Shade of the Week: Thank U, Next
Thank U, Next is literally the biggest song in the world right now, the number one video trending on YouTube and the only thing anyone seems to be talking about so it's only fitting to make the salacious music video this week's Shade of the Week, however, instead of shading Ariana Grande's new hit I'm celebrating the ample amounts of shade she managed to throw in the five minute video. God really is a woman.
Normally songs about singer's exes have vague lyrics which imply something about their ex which fans have to piece together and theorise who the song is about, however, Ariana wasted literally no time by naming the names of her four exes right from the beginning of the song and there's nothing I love more than a straightforward bitch who gives zero fucks. Obviously, Thank U, Next is her post-breakup anthem which came on the heels of her dumping her fiance of five months Pete Davidson, who she was only dating for about a week prior. Anyone with a brain knew there was a better chance of the world literally ending than these two remaining together before New Years but both parties got major publicity and Ariana has a number single as a result, so is anyone really sad about this situation?
The answers no. The only person who's probably depressed over the situation would be Pete, who's probably somewhere in New York with his bong in one hand and iPhone in the other while he and his blue hair scroll through all the hateful tweets he's getting from Ariana stans. Instead of hating on Pete shouldn't we all be praising him because without Pete (allegedly) sending Mac Miller nudes of him and Ariana together which may or may not have led to his untimely death, we never would've got this iconic music video and a song no one can get out of their head.
The music video itself is full of iconic 90s and early 2000s movies we all love which not only garnered publicity and hype for the release of the video due to the incredible production quality, celebrity cameos and Kris Jenner's amazing performance as the "Cool Mom" from Mean Girls but also had an underlying meaning. Yes, It was an entertaining video due to the sets matching almost identically to the original films and she did an amazing job of replicating the nostalgia we loved from the films, however, all four movies (Legally Blonde, 13 Going On 30, Mean Girls and Bring It On) all had powerful female leads, inspired young women everywhere and are other factors which contribute to the overall female empowerment message of the song.
The key message of the song is to take lessons from your exes and moving on. Yes, you can be sad about what you've lost but it's better to learn from your mistakes, take what you needed from the relationship and move on to better yourself. Life is all about learning and this may be a little deep for an Ariana Grande song but it's also completely valid. This is a career peak for the young singer and her message of self-love is really the main takeaway we should all be getting from this empowering music video as well as being obsessed with Kris Jenner's amazing performance. There's no way Ariana can't win every single music video award that's on offer next year after this incredible hit.
Although I love the message, production quality, films featured and the video's overall meaning, I still have one question. Who the fuck taught her love, patience and pain? Did Pete teach her patience because they got engaged too quickly? Did Big Sean teach her pain because he was her first Hollywood boyfriend? Who the fuck is Ricky? I NEED ANSWERS!
Watch the Thank U, Next music video below bitches!
