By ELIZABETH
VALENTIN
Arts Editor
For the past few days Ariana Grande has been posting upside down photos and captions to all of her social media accounts. This started on April 17 when she posted a portion of a photo onto her Instagram with the upside down caption “no tears left to cry 4.20.”
On Friday, Grande released a new song and music video, which marked her official comeback since the Manchester bombing attack at her concert last May, which killed 23 people. This attack prompted her to put together the One Love Manchester concert and benefit to counteract the hateful action that was taken the night of the bombing with love and to raise money for the victims and their families.
Many fans speculated that Grande’s new song would be a tribute to the victims of the attack, and while the song does not directly reference it, there are a few subtle elements in the video that appear to do so.
The entire video is disorienting as the rooms and world around her continue to spin as she walks on the floor, walls and ceiling. This likely represents the feeling of the world turning upside down in the days after the attack.
The video also includes a couple of shots where a rainbow briefly covers Grande’s face, which is likely a nod to the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which she sang at the closing of the One Love Manchester show.
There is also a portion of the video in which Grande removes her face. While this is one of the stranger parts of the video, many think that this represents the mask she had to wear after the incident in Manchester because she had to act strong for everyone and was only allowed to cry and break down when she was alone.
With all of these subtle nods to the Manchester event, the lyrics are quite positive, as she sings “Right now I’m in a state of mind I wanna be in, like, all the time. Ain’t got no tears left to cry. So I’m picking it up, picking it up, I’m loving, I’m living, I’m picking it up.”
This is thought by many to represent the ways in which she has continued to live her life and move forward since the incident last May.
Despite moving forward, Grande has said that the victims will stay with her always. After the incident, a bee became a symbol of strength for Manchester. This prompted Grande and her team to get matching bee tattoos so that they would carry it with them wherever they went.
The video starts at night, but by the very end, the sun has risen, indicating the start of a new day. When this happens, Grande is sitting on the ground and singing towards the sky, as a bee flies past her. This might be one of the more direct nods to the victims and the incident throughout the video.
Overall, this video is powerful once you are able to see the subtle details that reference the bombing. The song that accompanies the video is positive and upbeat. It is a fun song, generally speaking, which is not unprecedented for the pop singer.
There is no release date announced, or very much information at all for that matter, for Grande’s upcoming album. But if this video and song are any indication of what is to come, it appears that this will be a strong album, and possibly her most vulnerable. We’ll have to wait to see.
