My rocket titties made their debut here i use them all the time personally but they publicly made their debut in this video as well they’re very useful though hi laura it’s ariana grande and today i’m going to be breaking down some of my most iconic videos by the way they told me to use the word iconic i didn’t assume that so this video was directed by the young astronauts by my friend nev and she and i collaborated on this concept i really love the 60s i’ve always loved that era for glamour for wardrobe for
Aesthetic film choreography everything the dancing scene in this video was actually inspired by sweet charity and the wardrobe it’s pretty almost identical but yeah i really i love that era so we had a lot of fun dipping a toe in here and then i never kind of dipped any toes out for the rest of my life also i love iggy’s glam here i loved her makeup i loved her hair it was funny because my ponytail in this scene was actually not that high or teased and like five minutes before we rolled i was like this looks too
Uh and then i just went in the mirror and i just grabbed and i was like like went like this and i brought it up really high and i sort of okay we don’t need a bunch of memes with me going like this anywhere but it’s okay it’s too late so it um this is one of my favorite videos this one is break free directed by chris mars i had the time of my life shooting this video i loved this makeup chris buckle did this makeup put a bunch of stickers from michael’s or something on my face and they definitely weren’t supposed to be
There i think delena did this hair and johnny woojack did this wardrobe it was a beautiful fun video i’ve always loved vintage interpretations of space and like what the future looks like but in the 50s or 60s i always thought that was so cool big barbarella fan obviously i continue to channel her as much as possible there’s a really cool deleted scene on the internet somewhere where we recreated the who shot first scene from star wars which was really fun as well my rocket titties made their debut here i use them all the time
Personally but they publicly made their debut in this video as well they’re very useful though love me harder 2014 featuring the weekend this was our first time collaborating it was really fun this concept didn’t feel very personal to me as i’m sitting in a old chair and some sand and i end up in water for some reason i’m dressed as some sort of kitten i i love the look in it i love the look i kind of gave up the reins here and was just kind of like go for it and then i really i really fought hannah for the kitty ears i’m really glad that
I did though cause i really like them i think it would have felt almost too serious without the ears for me so this is side to side featuring nicki minaj 2016. We were going back and forth and back and forth about what should this concept be and i remember i was on the treadmill thinking and listening to my playlist of what was becoming the dangerous woman album and i got to side to side and i was like why does this feel so fun to listen to on the treadmill and i facetimed hannah and i said we should be on soulcycle bikes
And she was like oh i’ll call you back and then pull together all these dope visual references she’s like you and nikki have to be in the sauna i don’t love the look the with the leggings and the stringy bra thing but i love the other ones i love the one on the bike the one in the leggings feels like i was forced into it it probably was one is no tears left to cry 2018 directed by dave myers this was a really fun video simply because of how much preparation went into it the rotating set that we had to build to create the first
Scene took so long to get used to and we rehearsed the day before and it was so much fun i pitched dave this idea of sort of multiple fields of gravity because of a game i was playing at the time called monument valley on my phone i told him how much i loved escher stairs and stuff like that and we sort of mushed everything together and created the sweetener what really was sort of like the centerpiece for the sweetener album and era which was this sort of play on being upside down and not knowing what is right and what is up
Because also personally in my life at the time i was sort of upside down and not knowing where the ground was and not feeling very grounded or okay so yeah i felt like that was a really nice cool way to visually represent what i was feeling during those moments really the fashion here is really fun i loved the polka dot umbrella dress i really loved that i remember feeling so joyful in that this was styled by la roche and i loved these looks i think they’re so much fun god is a woman 2018 also directed by dave myers this was
Such a fun video to do this was glam by ash and josh and styled by mimi catrell this one was so much fun because obviously there are so many beautiful ways to express femininity and what it is to be a woman and there’s so many things to lean into as far as paying homage to art that already exists and also creating our own so yeah we had a lot of fun with this one of my favorite moments is probably when i’m fingering the earth loved that a lot i also loved recreating the moment the michelangelo moment at the end because
I was able to tease that we were putting that in this video at the met gala when i worked with vera wang on my dress i liked that connection to me that was that felt exciting and i felt giddy knowing and then i loved that sort of water color that i’m swimming in in the beginning i think it’s so beautiful alexa mead did that art on my sort of face and hair and boobs and in the water as well that is not random paint it’s not a pool that’s for sure this is thank you next from 2018.
i loved this video so much the funny thing about this is that we were working on the breathing video hannah and i were in new york filming the video for breathing breathing kind of was like the tail end single of sweetener because it kind of life thrust me into the thank you next album era i didn’t have any plan of moving on that time anytime soon but i kind of had to do that album as an artist to feel better and i really was ready to move on and we were working on breathing and i was like we have to recreate all my favorite
Scenes from all my favorite movies and make the thank you next video like next month we have to do it and she was like holy sh like nobody is more right to do this with than hannah she turned something that felt so torrential at the time in my life into something that felt fun and light at least while we were doing it and while we were making it and what i got to share with the world felt you know bright and beautiful playing regina george was really fun playing l woods was really fun playing jenna rink was a dream come true
I couldn’t believe it jennifer garner even reposted it and i love her so much i loved being able to work with jennifer coolidge on this she actually recreated all of her looks from legally blonde for this which was the biggest honor of my entire life i worship her i’m a humongous comedy person i my favorite movie is best in show and she happens to be in that as well you should see the outtakes they’re so funny she was like i met a guy with no teeth i made out with him it was so weird and then i saw him under the
Covers he was doing something and i was like trying to keep a straight face and she was like have you ever kissed a guy with no teeth positions 20 20. I love this video so much i love this glam i love this styling this makeup was by anthony and my hair was by josh lu this styling was mimi cattrell this was directed by dave myers again and conceptualized by my husband we were in the car driving home and dalton just turned to me and was like what if you were the president and i was like you’re perfect i called dave this was literally three
Days away from the shoot i want to say and we just like he made it happen i also love the women that are in this video with me it was really cool just to sort of paint this picture in a feminine way and just say you know why couldn’t it look like that why couldn’t it even look half like that 34 35 2020 directed by director x michael did this makeup again and josh did this hair again and this was styled by mimi again this was another one where we took inspiration from that 60s sci-fi again that old horror
60s thing is my favorite aesthetic in the world so we tried to make it sort of emulate that with the drippy letters and stuff i yeah i feel so lucky to have done this i’m choreographed by brian and scott nicholson as well this choreography is so silly and fun but like also so chic i’ve worked with them my whole career so it’s fun to sort of find new stories to tell with them and okay are we voguing today no we’re being fem bots today actually and they are always able to jump in and execute everything so beautifully and
Make me feel beautiful in the movements and i appreciate them and everybody i get to work with thank you all so much for joining me as i broke down some of my most i was forced to say the word iconic earlier but some of my most they happened music videos thank you i’m sorry you have to use that you have to use that you have to
Ariana Grande Reveals the Hidden Secrets Behind Her Most Famous Music Videos: You Won’t Believe These Facts
The music video has long been a vehicle for artistry, but for Ariana Grande, it has functioned as something far more profound: a diary. In a recent, refreshingly candid look back at her career, the pop powerhouse broke down the concepts and creations behind her most memorable visual projects. It is a journey that reveals that behind the high-gloss production and the “iconic” status of these clips lies a person constantly navigating the shifting tides of personal evolution.
The conversation begins not with the hits, but with the aesthetic choices that defined them. Ariana speaks with a reverence for the 1960s—the era of glamour, silhouette, and specific, stylized filmography. For her, this was not just a trend; it was a way to ground her own identity in a visual language that felt timeless. Even the simple choice of a ponytail or a specific style of makeup becomes, in her recounting, a moment of spontaneous decision-making that ultimately etched itself into pop culture history.
One of the most revealing segments centers on the No Tears Left to Cry era. While the video is known for its gravity-defying sets and Escher-inspired stairs, Ariana reveals that the visual concept was born out of her own internal turbulence. At the time, she was navigating a life that felt “upside down,” where the ground beneath her felt unstable. By visually representing this disorientation, she found a way to externalize her internal struggle. It is a poignant reminder that the most compelling art often stems from the moments where we feel least “grounded.”
The God is a Woman video, she notes, was a celebration of femininity—a canvas upon which she could pay homage to existing art while crafting her own. She speaks with genuine giddy excitement about the specific connection to the Met Gala and the way she was able to tease upcoming visuals. It was a project defined by joy and the thrill of creation. When she describes the water-color art painted directly onto her body, she emphasizes that it wasn’t just random set dressing; it was a purposeful, artistic statement that went beyond the screen.
What would you have done in this situation? If you had the power to visually encapsulate a moment in your own life—the good, the bad, and the chaotic—would you be brave enough to share it with the world, or would you keep those private truths hidden away from the public gaze? This is the core of Ariana’s journey. She chose to share, turning her life’s “torrential” moments into something light, bright, and ultimately, beautiful.
Perhaps the most beloved of her visual projects is the Thank U, Next video. She describes it as an act of defiance against a time in her life that felt overwhelming. Working with her long-time collaborator Hannah, they turned the project into a playground, recreating favorite movie scenes and making space for humor—especially through her collaboration with Jennifer Coolidge. She speaks of Coolidge with such adoration that it’s clear the bond went deeper than the script. The outtakes, the behind-the-scenes laughter, and the simple joy of playing characters like Regina George or Elle Woods served as a necessary salve for the soul.
In the Positions video, we see a glimpse into her personal life, where a simple car ride and an offhand comment from her then-husband—”What if you were the president?”—sparked the entire concept. It highlights how her creativity is often a collaborative, intimate process, born from the small, private moments shared between loved ones. It wasn’t about politics; it was about imagining a world where the feminine could exist in spaces that were traditionally closed off.
The conversation also touches on the 34+35 video, a return to the 60s sci-fi aesthetic she so clearly cherishes. It is here that we see the “silly and fun” side of her professional process. She talks about the choreography with the Nicholsons, emphasizing how important it is to work with people who don’t just execute a move, but who understand the story she is trying to tell.
As we reflect on these moments, the question arises: what is the one project of your own that you would want to be remembered for? Is it the one where you were most vulnerable, or the one where you were most joyful?
Ultimately, Ariana Grande’s breakdown of her work is more than just a trip down memory lane. It is a testament to the power of artistic expression as a means of survival and self-discovery. She didn’t just make music videos; she created a world where she could process her own humanity in real-time. Whether she was dangling upside down in a rotating room or playing the leader of the free world, she was always, undeniably, herself.
As we look back, we realize that while the hair, the makeup, and the sets may have changed, the heart of the artist remains consistent. She invites us to see that the “iconic” moments we love are not just products of a high budget or a clever team; they are the result of a person trying to find the ground, trying to laugh through the tears, and trying to express the inexpressible. The story of her music videos is the story of her life, and in that, we find a piece of our own.
