After teasing fans for over a week, Ariana Grande has finally dropped the visuals for her breakup bop “Thank U, Next.” Check it out above.
In the video, Grande pays tribute to some of her favorite movies/the best romcoms of the early aughts. That includes Bring It On, Legally Blonde, Mean Girls, and 13 Going on 30. With the help of her friends and stars from the original movie, Ari pulls off classic scenes flawlessly, fully transforming into fan favorites like Regina George and Elle Woods.
I'm not a regular mom, I'm a cool mom. 😉 https://t.co/GGpPNUC4N2 @ArianaGrande
The nostalgia-packed tribute stars Mean Girls alum Jonathan Bennett and Stefanie Drummond, and Jennifer Coolidge from Legally Blonde. It also stars Troye Sivan, Gabi DeMartino—a YouTuber who has made a career off of spoofing the singer—and a cameo from Kris Jenner. Jenner plays Grande's mom in the Mean Girl's spoof, which doubles as a tribute to her viral "you're doing great sweetie" meme, and ends the video saying, "thank you next bitch."
At the beginning of November, Ari blessed the world with the best getting-over-it breakup anthem on this side of 2010. She uses the track to thank her exes, including the late Mac Miller, for everything she’s learned. "Thank U, Next" dropped shortly after she canceled her engagement to SNL comedian Pete Davidson. In the beginning of the video, Grande fills out the iconic Burn Book with photos of her and her exes. Over a photo of her and Pete she writes, "sry I dipped."
Toward the end of the video, Grande recreates the scene from Legally Blonde where Elle Woods goes to a nail salon and rants to Jen Coolidge about her breakup. The music stops, and the pop star subtly jokes about Pete's alleged Big Dick Energy. "He was really cute you know," she says. "And it was really big." Coolidge, Grande, and the rest of the salon then proceed to do the bend and *snap.*
The breakup smash of the century became Grande’s first ever solo No. 1 song. Despite the tragic and frustrating events of 2018, the pop star channeled her recovery and emotions into universally loved bop about growth, forgiveness, and moving on. Now she has iconic visuals to match.
The video has already received praise from 13 Going on 30 star Mark Ruffalo.
This is the second big drop from Grande this week. On Thursday, the singer shared the first episode of her video diary from her Dangerous Woman tour.
