Wow, Ariana Grande Loves Movies So Much
Wow. Ariana Grande LOVES movies. Like, looooooooooves them! I know you just thought she was performing at the 2016 MTV Movies Awards because she has a new album coming out and a new single ([plug emoji] "Dangerous Woman" is available on iTunes now [plug emoji] I WAS NOT PAID FOR THIS PLUG I'M JUST A FAN) poppin' on the charts right now, but it's actually because she's SO obsessed with movies. Like, sooooo obsessed.
I mean, have you ever seen an Ariana Grande music video? They're like mini-movies! I know that because I'm over-using filler words, it sounds like I'm exaggerating. And I know that ~technically~ music videos -- barring there is a narrative throughout -- are mini-movies, rather than being like mini-movies. But it's hard to accurately underscore in text alone just how frequently she drops movie references in her music videos, OK?
Let's start with the best example.
Break Free feat. Zedd
The video for Ari's collab with Zedd is basically a mash-up of every famous sci-fi film ever created. There's a LOT of Barbarella, the text intro is Star Wars, and the hallway is 2001: A Space Odyssey. Peep this extensive, in-depth look for the full details plus side-by-side comparisons.
One Last Time
Shot in one take from the perspective of Ari's video-boyfriend's hand-held camera, "One Last Time" follows The Ponytailed Wonder as she navigates her way through the end of the world. It is also every disaster movie ever made. See: San Andreas, The Day After Tomorrow, Twister, etc.
Almost Is Never Enough feat. Nathan Sykes
I guess this is cheating, but this song was part of the soundtrack for The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones, so there are a bunch of clips of Lily Collins, so it's going on the list.
Baby I
OK, hear me out on this one. From the wardrobe and the block party vibes, we can glean that this is a '90s-themed concept. Also, there are scenes on a bus. Thus, this is an obvious reference to Speed, the '90s blockbuster action film starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock wherein they cannot slow down a bus for fear of it blowing up. Or something. IDK, look it up yourself.
Problem feat. Iggy Azalea
Camp + James Bond?
"Problem" is all Austin Powers. Don't @ me.
Right There
Sure, you could probably argue that this could be referencing any high school production of Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet. But you could also jump into traffic, and I don't think either of us want you to do that. We also don't want you to think this is any R&J other than Baz Luhrmann's triumphant '90s classic Romeo + Juliet.
The chapel where Friar Big Sean is relegated to deliver his verse from has a very similar set up to the R+J one. If you need any further proof other than this GIF, my mom has my copy of the VHS, so hit me up on Twitter to see about accompanying me on my next visit to her home.
Dangerous Woman
Since she's distinguishing between "Visuals" with numbers, it would seem Ari is not done rolling out videos for her new single "Dangerous Woman." Regardless, this a cappella clips slays everything. I am bald. I wasn't even wearing any extensions or anything, it's all my own hair, but here we are. She's snatched it all. What was I supposed to be talking about again? Oh right, movies. This latex bunny reminds me of Donnie Darko, a movie I'm SURE Ariana has seen approximately one billion times because it's creepy AF, and of ALL the movies in this world, I know the creepy crawly scary ones are her absolute FAVES.
Will her performance employ any of these film references? New ones? Guess we'll all just have to gird our loins for Sunday, April 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT when the 2016 MTV Movie Awards air from the backlot of Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA to find out!