On Friday, pop singer Ariana Grande released a 2000s-inspired music video for her latest hit “Thank U, Next.” This particular video has received plenty of hype on social media these past few weeks, as Grande made several posts about it on Instagram. While the music video itself was highly anticipated, many fans were eager to see celebrity cameos, which include Troye Sivan, Matt Bennett and Kris Jenner.
Trailers and previews for the music video first appeared on Grande’s Instagram around Nov. 20, when she posted a “Legally Blonde” inspired photo captioned: “Whoever said orange is the new pink is seriously disturbed.” For those of you who haven’t seen this classic 2000s film, the quote is one of Elle Wood’s (the main protagonist) famous lines.
The following day, she posted a photo referencing “Bring It On,” as she was dressed in cheerleading attire and, again, captioned it with a notable line from the film: “I transferred from Los Angeles, your school has no gymnastics team this is a last resort… Okay, I’ve never cheated before, so what?”
Just this past week, the pop star shared a stream of five photos resemblant of “Mean Girls.” The first three featured the infamous “Burn Book” and Grande dressed as Regina George, the main antagonist of the film.
Grande also references “13 Going on 30,” another noteworthy romantic comedy from the 2000s. During the music video premiere, Mark Ruffalo, a central character in the 2004 film, tweeted: “Having some Razzles (it’s candy AND a gum) in your honor, @ArianaGrande! #thankunext”
Over 825,000 people, including Ruffalo, streamed the music video live. One comment from YouTuber Dylan Montana reads: “Mean girls, bring it on, 13 going on 30, legally blond…. this is iconic…” Seeing as it currently has over 6 million views on YouTube, “iconic” is definitely the right word to use.