Ariana Grande released a music video for her song “thank u, next”, which is the artist’s first number one single. Around 830,000 viewers watched the video’s live release on YouTube on Nov. 30 at 3:00pm. The video reached over 47 million views in just 24 hours, breaking YouTube’s record, previously set by BTS, who earned 45.9 million views for their song “Idol.”
A lot of suspense surrounded this video prior to its release. Grande released short clips on her Instagram of her dressed in recognizable costumes and recreating iconic scenes from teen movies on the days prior to her video’s release, cluing fans in on what the video’s possible concept could be. The video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis who has directed many other music videos and worked with many other famous artists, including Demi Lovato and Nicki Minaj.
The five minute and 30 second video featured a combination of four popular movies from the early 2000s: “Mean Girls,” “Bring It On,” “13 Going on 30” and “Legally Blonde.” Grande is dressed up as main characters from each of these movies, including Regina George, Torrance Shipman, Jenna Rink and Elle Woods. I was able to immediately recognize the movies due to the outstanding costume designs and iconic scene choices.
One of the reasons that Grande chose these movies is because of the many positive messages that they send to young women, and how they connect to the similar messages that her song sends. “I really liked how she used movies that were all about self-love and women empowerment,” Sydney Newman ’21 said.
Several of the real actors from these movies made appearances in the video, including Jonathan Bennett, the actor who played Aaron Samuels in “Mean Girls” and Jennifer Coolidge, the actress who played Paulette Bonafonté in “Legally Blonde.” I think that this was an excellent addition to the video, surrounding it with more attention and making it more meaningful for Grande.
Several of the actors who were in the Nickelodeon television show “Victorious” with Grande also made appearances, including Matt Bennett, Elizabeth Gillies and Daniella Monet. Additionally, Colleen Ballinger, well known for her YouTube character Miranda Sings, also appeared in the video. The video also featured a cameo from Kris Jenner.
Overall, this video had many compelling factors that encouraged viewers to watch it, in addition to sending many positive messages to young women. I think it was a great pairing with song and was excellently produced.