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Tag: yes and?

  • Two Different Emotional Approaches to the Aftermath of “Homewrecking”: Sabrina Carpenter’s “because i liked a boy” and Ariana Grande’s “yes, and?”

    Two Different Emotional Approaches to the Aftermath of “Homewrecking”: Sabrina Carpenter’s “because i liked a boy” and Ariana Grande’s “yes, and?”

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    As two pop stars often compared on a vocal level, it’s also no surprise that Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande tend to have overlapping themes in their music. Indeed, Carpenter even opened for Grande on 2017’s Dangerous Woman Tour (specifically for the Brazil dates that occurred after the illustrious Manchester Arena bombing). At that time, Carpenter had only released two albums, Eyes Wide Open and Evolution (Grande herself just had three, rounded out by Dangerous Woman).

    A year after the tour (which she cherished enough to decorate her couch with an Ariana Grande pillow so as to commemorate the momentousness of the event), Carpenter would release her “companion piece albums,” Singular: Act I and Singular: Act II. This “set” would signal her full-tilt sonic transition on 2022’s Emails I Can’t Send, which saw her shift away entirely from the country twang that still occasionally came out in the years since singles like “We’ll Be the Stars.” The same kind of twang that Taylor Swift eventually chose to shed as well. But it was a more Miley Cyrus-inspired twang that Carpenter possessed—which is perhaps what helped her to win third place in The Next Miley Cyrus Project back in 2009, six years before the release of Eyes Wide Open. 

    However, many seem to have forgotten that Christina Aguilera—far more than Taylor or Miley—is Carpenter’s key musical influence. And that shines through in the vocals she’s presented over the years. Aguilera’s voice has the kind of signature pitch that Mariah Carey is frequently praised for (though, of course, MC would likely mention that she has a five-octave vocal range compared to Xtina’s four-octave one). Grande has the same octave range as Aguilera, yet is most often compared to Carey. A comparison she’s more than taken a shine to in her collaborations with “The Diva” in recent years (including working on a remix of “Oh Santa!” that she performed with Carey for Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special in 2020). The latest being a remix of “yes, and?” that’s, believe it or not, far inferior to the original. In any case, perhaps Carpenter’s comparisons to Grande (particularly in the wake of “nonsense”) ought to be flattering to the latter—after all, she’s not that much older than the blonde Pennsylvanian (a description that also applies to Aguilera), but is already being considered worthy of such an elevated “mentor status.”

    Alas, that mentorship came too late in terms of Grande providing inspiration to Carpenter on how to treat accusations of being a homewrecker. Something that was hurled at her in the wake of Olivia Rodrigo’s debut hit single, “drivers license,” in 2021. As Carpenter retells it on “because i liked a boy,” “I got death threats fillin’ up semi-trucks/Tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice/All because I liked a boy.” She also points out the fact that it’s all a little bit silly considering she wasn’t even dating Joshua Bassett (the ultimately gay dude who caused all this commotion) anymore when Rodrigo dropped her hit. Hence, her addition to the chorus: “And all of this for what?/When everything went down, we’d already broken up/Please tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice/All because I liked a boy.” And “who she is” to the Olivia fans who were scandalized by her “stealin’ from the young” (side note: Rodrigo is a mere four years younger than Carpenter) is a “homewrecker” and a “slut.” These being the labels Carpenter attaches to herself throughout the song, choosing to wear them like scarlet As (in fact, she said Easy A—not, say, The Scarlet Letter—was the vibe she was channeling for the track). 

    In contrast, after being accused of actually breaking up a home (namely, Lilly Jay’s home with Ethan Slater), Grande came at the mass of criticism and online hate with the simple and effective clapback, “yes, and?” While Carpenter chose to emulate a more Britney Spears in the “Circus” video route for the visual that accompanied “because i liked a boy,” Grande put a face to shrugging off outside contempt by paying homage to, of all things, the Paula Abdul video for “Cold Hearted.” But the nod to this Abdul video wasn’t as random as some might think, for the original sees a slew of “record company executives” arrive to effectively critique what Abdul has been working on. In the same vein, Grande labels her version of record company executives simply as “The Critics.” Inviting them into her “art space” with open arms as she proceeds to then tell them, “Now I’m so done with caring/What you think, no, I won’t hide/Underneath your own projections/Or change my most authentic life.”

    She then urges others who have been mercilessly criticized for their actions, like Carpenter, to “come on, put your lipstick on (no one can tell you nothin’)/Come on and walk this way through the fire (don’t care what’s on their mind)/And if you find yourself in a dark situation/Just turn on your light and be like/‘Yes, and?’/Say that shit with your chest, and/Be your own fuckin’ best friend.” 

    It’s a sharp departure from the much more self-pitying tack Carpenter takes with her go-to lyrics, “Tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice/All because I liked/I’m the hot topic on your tongue/I’m a rebound gettin’ ’round stealin’ from the young/Tell me who I am, guess I don’t have a choice/All because I liked a boy.” Elsewhere in the song, Carpenter is sure to downplay and diminish the relationship she had with Bassett as one of pure innocence (or, as she sings, “Fell so deeply into it/It was all so innocent”), as though making certain that all her detractors retroactively know that nothing “untoward” happened. Save for “cuddling on trampolines,” “bond[ing] over Black Eyed Peas” and “tryna hold you close while your heart was failing.” All platonic enough, surely. 

    Grande, conversely, wants to see to it that her detractors know she doesn’t give one goddamn what they think. To more “zen-ly” get that message across, Grande pronounces, “My tongue is sacred, I speak upon what I like/Protected, sexy, discerning with my time, my time/Your energy is yours and mine is mine/What’s mine is mine.” The reemphasis on that last line also seems to be a direct reference to Slater, who she now openly declares to be “hers.” She appears to double down on that message with another song on eternal sunshine titled “the boy is mine.” Making no apologies whatsoever for her “outrageous” behavior, Grande further goads, “My face is sitting, I don’t need no disguise/Don’t comment on my body, do not reply/Your business is yours and mine is mine/Why do you care so much whose dick I ride?/Why?” 

    These are questions that Carpenter could have just as easily posed to the Livies that were out for blood in the wake of “drivers license” reigniting the many suspicions about Carpenter “stealing” Bassett away from Rodrigo (a speculation that was further propelled by Rodrigo’s “traitor” lyrics, “You’d talk to her/When we were together/Loved you at your worst/But that didn’t matter/It took you two weeks/To go off and date her/Guess you didn’t cheat/But you’re still a traitor”).

    Alas, Grande hadn’t yet released “yes, and?” to light the way for how to deal with being called a homewrecker and a slut. Marina and the Diamonds, however, had already released “Homewrecker” in 2012, gleefully touting the right approach and attitude for handling naysayers with the assertion: “And I don’t belong to anyone/They call me homewrecker, homewrecker (I’m only happy when I’m on the run)/They call me homewrecker, homewrecker (I broke a million hearts just for fun).”

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    Genna Rivieccio

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  • “Yes, And?” Video Pays Unexpected Tribute to Paula Abdul’s “Cold Hearted”

    “Yes, And?” Video Pays Unexpected Tribute to Paula Abdul’s “Cold Hearted”

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    “I miss the old Ari. You know, the singer.” So says one of the many invitees (all critics) to Ariana Grande’s performance art piece in Montauk (the location of which is given via the latitude and longitude coordinates on the business card shown at the beginning of the video). This milieu being significant because Grande’s seventh album is titled Eternal Sunshine—an obvious nod to Michel Gondry’s beloved 2004 film of the (almost) same name. Considering Grande’s dating history, the premise of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is rather on point. As is her choreo (courtesy of Will Loftis) throughout the heavily-inspired-by-Paula Abdul video. Indeed, one might as well call “yes, and?” a “modern update” to Abul’s 1989 video for “Cold Hearted,” the fifth single from her debut album, Forever Your Girl. 

    Directed by none other than David Fincher, “Cold Hearted” continued the trend (established by Madonna, as usual) of pop stars dancing in front of elaborate industrial set pieces (see: the “Express Yourself” video, also directed by David Fincher, and the “Rhythm Nation” video). “yes, and?” builds on that by centering the premise around a “living art exhibition,” of sorts. So it is that, just as is the case in “Cold Hearted,” “yes, and?” offers a caption at the beginning. But instead of reading, “Tuesday 9:45 a.m. The Rehearsal Hall. The Record Company Executives Arrive,” it reads, “11:55 AM. The Critics Arrive.” All of them with something snarky to say (in the spirit of the intro to Missy Elliott’s “Gossip Folks”). Including two critics who have the exchange, “Did she really do that?” “Well I read it on the internet so it must be true.” This replacing the once more relevant go-to line of sarcasm: “I saw it on TV so it must be true.” 

    They then enter the warehouse-y space where a series of “stone sculptures” stand in highly deliberate poses as the critics take their seats. The “Ari sculpture” is at the center of them all, posed with her hands over her eyes to indicate the classic “see no evil” philosophy. Or, in this case, “see no haters.” As the critics start to get impatient with what they’re supposed to be getting out of this little “exhibit,” the sculptures break apart and fall to the ground as the actual people they’re modeled after appear on the scene. Directed by Christian Breslauer (marking his first collaboration with Grande), the camera then focuses in on Grande’s feet before panning up the length of her legs to then reveal an aesthetic that is entirely reminiscent of Keira Knightley’s in Love Actually. Because what is Ari if not adept in the art of pastiche (though perhaps not as much as her one-time collaborator, Lana Del Rey)? As any post-post-post-post-post-post-modern pop star tends to be. 

    Continuing to emulate Abdul and co.’s fierce, defiant choreography, Grande offers occasional moments of “Renaissance painting poses” to keep reiterating the notion of being living art. Or, as Del Rey said, “I had a vision of making my life a work of art.” As such, that technically means she can be critiqued herself as much as the art she actually puts out. Hence, the presence of the critics subbing out Paula Abdul’s record executives. 

    Critics who can’t help “gagging” when Grande urges, “And if you find yourself in a dark situation/Just turn on your light and be like/Yes, and?” The musical breakdown just before she urges people to “turn their light on” sounds a lot like the one in Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy.” But considering Grande is giving a massive homage to dance and house music of the 90s in general (including, of course, Madonna’s “Vogue”), it’s not out of the question that the “nod” is deliberate. At the moment she talks about people turning their (inner) lights on, a heating lamp lights up above the critics’ head, as though to envelop them in the same warm glow she’s chosen to bask in no matter what gets said about her. Some critics don’t exactly “like” it, with one starting to sweat profusely as he wipes his forehead with a napkin in a manner that could also indicate Grande’s body (“too thin” or not) is getting him hot and bothered (the same way Paula Abdul gets the record executives in her video).

    As all the art critics proceed to start removing articles of clothing under the heat of the lamp, Grande approaches with, let’s call it an “aura tuning fork,” as she calmly recites the bridge of the song: “My tongue is sacred, I speak upon what I like/Protected, sexy, discerning with my time/Your energy is yours and mine is mine/What’s mine is mine/My face is sitting, I don’t need no disguise/Don’t comment on my body, do not reply.”

    Of course, that demand likely won’t stop the usual barrage of body commentary that rakes in the millions for the beauty and fashion industries. In the final line of the bridge, Grande then wields her coup de ​​grâce, “Why do you care so much whose dick I ride/Why?” Probably because the dick is Ethan Slater’s and it’s kind of weird/non sequitur (Wicked co-star or not). Even more than choosing “Cold Hearted” as a piece of pop culture to emulate. 

    But anyway, the “yes, and?” then concludes with another shot re-creation from the “Cold Hearted” video, with the curtain dropping off the window while Ariana and co. return to their same positions as statues made of stone to then await the next batch of critics they’ll perform for. The first batch, meanwhile, has turned from the stone statues they were before walking into the warehouse and into warm hearted lovers of Ariana as one of them shouts with delight to the others going in, “You’ll just love it! You’ll love it.”

    The same “conversion” from hater to lover goes for the record executives in “Cold Hearted,” who enter the building with the cynical exchange, “So have you even seen this dance?” “Uh, I haven’t but, uh, it’s a Bob Fosse kind of thing. It’s gonna be really really hot.” “Yeah but tastefully. It’s tastefully hot. And hey, if there’s any problem, we can always make changes.” The director of the video nervously reminds, “Uh, we’re shootin’ tonight.” But of course, there’s no need to change a thing because, by the end (just as it is the case in “yes, and?”), the execs are left with their jaws dropped. Though, of course, all they can say is it was “nice.” So it is that Abdul’s video concludes with the caption, “The dancers laugh.” Probably at the fact that it’s so hard for critics to admit when something is good (though, in their defense, that’s quite possibly because things rarely are). Especially when the artist in question’s personal life has a tendency to cloud the focus on the work itself. 

    In this sense, pulling from Paul Abdul’s video arsenal does make some sense when tying this message back into the concept of the “Cold Hearted” premise.

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    Genna Rivieccio

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  • Madonna and Improv Influence Ariana Grande’s “Yes, And?” 

    Madonna and Improv Influence Ariana Grande’s “Yes, And?” 

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    For a minute there, Ariana Grande had a reputation for releasing new music as frequently as Rihanna once did (the singer-turned-makeup mogul could formerly be relied on for an album a year). That reached an apex in the time period between summer of 2018 and winter of 2019, when Grande famously released the one-two punch of Sweetener and thank u, next in the span of six months. Part of that rapidity stemmed from being creatively inspired by the storm of personal events that transpired in the months after Sweetener’s release, including the death of her ex, Mac Miller, and her breakup with then fiancé Pete Davidson (who Grande put on the map, dating-wise). Grande’s prolificness didn’t let up in 2020 either, when she gave the world a prime example of “pandemic pop” in the form of the Positions album. 

    Soon after the release of that record, Grande announced her engagement (again) to “celebrity (a.k.a. luxury) realtor” Dalton Gomez. This was also after the news that she had been cast as Glinda in the film version of Wicked (because turning musicals based on movies into musical movies is all the rage now). A project that also consumed her enough for her to announce that she would not release new music until production was over. Now, going on four years since Positions was released, Grande is ready to reintroduce herself. And, of course, throw some shade at one of the latest scandals to have affected her “brand” in the headlines: that she’s a homewrecker willing to wreck a home for someone who looks like Ethan Slater, her co-star in Wicked (who, appropriately, plays a munchkin with a crush on her). As for Slater’s high school sweetheart, Lilly Jay, the two divorced soon after the announcement of Grande’s relationship, with Jay commenting, “[Ariana’s] the story really. Not a girl’s girl. My family is just collateral damage.” And yet, even to Jay, Grande would likely quip, “Yes, and?” That two-word phrase being most known for its association with improv philosophy until now. 

    What’s more, the “and what?” (just a synonym for “yes, and?”) vibe of it is also associated with another pop star. The mother of all pop stars, as it were: Madonna (someone Ari is no stranger to collaborating with). Because, indeed, it isn’t just the sound of the song that emulates Madonna’s house-inspired “Vogue” stylings (something Beyoncé also wanted to resuscitate recently with “Break My Soul” [cue another “Queens Remix” instead featuring Ariana and Madonna] and Renaissance as a whole). It’s also the “I don’t give a fuck what you think” aura that Madonna has exuded, specifically, since 1985, after nude photos of her from her pre-fame days were sold to Playboy and Penthouse. Rather than cowering in shame or “apologizing,” as was usually the case in those days, Madonna was the first woman to stand up for herself in such a scenario and say simply, “So what?” Deciding that what she did for money before she was famous was her own business, and she oughtn’t be judged for it, even if the photos were splashed across these glossy men’s magazines for all to see. This unprecedented reaction on the part of a slut-shamed famous woman prompted the iconic New York Post headlines: “Madonna on Nudie Pix: So What!” and “Madonna: ‘I’m Not Ashamed,’ followed by the subtitle, “Rock star shrugs off nudie pix furor.” (Both front pages that would be “arti-ified” by Keith Haring and Andy Warhol.) With those simple two words, Madonna paved the way for Grande’s own: “yes, and?” 

    Of course, the danger of that is how people will now start using it to justify objectively egregious acts, like, say, murder (just imagine how bad “yes, and?” would be received if Israel suddenly started adopting it as its mantra while bombing Palestine, or if Russia did the same in its actions toward Ukraine). And yes (not to be confused with yes, and), we do live in a society where certain kinds of murder are glorified, even applauded (see: Gypsy-Rose Blanchard). Certain kinds of grotesque behavior in general, mostly related to the debasing things people will do for money. One might even say, in her allyship, Grande is ultimately hollerin’ for a dollar when she says, “Boy, come on, put your lipstick on (no one can tell you nothin’).” Because obviously it benefits her makeup brand’s sales to encourage all genders to wear it. Being an “ally” in the process is just an added bonus. 

    In addition to alluding to her “homewrecking” ways (though nothing will ever compare to the homewrecker’s anthem that is Marina and the Diamonds’ “Homewrecker”), Grande also references her body being commented upon back in April of 2023. When she chose to respond to the wave of comments about how “thin” and “unhealthy” she looked with a video. One in which she stated, “I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what [Billie Eilish had a similar, blunter statement to make on “Not My Responsibility”]… You never know what someone is going through. So even if you are coming from a loving place and a caring place, that person is probably working on it.” This comes back again in “yes, and?” when she sings, “Don’t comment on my body, do not reply.” Not to mention the Britney-centric declaration, “Your business is yours and mine is mine” (it all has the decidedly tongue-in-cheek tone of Spears’ “Piece of Me” video).

    Grande’s positivity doesn’t extend just to the body, but also to finding light in dark situations (a running motif in her work since Sweetener, when she repeated, “The light is coming to give back everything the darkness stole” on “The Light Is Coming”). Thus, she urges, “Yes, and?/Say that shit with your chest.” In other words, stick out your chest with pride (another subtle gay allyship allusion), hold your head high, etc. Grande then adds, perhaps anticipating the fallout for daring to live one’s “most authentic life,” “Be your own fuckin’ best friend.” It’s a sentiment that echoes the sologamist verse on “thank u, next” (indeed, Ari appears to want “yes, and?” to make even more direct reference to that track when she sings, “Keep moving like, ‘What’s next?’). The one that goes, “I ain’t worried ’bout nothin’/Plus, I met someone else/We’re havin’ better discussions/I know they say I move on too fast/But this one gon’ last/‘Cause her name is Ari/And I’m so good with that.” As she also seems to be on “yes, and?”—even if currently “riding the dick” that is Ethan Slater’s. A tabloid tidbit she addresses with, “Why do you care so much whose dick I ride?/Why?” Probably because celebrity worship/envy and the according “need” to know everything about their personal lives has been an ongoing part of our culture at least since the dawn of film.

    In truth, celebrities would probably be a bit disappointed if no one cared whose dick they were riding, but that’s another story/psychological analysis. Besides, no one wants to “overthink” too much with a song like this playing, its infectious house rhythms (ready-made for striking poses on the ballroom dance floor courtesy of production from Grande, Max Martin and ILYA) likely to infiltrate LGBTQIA+ spaces the world over in no time. 

    To be sure, the release of new Ari music always feels best at the beginning of a year, as thank u, next did. Punctuating it with so much initial hope before people start to notice a few months in that shit is not only still the same, it’s probably getting worse. To which government officials might riposte, “Yes, and?”

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    Genna Rivieccio

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