Ariana Grande's "thank u, next" already cemented itself as a 2018 banger, and the official video is a party of its own. Full of classic teen movie tropes and references to Mean Girls, Bring It On, Legally Blonde, and more.
The movie references are fun on their own, all teased by Grande on social media leading up to the video's release, but the cameos make "thank u, next."
From Mean Girls' original Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett) to Kris Jenner as a cool mom, everyone in the video is having a blast – perhaps none more so than Jennifer Coolidge recreating an entire scene of Legally Blonde with Grande as Elle Woods.
The song talks about Grande's exes, but the second part is all about self-discovery ("But this one gon' last / 'Cause her name is Ari). The movie references are strategic – though they all contain central love stories, they remain iconic because they are stories of female empowerment and a protagonist finding her voice amid all the noise.
And that shit's amazing.
Topics Music
