Entertainment
Ariana Grande has got it covered - she doesn't need any sympathy sent her way, or any more idle chatter about her former relationships - or at least, that's what her latest single, 'thank u, next', would have you believe.
The track, which has been dubbed the anti-cuffing anthem of the season, sees Ariana break away from tried-and-true tropes surrounding breakups. Rather, she's chosen to embrace love, patience, and her newfound knowledge of how to handle pain ("that sh*t’s amazing") - with the intention to forge ahead with the most important relationship of them all: the one she has with herself.
In the single, Ariana doesn't shy away from the fact that breakups are painful, instead she reframes it as something that can be equally empowering. This is no 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' or 'Look What You Made Me Do' - as we all expected - it is much, much better.
And now, the music video is finally out!
An homage to 00's pop culture, the 'thank u, next' music video is one hell of a nostalgia trip.
The video, which is full of references to the period's female-driven films - including Mean Girls, Bring it On, 13 Going on 30, and Legally Blonde - smashed YouTube's all-time record for the most views in the first 24 hours of its release.
It features cameos from Mean Girls actors, Jonathan Bennett and Stefanie Drummond - with Kris Jenner playing the role of the camcorder-brandishing "c00l mom" in all of her "momager" glory.
It also includes appearances from YouTube stars, Colleen Ballinger and Gabi DeMartino, as well as Jennifer Coolidge - of Legally Blonde fame - singer, Troye Sivan, and co-songwriters of the track, Tayla Parx and Victoria Monét.
Two of Ariana's exes even make a cameo: when Ariana is channelling her inner Regina George, she's seen filling her Burn Book with happy memories of her exes, namely Big Sean and Pete Davidson. But fans were quick to point out that the late Mac Miller is missing from the lineup.
Ariana split with Mac in May of this year after nearly two years of dating, so the news of his unexpected death was understandably traumatic. So instead of giving him a photo in her Burn Book, she honoured the rapper in another, more significant, way.
Last month, a fan took to Twitter to write "When she flips through the thank u next burn book and pics of her with sean, ricky, pete & mac arrive................ we had to fucking stan."
Ariana quickly clarified: "M ain't in the book he next to my bed."
If you, like everyone else have been watching "thank u, next" on repeat, you would have noticed that the pop-star closes the Burn Book right before she sings, "Wish I could say thank you to Malcolm, ‘cause he was an angel."
And then, if you look closely, you'll see picture frames on her nightstand. While it's near impossible to determine who's in the frames, Ariana has given us a pretty big clue...