Ariana Grande thinks the late Mac Miller would just want people to remember and ''appreciate'' his music.

The 'thank u, next' hitmaker has heaped praised on her former boyfriend - who tragically passed away in September 2018 of an overdose at the age of just 26 - for his music and his work, as she revealed he was obsessed with creating his own music and loved being in the studio.

Speaking to Apple Music, she said: ''I think that nothing mattered more to him than music ever. And he was the kind of person who woke up and rolled into the studio, tumbled out of bed, into the studio next door. Nothing was more important. Talk about losing track of time and forgetting to eat, remind yourself to take care of yourself and be a person. He was a person who gave literally every single second of his thought and time and life to his music. And I think that's so evident in what he's left us with and just how many incredible and different bodies of work, everything from 'Blue Slide Park', 'Kids', to all the way through 'Divine Feminine', to 'Swimming', to 'Circles', to everything in between. Especially 'Larry Lovestein', big fan and also 'Faces', all of that. It has to be, it's just such a beautiful gift I think that he kind of touched the world with, and I think the thing he'd want most is for us to just appreciate it and not forget about it.''

Ariana name-checked Mac - whose real name was Malcolm James McCormick - in her new single 'thank U, next'.

At one point, she sings: ''Thought I'd end up with Sean/ But it wasn't a match/ Wrote some songs about Ricky/ Now I listen and laugh.

''Even almost got married/ And for Pete, I'm so thankful/ Wish I could say, 'Thank you' to Malcolm/ 'Cause he was an angel.''