The absence of a solo music video from Ariana Grande, which lasted for more than three years, is finally ending. In an Instagram post Thursday (Jan. 11), Grande teased the approaching music video for her forthcoming comeback track, “Yes, And?” — and she’s addressing some of the viral headlines that have hounded her over the previous two years.
The teaser begins with a hand clutching a red card bearing the coordinates 41.0359° N – 71.9545° W and the initials “AG7,” which is Grande’s untitled seventh studio album. Given Grande’s well-known adoration for Carey, the coordinates point to Montauk, New York, the setting for the Jim Carrey film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
This could be an easter egg for what the AG7 period may hold. The words “Your presence has been exclusively requested” are written on the card’s reverse. Ariana Grande Wishes to Have a Successful Festive Season
After then, the video cuts to various views of “critics” walking into what looks to be an office building. Yes, it is quite exclusive. While waiting in an elevator, one critic deadpans, “Typical Ari.” Another critic says, “You know, I think I liked her better when her ponytail was a few centimeters higher.” Then someone else adds, “And, really, does it really matter if she’s happy? I’m not looking for happiness. Ari is what I desire.
As the critics exit the elevator, the scene switches to two new critics having a conversation in a hallway. The on-screen text indicates that it is 11:55 a.m. at this point. An older man responds, “You don’t say,” to a woman who laments, “I miss the old Ari, you know, the singer.”
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A playful jab at impatient fans who were irritated by Grande’s attention to her acting career and R.E.M. Beauty beauty business during her musical break, the statement read, “I heard she’s starting an artisanal hummus line next.”
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Two more critics are revealed near the end of the teaser, the first of whom exclaims, “Oh my God! Was that anything that she actually did? “Well, I read it on the Internet, so it must be true,” responds another critic.
The music video’s official release date is revealed on a dark screen as the teaser ends with a sight of a clock striking 12:00. On Friday, January 12, at 7 a.m. PT, the song will make its official DSP debut. Grande included Christian Breslauer, the MTV Video Music Award-nominated filmmaker behind videos for SZA’s “Kill Bill” and Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby,” in her post.
Although “Yes, And” is not the title of Grande’s upcoming album, the artwork for the song will double as one of the album cover versions, the singer said on Monday, January 8. She originally hinted at new music at the close of 2018 with an Instagram picture on December 27. On January 4, she began teasing the song officially with a sweatshirt that included the track’s title, a reference to her 2018 announcement for Sweetener’s lead single, “No Tears Left to Cry.”
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Following her break, Grande has added two additional Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper hits to her repertoire: “Save Your Tears” and “Die for You,” both of which she co-wrote with The Weeknd and peaked at No. 7 on the 2023 Year-End Hot 100 ranking.
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The multi-hyphenate has been focusing on filming Wicked, in which she is expected to star as Glinda the Good Witch opposite Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Bowen Yang, Ethan Slater and more. The first of two film musicals, Wicked, is scheduled to open in theaters on November 27, 2024.
See the teaser for the “Yes, And?” music video below:
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