Ariana Grande's much-anticipated music video for her surprise single "Thank U, Next" dropped Friday. The video featured a count-down for all those waiting anxiously for the premiere and when it dropped they weren't disappointed.
Grande posted hints to social media in the days leading up to the video's release to get fans excited, as if that were necessary. From those hints, fans were able to gather that the video would be a whirlwind of nostalgia not only because it would feature some of Grande's past love stories but because it was done in the style of four iconic movies.
For the video Grande, video director Hannah Lux Davis and her team drew on the movies Mean Girls, Bring It On, 13 Going on 30 and Legally Blonde and recreated scenes from all four movies meticulously.
Besides the celebrity appearances from her former castmates on "Victorious", and people like Kris Jenner, Troye Sivan, Jonathan Bennett and more, the video features a few more surprises that it may take more than one watch of the video for fans to notice.
Seven easter egg surprises from the "Thank U, Next" video:
Ricky's Burn Book page - "Good times man" and "Great dancer" are two of the things on Ricky's page in the Burn Book along with "friends forever." Grande works on his page in the burn book first, just like Regina George does in Mean Girls.
Sean's Burn Book page - This page gets the least screen time of all of them, Sean's name is in a heart like the rest but viewers can only see it if they pause the video while Grande is flipping through the pages of the book. The words "so cute" and "so sweet" are next to the photo of her and her ex. And below it in parenthesis is the phrase "could still get it."
Pete's Burn Book page - "Sry I dipped" with the name "Pete" in a heart and "i love u always" is written on Pete Davidson's page of the burn book, along with the word "HUGE" in all capital letters along the bottom of the page. On their page, the photo of them together features heart stickers all over Davidson's face.
"7 RINGS" license plate - When Grande drives up in her black Porsche inspired by Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, the car's license plate reads "7 RINGS." Some fans on Twitter hypothesized that it might be the name of her next single after "Thank U, Next."
Appearance by Grande's dog Toulouse as Bruiser - Grande included her own Beagle-Chihuahua mix pup Toulouse in the video as Bruiser Woods, Elle's Chihuahua in Legally Blonde.
BDE UPS man - The UPS man from Legally Blonde is featured in the video as well, but instead of his uniform reading "UPS" it reads "BDE" presumably for "Big D*** Energy," the label fans gave Pete Davidson while he and Grande were together.
"A Little Bit Needy" - In the iconic scene from Mean Girls where Regina George and her clique are walking down the school hallway her shirt reads, "A Little Bit Dramatic." Grande's shirt in the video though says, "A Little Bit Needy." It's not completely clear what it means but the phrase "needy" also appears in the "Breathin" video and again fans think it might be an unreleased track.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Nina was a breaking news reporter. She previously worked at Business Insider, The Boston Globe, and Boston.com.
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
