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At the end of last month, Ariana Grande released highly anticipated “Thank U, Next,” music video. Prior to the release, Ariana had been teasing with pictures on her Instagram, featuring styles from four 00′ rom-coms that have somewhat of a cult following for most Millennials: Legally Blonde, Bring it On, Mean Girls, and 13 Going on 30. No one anticipated how she was going to pull off four different themes in only one, 5-minute music video, but she really did that!
The video opens with a homage to Mean Girls, splicing together a bunch of people saying things about Ariana Grande, in the same way people had said things about Regina George in the original film. “Ariana Grande told me I look sexy with my hair pushed back. She’s not wrong,” says actor Jonathan Bennet, who played Aaron Samuels in the original film, while Stefanie Drummond, the same girl who played the “army pants and flip flops” said, “Ariana Grande broke off an engagement, so, I found a guy to propose to me, and I broke off an engagement.” Shortly after, the video cuts to Ariana on a bed with a “Thank U, Next,” book, designed to look like the infamous Mean Girls Burn Book. This book, however, features 3 of her 4 most famous relationships, leaving out Mac Miller, who is in a frame on her bedside table. But instead of the notorious “mean” things in the burn book, the thank u, next book says nice things about her former romances.
The music video continues through the three other movies, with Ariana recreating famous scenes from each, like in Bring it On, where Torrance and Cliff have a battle with brushing their teeth. She also has a dance party in her room, just like Torrence did. She cries holding a dollhouse, just like in 13 Going on 30. The video ends with her at Harvard, recreating the role of fashion icon and legendary lawyer Elle Woods, working out in her dorm room, watching television, just like Elle did after she realized Warner was never going to take her seriously.
Ariana Grande – thank u, next
The video is to honor all the women in these movies and to recognize them for being strong, independent, and for finding themselves outside of relationships. Instead of focusing on the love that was lost, focusing on what they are capable of becoming. And this message seems to have been accepted favorably by music fans. “Thank U, Next,” had the biggest music video debut in YouTube history, and sits at #1 on Billboard’s top 100; the first #1 of hers, ever.
With everything else that has happened before this, like the mass shooting at her concert in Manchester, her very public relationship with Pete Davidson, and the death of former boyfriend Mac Miller, she deserves the success of this song. She deserves to come out of everything happy, flirty, and thriving.
