Few pop stars have withstood the same onslaught of criticism as Ariana Grande. After all, how many singers have we watched fall from bad press, failed relationships, substance abuse, and even acts of violence or terrorism? Quite a few, unfortunately. Avicii, John Lennon, Aaron Carter, Amy Winehouse, Mac Miller, the Miami Showband, etc. The list is regrettably endless.
Which makes it all the more remarkable that Grande has survived not just one maelstrom but several — and they seem to keep coming! More than survived, however, the songstress has obviously found a way to thrive. With two Grammy wins and nine VMAs under her belt, as well as 14 songs that have surpassed a billion streams on Spotify alone, it appears as though literally nothing can take out the legs from beneath this pop diva. Her current era, which includes the rollout of her album Eternal Sunshine, sees the four-octave vocalist explore what she describes as a “concept album” where all the music videos are inspired by pre-existing art, movies, and film that have inspired the singer since before she first topped the charts in 2013 with “The Way” featuring Mac Miller. And with the release of Wicked: Part I just around the corner, it feels only fitting that the pop diva be given her due. So, let’s get into it! Here are the top ten movies that inspired Ariana Grande's music videos.
thank u, next
Bring It On
Kirsten Dunst
Eliza Dushku
Jesse Bradford
Gabrielle Union
Sherry Hursey
Holmes Osborne
Clare Kramer
Nicole Bilderback
Tsianina Joelson
Shamari DeVoe
Natina Reed
Brandi Williams
Directed by Peyton Reed
Like most of the movies on this list, Bring It On has become a cult classic since its release in 2000. Yeah, you read that right. Twenty-four years ago! Anyway, in the music video, Ariana Grande takes up the role of Kirsten Dunst’s Torrance Shipman as she giddily dances on her bed with some black and red pom poms, mirroring the scene in the film where Kirsten listens to the original song made for her by her crush, “Cliff” portrayed by Jesse Bradford. It’s a cute homage to the feeling of being in love with someone, or in Grande’s case, learning to love yourself.
Check out the full Bring It On soundtrack here.
Mean Girls
Lindsay Lohan
Rachel McAdams
Lizzy Caplan
Lacey Chabert
Amanda Seyfried
Daniel Franzese
Jonathan Bennett
Rajiv Surendra
Tina Fey
Tim Meadows
Ana Gasteyer
Neil Flynn
Directed by Mark Waters
Everyone wants to be Regina George — even Ariana Grande. Donning a blonde wig and the world-famous burn book, the songstress remembers her various exes while writing (basically) kind things about them on its pages. It’s a subversion of the prop, being converted from something nasty to something nice. What’s more, we see a page devoted to all of her ex-lovers in the song, with the exception of Mac Miller, a Pittsburgh rapper Grande dated from 2016 to 2018, who died in September of that same year. By omitting a page for Mac, it’s as if Grande is saying that talking about him is off-limits — or, at the very least – is not something she’s ready to do. The video is not all sad, though; quite the opposite, in fact, sprinkled with cameos by Troye Sivan, Jonathan Bennett, and Jennifer Coolidge. (Oh, she also got Kris Jenner to play Amy Poehler’s cool mom in the reenactment of the Jingle Bell Rock scene.) It’s a testament to her pull in Hollywood, for only a true power player could amass such a star-studded ensemble for such a fundamentally brief piece.
Check out the full Mean Girls soundtrack here.
13 Going on 30
Jennifer Garner
Mark Ruffalo
Judy Greer
Andy Serkis
Kathy Baker
Phil Reeves
Sam Ball
Marcia DeBonis
Christa B. Allen
Sean Marquette
Kiersten Warren
Joe Grifasi
Directed by Gary Winick
Here, we see Ariana Grande portray Jennifer Garner’s character, Jenna Rink, from 13 Going on 30. While singing about her parent’s divorce, Grande weeps softly over the miniature house from the iconic 2004 rom-com. The house represents many things, including a longing for the fantasy of one’s childhood, which Grande has spoken about extensively in recent interviews. But it’s also emblematic of Ariana’s approach toward the song. In the movie, Jenna is given the miniature house by Mark Ruffalo’s character, “Matty Flamhaff.” At this point, Garner’s character is not romantically into him — at all. By the end of the movie, she realizes she’s loved him all along. In brief, the house symbolizes the music video’s primary theme: to try and focus on the pleasant, happy memories of exes rather than the sour ones.
Check out the full 13 Going on 30 soundtrack here.
Legally Blonde
Reese Witherspoon
Luke Wilson
Selma Blair
Matthew Davis
Victor Garber
Jennifer Coolidge
Holland Taylor
Ali Larter
Jessica Cauffiel
Alanna Ubach
Linda Cardellini
Directed by Robert Luketic
If you’re not obsessed with Legally Blonde, there’s something wrong with you. Here, we watch Ari watch boys play football and then parade herself down Harvard’s college walk (or something similar to it) in an all-pink getup with her chihuahua, Bruiser. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Legally Blonde is all about women who defy their stereotypes. Just as Elle Woods is forced to prove that being blonde and loving pink doesn’t make her innately stupid, Grande has spent upwards of a decade combating the notion that she’s nothing more than a teeny-bopper with a long ponytail.
Check out the full Legally Blonde soundtrack here.
34+35
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Mike Myers
Elizabeth Hurley
Michael York
Mimi Rogers
Robert Wagner
Seth Green
Fabiana Udenio
Mindy Sterling
Paul Dillon
Charles Napier
Will Ferrell
Joann Richter
Directed by Jay Roach
Grande dials things up in the extremely risquée number, “34+35.” Just do the math, and you’ll know what the song’s about. As such, it makes perfect sense that she called upon the Austin Powers franchise for the song’s music video. Inspired by the fembots of the first Austin Powers movie, International Man of Mystery, which are inspired by the mélange of women at a ski resort in James Bond’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Grande pokes fun at the song’s salacious nature. By becoming a fembot herself, she’s attempting to reclaim control of the idea that these robots exist for male pleasure as opposed to female empowerment. There’s another interpretation, too, that Grande is resurrecting a version of herself from the Break Free era, a chapter of her professional life that was perhaps reminiscent of easier times.
Check out the full Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery soundtrack here.
we can’t be friends (wait for your love)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Jim Carrey
Kate Winslet
Kirsten Dunst
Mark Ruffalo
Elijah Wood
Tom Wilkinson
Jane Adams
David Cross
Deirdre O'Connell
Thomas Jay Ryan
Ryan Whitney
Lola Daehler
Directed by Michael Gondry
Another adaptation of a Kirsten Dunst movie, Grande’s video for her lead single “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” is so good it’s painful. We watch for about four minutes as the songstress does everything in her power to wipe away the memories of her ex-husband, luxury real estate agent Dalton Gomez. The two split in the summer of 2023, though rumors circulated that the two had separated as early as the winter of that same year. Her ex is portrayed by Evan Peters, an extremely gifted actor who starred in Pose and Dahmer. By the end of the video, Grande has seemingly erased Gomez from her mind — albeit painfully — as she’s seen happily walking arm-in-arm with another man. The song’s meaning is twofold, as Grande has expressed having a tumultuous relationship with the media. The lyrics mirror the end of a failed romance, but they also allude to the media’s determination to vilify her even when she’s on her best behavior.
Know that you made me / I don’t like how you paint me, yet I’m still here hanging, she sings. We can’t be friends / But I’d like to just pretend / You cling to your papers and pens / Wait until you like me again.
Check out the full Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack here.
the boy is mine
Catwoman
Halle Berry
Benjamin Bratt
Sharon Stone
Lambert Wilson
Frances Conroy
Alex Borstein
Michael Massee
Byron Mann
Kim Smith
Christopher Heyerdahl
Peter Wingfield
Berend McKenzie
Directed by Pitof
Inspired by Halle Berry’s Catwoman in 2004, Grande’s latest music video explores the mischievous exploits of the film’s titular character. Donning a cowl, a whip, and an all-black body suit, Ariana leaps about the rooftops of Gotham City as she belts about converting the city’s disinterested mayor into her lover. The song samples the original “The Boy is Mine” by Brandi and Monica from 1998. Grande released a remix of “the boy is mine” featuring herself and the duo, which, in many regards, is better than both their original track and Grande’s.
Check out the full Catwoman soundtrack here.
Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast
Emma Watson
Dan Stevens
Luke Evans
Josh Gad
Kevin Kline
Hattie Morahan
Haydn Gwynne
Gerard Horan
Ray Fearon
Ewan McGregor
Ian McKellen
Emma Thompson
Directed by Bill Condon
Stepping away from her bad-girl persona, Grande collaborated with John Legend for Disney’s 2017 Beauty and the Beast remake. The duo complement each other spectacularly, mixing Grande’s bravado with Legend’s deliberate, soothing harmonies. By the time the track reaches its crescendo, it becomes clear why Disney recruited two of the most soulful singers in the industry to convey the song’s extremely sublet notes of R&B against its louder, symphonic melody.
Check out the full Beauty and the Beast soundtrack here.
thank u, next (live on Ellen)
The First Wives Club
Goldie Hawn
Bette Midler
Diane Keaton
Maggie Smith
Sarah Jessica Parker
Dan Hedaya
Stockard Channing
Victor Garber
Stephen Collins
Elizabeth Berkley
Marcia Gay Harden
Bronson Pinchot
Directed by Hugh Wilson
Upon the release of “thank u, next” in November 2018, Grande promoted the song with a live performance on Ellen. The stage was set to mirror the final song/dance number of yet another cult classic, The First Wives Club. Starring Diane Keaton, Better Midler, and Goldie Hawn, the film sees the three women usher in the end credits to “You Don’t Own Me” by Leslie Gore. Here, however, Grande swaps Gore’s track for her own, the lyrics of which reveal the singer's fantasy for her wedding. And though she almost falls during the performance, Grande’s fast recovery is not to be missed.
Check out the full The First Wives Club soundtrack here.
7 rings
The Sound of Music
Julie Andrews
Christopher Plummer
Eleanor Parker
Richard Haydn
Peggy Wood
Charmian Carr
Heather Menzies
Nicholas Hammond
Duane Chase
Angela Cartwright
Debbie Turner
Kym Karath
Directed by Robert Wise
One of the most famous musicals of all time, Rogers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, was famously sampled for Grande’s hit single — “7 rings.” In fact, when most people hear the song for the first time, they think it’s a cover of “My Favorite Things.” It’s not until the track drops into a rap that the listeners realize their expectations for raindrops, roses, and whiskers have been subverted with ATMs, diamond rings, and private jets. It’s cheeky, to be sure, but it also is a chance for Grande to relish in her success as an artist — as opposed to relishing in the aftermath of her failed relationship drama, the aftermath of the Manchester bombing, or the constant body and slut-shaming from critics.
Check out the full The Sound of Music soundtrack here.
If nothing else, it’s abundantly clear the impact Hollywood has had on one of the 21st Century’s most influential pop stars. But above all else, Grande has proven time and time again that she has the capacity to persevere against, well, almost anything. Her ability to prevail against the immense darkness of the world is mirrored by her music, her videos, and her inextinguishable light that makes it very hard, if not impossible, for her to stand down – especially in the face of evil.