This long weekend has been a good one as singer-songwriter Ariana Grande released the much awaited Thank U, Next music video that featured iconic looks taken from chick-flick films from the early 2000’s. It featured the films: Mean Girls, Bring It On, 13 Going on 30, and Legally Blonde.
After her controversial break-up with stand-up comedian Pete Davidson, Grande released Thank U, Next which eventually became a number one hit worldwide. The song highlighted Grande’s gratitude to all her exes and how she was able to learn from all of them and made her stronger.
The music video broke Youtube’s all-time most view record in the first 24 hours of its release.
The video was jam-packed with known personalities such as Jennifer Coolidge who reprised her role as Paulette in the film Legally Blonde.
Jonathan Bennett also reprised his role as Aaron Samuels from Mean Girls. The former Victorious costar Mat Bennett also appear in the music video as Cliff from Bring It On.
Colleen Ballinger, who is also known as Miranda Sings, appeared in the music video as a student who is a big fan of Ariana Grande who got pregnant because she thought Ariana was also expecting – but turns out it was just a rumor. She also appeared as one of the cheerleaders in the Bring It On segment of the video.
Another former Victorious star, Elizabeth Gillies appeared as Cady Heron and looks almost identical to Lindsay Lohan. In addition, Grande’s friends Courtney Chipolone and Alexa Luria appeared as Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith – Regina George’s minions.
Troye Sivan also appeared in the video’s intro with a joke about Apple Music’s lyric error when the song was first released. Instead of “her name is Ari”, the service identified it as “her name is Aubrey”.
Real life momager Kris Jenner was perfect for the role of Regina George’s mom as she appeared in the video with her recording the iconic jingle bell rock dance from Mean Girls with a video camera.
More than Ariana’s amazing looks and star studded cast, what made the music video even more promising is how it celebrated strong female characters from the early 2000’s rom-com films.
Watching the Thank U, Next music video was complete nostalgia as it featured different scenes from the early 2000’s. Even more, it paid homage to these strong and empowered female characters who we grew up with and loved.
Regina George may not be the kindest nor the underdog of the film Mean Girls, yet it is undeniable that she is one of the strongest female characters in modern cinema. She may not be the best role model for young girls but her strong personality reminds us that girls can also be powerful. The same way goes with Torrance Shipman who was the team captain cheerleading team – and reminds us that girls can rule. Elle Woods proved everyone wrong and showed how women can be smart and beautiful at the same time. Lastly, Jenna Rink was strong in the way that she learned from her mistakes and used it to grow to be a better woman that she is.
Just as ‘thank u, next’ celebrates gratitude, strength, and growth, Ariana Grande chose to feature these strong female characters who perfectly embodied the message of the song.
