing, twilight zone is ranked 194
twilight zone’ by Ariana Grande is a song that explores confusing feelings after a breakup and the strange memories that linger. We’re going to talk about what the lyrics mean and how the music makes us feel. ⬇️
The song creates an atmosphere of dreamy unreality, as if the narrator is caught between worlds—unsure if the past was real or just a figment of imagination. It’s tinged with wistfulness, uncertainty, and a touch of surreal nostalgia.
In the chorus, Grande repeats, “Sometimes, I just can’t believe you happened,” which hits like a wave—half disbelief, half reluctant acceptance. The repetition of not missing the person, insisting “I don’t,” feels like a mantra we tell ourselves when reality’s too weird to face head-on. There’s a rawness here: we sense that even as she proclaims she wouldn’t call, there’s an ache beneath the denial, a kind of emotional static that lingers long after the credits roll.
️ ️ The verses unravel more layers, blending black-and-white imagery (“Is this a black and white scene? If so, then I’m in the gray one”) with a sense of being lost in a masquerade—a relationship full of roles and disguises. When Ariana wonders, “Does she know you’re not who you say you are?” or admits, “Hope you win for best actor, ‘cause I had you completely wrong,” it’s as if she’s exposing the truth behind the curtain, yet still tangled in old loyalties and protective instincts. There’s a peculiar vulnerability in pretending the songs aren’t about them, while secretly hoping this will be the last time she writes about that pain.
What strikes hardest is the self-awareness threading through every line; Ariana acknowledges the strangeness of her own emotions, questioning her role in the story—“Or was I just not me at all?”—while trying to convince herself (and maybe us) that she’s finally where she needs to be. The push-pull between moving on and lingering disbelief makes the listener wonder: do we ever really leave the twilight zone of a love that felt otherworldly?
The heart of “twilight zone” lies in its ability to capture that disorienting, liminal space after heartbreak—where memory, denial, and acceptance swirl together, and sometimes the only thing left to do is marvel that it all actually happened.
Writer(s) of twilight zone: Ariana Grande, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Max Martin
