Ariana Grande has generated a lot of discussion with her unexpected new single “Thank U, Next,” which expresses gratitude for many of her highly publicized relationships and breakups, and on November 30 she released an official music video (watch it above). But does the video live up to the hype? Our users have been discussing it in our forums, and their opinions run the gamut from “fun watch” to “everything that’s wrong with pop culture.” Read some of their reactions below, and join the discussion here.
After years of trying and multiple top-10 hits over the course of her career “Thank U, Next” finally give Grande her first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and now the video has broken records. Spoofing teen movies like “Mean Girls,” “Legally Blonde” and “Bring it On,” it was viewed more times in 24 hours than any other video in YouTube history. As of this writing it has been streamed more than 92 million times, but by the time you read this it will probably be well higher than that.
Directed by Hannah Lux Davis, “Thank U, Next” isn’t as trippy as Grande’s videos for “No Tears Left to Cry” or “God is a Woman,” both of which were helmed by Dave Meyers. “No Tears” earned her an MTV Video Music Award earlier this year for Best Pop Video, and it was also nominated for Video of the Year. Will her latest be greeted with the same enthusiasm? And could it give her a boost at the Grammys? “Thank U” isn’t eligible until the 2020 awards, but having a year-end chart-topper should keep her foremost in mind as the recording academy considers her work from her album “Sweetener.”
Read our posters’ comments below, and join their debate here.
M: “It’s everything that’s wrong with pop culture. What an overhyped, boring video.”
Os: “I liked the video. Fun, clever, and the ‘(could still get it)’ made me laugh a lot. ‘God Is A Woman’ is still her best video for me though.”
Robinladen: “It was a fun watch but I feel like with some tweaking she could have pushed it further, like Taylor did with ‘Blank Space’ as her first high-end video. It’s cute and visually appealing but not wow.”
Shivam: “Wow. Such a HUGE disappointment. I really expected to be something great with that concept … She definitely could’ve done better than this.”
Riley: “‘Thank U, Next’ actually has really touching lyrics and is tonally closer to what I thought her first single should have been after her last hiatus. The Jennifer Coolidge interlude was funny, but that is a video for a different song.”
Atypical: “Video is cute … It’s the song that’s so whatever. Shows none of the needed artistic growth that she displayed in ‘Sweetener.'”
Be sure to make your Grammy predictions so that Hollywood record executives and top name stars can see how their music is faring in our Grammy odds. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until just before nominations are announced on Friday, December 7. And join in the fierce debate over the 2018 Grammys taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our music forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
