Generic Research: Case Study 3 (Narrative) (Grande)

 Generic Research: Case Study 3 (Narrative) (Grande)

thank u, next - Ariana Grande

'Thank U, Next' is a song by Ariana Grande and a 'celebratory ode' to her failed relationships.

The song was released without prior announcement on the 3rd of November 2018, and became an immediate success worldwide, reaching number one in 23 countries, going on to win multiple awards and become one of Grandes most successful songs ever.

The music videos success was also globally acclaimed too...

Directed by Hannah Lux Davis and released on the 30th of November 2018 the music video makes clear references to early 2000s cult classic films, including, Legally Blonde, Mean Girls, 13 Going on 30, and Bring It On and included countless celebrity cameos.

The music video broke many viewership records, including the record for the most watched music video on YouTube within 24 hours too.

I chose to study this music video due to the immense amount of intertextual references. I hope to make many intertextual references in my music video too, and after analysing Grandes music video I feel more prepared in doing so.

Intro - Mean Girls 

Before the actual song plays the 'Thank U, Next' music video instantly pays homage to the Mean Girls movie. Fans of Mean Girls would already know that in the movie, high school students are interviewed and asked to explain the effect Regina George (the main character in Mean Girls) has on them. 

In the music video, it is filmed almost identical but this time with interviews of relevant celebrities (as cameos) talking about Ariana Grandes effect on them.

This clear intertextual link is instantly attention-grabbing and gratifies fans that would understand the link. Based on Ariana Grandes target audience of teen girls, that potentially grew up in the 2000s, it is likely that they will understand this reference and the comedic homage behind it.

The cameos of celebrities (as above) are also intertextual references and relevant in their own ways...

For example (the first two), Colleen Ballenger and Johnathan Bennett.

Colleen Ballenger is most known for her 'alter ego' named Miranda Sings. Miranda is a comedic YouTuber that at the time of release was arguably at her peak of fame - increasing the chances of audiences recognising her cameo. Fans may also know that Colleen and Ariana have been friends for a number of years before the release of this video too, acting as an intertextual reference to not only Colleens fame but also their friendship.

Johnathan Bennett is also featured too... Bennett starred in Mean Girls as the heartthrob, Aaron Samuels. Fans that have watched Mean Girls will recognise this iconic cameo too.

Arianas music video is very clever because even if the viewers do not understand the intertexual references, I would argue that the music video still makes sense - allowing the music video to be enjoyed by all viewers whether or not they are fans of Ariana herself or the movies that the video makes homage to.

Mean Girls

Arguably unconventional for music videos, as the actual song begins to play Ariana is credited. I found this somewhat unnecessary as I believe that Ariana has such a large star persona that it wasn't necessarily needed to reinforce her name directly in the music video, but perhaps this was done to almost remind viewers of movies and credit scenes, as the music video is almost a mixture of lots of movies with Ariana's own take on them.

There is then an overhead shot of Ariana sitting on her bed opening her 'Thank U, Next Book'. This is an intertextual reference to the 'Burn Book' in Mean Girls. The contents of this book reference some of Ariana Grandes past relationships (that fans of Ariana would be aware of) as she directly name drops and sings about them - a clear example of when the song matches to the video (something I would like to do in my own music video to reinforce lyrics).

There is then an almost montage of Ariana cutting and sticking her ex's into the book as she laughs and looks directly at the camera whilst singing (direct address).

Ariana is once again taking on the role of Regina George, originally played by Rachel McAdams.

In the final photo that is displayed above, Ariana Grande and her 4 friends are filmed walking through the school hallways. 

Bennett is once again featured (as the same character he played in Mean Girls) and Ariana is walking side by side her 3 friends in pink.

In Mean Girls, Regina George is known as the 'ring leader' in her friendship group, named 'The Plastics'.

It is clear that Ariana Grande and her friends have created an identical parallel to the original 'Plastics' with Elizabeth Gilles playing Cady Heron (originally played by Lindsay Lohan), Alexa Luria playing Karen Smith (originally played by Amanda Seyfried), Ariana Grande playing Regina George (originally played by Rachel McAdams), and Courtney Chipolone playing Gretchen Wieners (originally played by Lacey Chabert).

Furthermore, in Ariana Grandes music video her 'Plastics' also wear the iconic outfits that the original 'Plastics' wear, ensuring that the outfits are pink too, linking to the iconic line from Mean Girls, 'On Wednesday we wear pink'. 

Ariana Grandes music video was further all to crate even more intertextual references in this scene too...

Elizabeth Gilles inclusion was a purposeful cameo by Ariana as they are truly best friends. The duo became friends nearly 10 years ago, and were costars on Nickelodeons 'Victorious' tv show. As a result, fans of either of the girls, or Nickelodeon/Victorious will understand this nostalgic and familiar feature.

Ariana also changed Reginas shirt from saying 'a little bit dramatic' to 'a little bit needy'. Needy at the time of release was a rumoured and unconfirmed track of Ariana's, and was later released on the 8th of February 2019.

The music video then makes another direct intertextual reference to the Mean Girls ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ scene and uses Kris Jenner as ‘Regina George’s mum’.

Kris Jenner featured on eg. Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and it is likely that fans of Ariana will recognise her.

Bring It On

Matt Bennett is featured alongside Grande in this scene.

The duo both starred in Nickelodeons Victorious and remained friends since the show ended.

Matt in this scene plays Cliff from Bring It On.

Cliff is Torrances crush, and Torrance is the main character in Bring It On (who Ariana is playing).

Ariana and Matt reenact the flirty ‘tooth-brushing competition’ between Torrance and Cliff.

For fans of the two, these scenes are very nostalgic and sweet, as after all of this time it is clear that the two are still very close.

Those that do not know this reference or Matts cameo I believe will still understand the flirty emotions in this scene.

The music video then makes reference to another 2000s movie, Bring It On. 

The movie focuses on a rivalry between 2 cheerleading teams. 

The original lettering on the red uniform was RCH but now the letters are TUN (Thank U, Next). 

The opposing team (in the green uniform) is Ariana’s backing dancers from her tour.

Fans of Ariana will love the feature of her dancers from her tour actually featuring in the music video, and on Ariana's team (TUN), Daniella Monet is included (middle photo from above)...

Daniella Monet also featured alongside Ariana in Victorious as Trina Vega. Alike, Elizabeth Gilles and Matt Bennetts cameos, I think fans will love that Ariana has included her old costars in this reflective music video, as it shows that she is still appreciative of them, even after all of this time.

13 Going On 30

 

As a direct intertextual reference Ariana is then Jenna from 13 Going on 30.

In the movie, Jenna has a dollhouse that her love interest (Matt) saved for her, and then is heartbroken that Matt is getting  married to another lady...

Unsurprisingly, Ariana ensures to feature holding a dollhouse similar to the one from the movie too, but with each bedroom being from the music video - eg. the yellow bedroom as screenshot above being the bedroom featured from Bring It On. 

Ariana also walks past an ambiguous wedding scene that I understood to be 'Ariana' getting married in the future. I believe Ariana purposely did this to show the uncertainty of the future and an emphasis that she is uncertain of who she will end up with.

Fans of Ariana may also be rereminded of one of Ariana Grandes ex boyfriend, Pete. Pete and Ariana cancelled their wedding, and furthermore, Ariana even makes reference to Pete in the lyrics that accompany this part of the song, "Even almost got married, and for Pete I'm so thankful".

Legally Blonde

Finally, Ariana is teleported into the world of Legally Blonde and becomes Elle Woods after she makes a wish to the dollhouse (like Jenna did in 13 Going on 30).

Ariana is even driving Elles signature Porsche that Elle drives to Harvard in but with a personalised lisence plate that reads, '7 RINGS', a rumoured song at that time (later released on the 18th of January 2019).

Fans may also understand that it is no surprise that Ariana chose to act as Elle Woods, as they both have faced hate and yet still consistently proved haters wrong. 

Ariana further reinforces conventions in legally Blonde by dressing head to toe in pink, yet still with her classic ponytail!

In Legally Blonde, Elles partner-in-crime is her dog, Bruiser Woods. Fans of Ariana will know that Grande is a huge dog lover, so the role of Bruiser is played by her own dog, Toulouse.

An iconic ending is made with Jennifer Coolidges cameo, who is back to reprise her role as Elles sidekick in the original movie.

There is then a reenactment of the salon scene from the movie, followed by the iconic 'Bend and Snap' scene originally led by Elle, and now led by Ariana.

The music video ends with the whole of the salon dancing and having fun - potentially celebrating Ariana feeling happy and empowered to be single after all of her past relationships and heart break.

To conclude, this music video is admirably rich with intertextual references. 

I hope to make references my audience is likely to understand in my own music video like Ariana did, and now feeling very inspired!

Generic Research: Case Study 2 (Narrative) (One Direction)

 Generic Research: Case Study 2 (Narrative) (One Direction)

Story of My Life - One Direction

'Story of My Life' by One Direction focuses on the futile endeavour to pursue a girl, resulting in bittersweet nostalgia and heartbreak.

The music video is the bands third most viewed music video with over a billion views as of April 2025!

The set for the music video took 5 days to build, and impressively 6000-7000 photos of the One Direction members over the years were hung.

Typically, celebrities in media keep their upbringing private, whereas 'Story of My Life' let on a more vulnerable, personal and initiate perception of the boy bands lifes, particularly pre-fame by featuring photos from their childhood and of their family.

The video was directed by Ben Winston, who previously directed the music video for their single, 'Best Song Ever'

I chose to study this music video as both this music video and my music video follow themes of reflection and passage of time and I hope to follow a similar aesthetic in elements of my music video.

Opening Shots

The video opens on a photo developing, revealing the name of the song, the band, and the director in one continuous shot. The video then cuts while the beginning instrumental is playing to each member of One Direction developing photos and hanging them up.

Direct Address While Singing

To begin, Harry and then Liam separately sing whilst hanging up their photos. Both of them sing directly to the camera. This creates a tie between the viewers and the singers, and helps the viewers directly understand the emotion of the lyrics. It also makes the music video feel personalised, and the low lighting highlights them singing over the background and mis-en-scene.

Zoom and Photo Transition

Zayn is then filmed smiling at a picture hung up, the camera then pans to the picture and slowly begins to zoom in... As the camera zooms in onto the picture, the picture then effectively 'ages', and 'younger Zayn' and his sister are then 'grown up' (current). The picture then becomes full screen, and transitions into frozen setting. where Zayn is then able to move and walk around in the 'picture'. 

I thought this editing was impeccable and so inspiring!

The use of identical clothing for the 'past' vs 'present' of the siblings really helped exemplify that they are the same people - clearly showing that time has passed.

I hope to feature similar in my music video, eg. a zoom into to an old photo of 'youngest Scarlett and Theo', and then a transition to 'current (teen) Scarlett and Theo' in the same place.

Establishing the Mis-En-Scene and use of Wide Shots

The camera quickly zooms out of being 'in' the photo of Zayn and his sister and pans out to a large room filled with thousands of photos. This extremity is emotional as it shows thousands of cherished memories undoubtedly filled with nostalgia.

We as the viewers then see for the first time the whole of One Direction through a wide and establishing shot. 4 of the members are looking around the room at all of the photos and Harry is singing in the centre of the frame using direct address.

The inclusion of the wide shot was (in my opinion) very emotional as it highlighted the impressiveness of the emotional set - I hope to feature some wide shots to help my audience understand the mis-en-scenes of my music video.

The colour scheme is also quite dark and minimal compared to the photos - I think this effectively displays the change in emotion between being younger and innocent in the past (colourful colour scheme and outlook on life), compared to the present and feeling more mature and worldly (darker colour scheme due to harsher realities faced when growing up). The dark colour pallet further adds to the emotion of the song and lyrics - feeling drained of any colour due to heartbreak and futile longing of unrequited love.

Physical and Printed Media

The video is centred around photos and the past vs the present, and I think it is fundamental that the photos are printed and physical.

In my opinion, printed photos seems more authentic and nostalgic than digital photos and they somehow convey rawness.

I hope to include printed (over digital) media in my music video to achieve the same level if authenticity that One Direction achieved in this music video.

The video has moderately paced editing (reflecting the pace of the song) allowing the viewers to look at the photos and make connections without feeling rushed.

Motif of Past vs Present

As the music video develops we then see Niall, Liam, Harry and then Louis all 'go back in time' to the photos as their older self with the same family members that are older too. Each of the boys, like Zayn earlier, are 'unfrozen' unlike the rest of the setting and people, and they all are able to walk around the rooms and reflect. In particular, I noted that in Louis 'photo', once it became clear to the audience that two of his grandparents had passed the lighting became darker - proving to me once again that lighting really does have the power to set the tone and highlight emotion.

For fans of One Direction, the inclusion of the band members families may act as an intertextual reference, however the music video is cleverly made to aid new viewers that may not understand the familial links beforehand to understand them now. I think this was especially because of the same clothing used

Post-Modernism

Typical of music videos, once the music video begins to come to an end, the video encompasses an arguably 'post-modern' ending where the 'frozen' family members become 'unfrozen' and can interact with the band members. They are all smiling, laughing and/or hugging, possibly celebrating the 'wrap' of filming.

Generic Research: Case Study 1 (Performance) (Adele, Winehouse and Keys)

 Generic Research: Case Study 1 (Performance) (Adele, Winehouse and Keys)

My music video will have primarily focus on a narrative storyline but will also feature elements of performance - typical to pop ballad music videos. 

The below are 3 iconic pop ballad music videos that feature performances that inspired me.

When We Were Young

I was heavily inspired by the raw, studio mis-en-scene that effectively highlighted Adeles emotions.

I thought it would be a nice touch to pay homage to Adele (and other classic pop ballad singers) by featuring some clips shot as a performance in a similar studio.

Love Is A Losing Game

Continuing my research of music videos that my target audience would watch I came across the song, "Love Is A Losing Game' by Amy Winehouse.

Similar to 'When We Were Young', both songs focus on romantic lyrics and reflection of emotions - typical of pop ballad songs.

Amy also followed conventions of performance pop ballad music videos with her music video for this song being shot in a studio. She also used low lighting to highlight her emotions and a variety of shot types, including specifically close ups to accentuate the severity of her lyrics.

No One

Finally, Alicia Keys 'No One' music video also follows conventions of pop ballad music videos that I hope to follow. 

Alicia is also shot playing the keyboard - I also hope to include shots of my main talent, Scarlett, playing the piano too. By not only singing but playing the keyboard, Alicia Keys is really able to convey her passion to the song in the music video. 

Alike Amy and Adele, Alicia also wore a dress despite the location being arguably casual due to it being a studio. However, I really like this idea as I think it reinforces the singers star person even in casual environments. I hope to feature Scarlett singing and playing the piano in a studio wearing a dress too, allowing my music video to make direct reflections of typicality in the pop ballad music video genre.

I've also noticed the low levels of lighting in all 3 music videos. I believe this was done purposely to create a moodier, emotional vibe - I hope to achieve this lighting in my studio shots too. The low lighting also makes the atmosphere seem less stylised and more natural, reflecting the natural and raw performances that all of the singers delivered. 

It was extremely beneficial to analyse performance music videos (even though my music video will only feature Scarletts performances briefly), as I now feel more aware of the effects of shot types, props, costumes and lighting when filming a performance.