Ariana Grande Shares Sweet Shot With BFF Alexa Luria On Instagram

Ariana Grande is feeling the love on the release date of her highly anticipated album Thank U, Next. The songstress is riding high on the critical acclaim from her latest album which dropped Friday to rave reviews and an outpouring of fan support. And Grande is sharing those good vibrations, taking to Instagram to post a series of images that show the singer spending some quality time with a few of her favorite people — including longtime pal Alexa Luria.

Fans of Grande are already familiar with Luria, who is one of the singer’s oldest friends. The two actually met in gym class during elementary school, and have been inseparable ever since. Luria has appeared in numerous videos alongside her songstress friend, most recently in her new hit single, “7 Rings.”

And it’s clear from the shot shared by Grande on Instagram with her 144.7 million followers that their friendship is stronger than ever. In the black-and-white image, Grande and Luria are holding each other in a tight hug as both women smile with their eyes closed. Grande has on dramatic winged black eyeliner, and her long brown hair is tied up in her iconic high ponytail. She wears a long black sweatshirt that hugs her petite frame, and looks blissfully happy in the arms of her longtime friend.

Luria is keeping it cozy in the shot as well, wearing a big white hoodie that contrasts nicely with Grande’s darker style. Her blonde hair is tied back in short pigtails, and she is wearing an assortment of rings as accessories. The only color in the shot are the words “Thank u, next” in pink in the upper left-hand corner.

But Grande wasn’t done spreading the love around Instagram. The singer shared even more of the fun black-and white shots, filling them with beloved friends and colleagues who helped make her album such a success. Luria appears again in more images, as well as Grande’s manager Allison Jamie Kaye and dancer Rim Taya Shawki, to name just a few.

While Grande may be making a big splash musically and on social media, there’s one place you won’t be seeing the singer: at the Grammys. Grande was originally supposed to perform, but dropped out due to conflicts with Grammy officials, which she explained on Twitter. Drake, Childish Gambino, and Kendrick Lamar also declined to perform at the show, which airs this Sunday.