Everyone freaked out when Ariana Grande released her ‘thank u, next’ video a few weeks ago, and the video reached 55.4 million views in the first 24 hours, breaking YouTube records. The intro of the video featured a mysterious lingering beat in the background before jumping into the song. Little did we know that this mysterious instrumental belonged to her next hit, ‘7 rings.’
In ‘7 rings,’ named for the matching friendship rings Ariana and six of her girl friends share, Ariana details a lavish life of spending, repeating the phrase “I want it, I got it.” In a reference to her short engagement to Pete Davidson she says, “Wearin’ a ring, but ain’t gon’ be no ‘Mrs.’” Ariana and her aforementioned friends don glamorous attire in the pink tinted video.
Since the video’s release on Jan. 17, several rappers, including Princess Nokia and Soulja Boy, have accused Ariana of stealing their flow, content and even visuals. Many fans were offended at the racial connotation of lyrics which refer to wearing weaves. Grande received further heat after reposting a user’s message critiquing the lyrics on her Instagram story saying she had “so much love” for the user.
Following the backlash, Ariana sent an Instagram comment apology for disregarding the user’s critique.
Despite the drama surrounding the song and video, Ariana broke another record with ‘7 rings’ gaining almost 15 million streams on Spotify within the first 24 hours.
Check out her video here: