From Fosse to Ari: The Origin of Ariana Grande’s “yes, and?” Video
As long as there have been artists, it’s pretty safe to say there have been critics. The relationship between the two is a complicated one, for it’s the artist who, in an act of vulnerability, steps into the arena (often literally) to present the creation, and with that, comes the (welcome or unwelcome, hopefully at least constructive) critique from the sideline.
An artist who recently commented about this relationship is Ariana Grande, via her latest music video for “yes, and?” from her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, which saw the light of day on March 8. The track’s sound evokes classic piano and hi-hat ‘90s dance music, while the video treatment harkens back to a stylish ‘80s music video and even further back to an iconic ‘70s movie musical, so therefore, Ari’s video is an homage to an homage. Let’s put on our dancing shoes and retrace our steps:
One of the best depictions of this artist-critic exchange was featured in Bob Fosse’s 1979 semi-autobiographical musical-drama, All That Jazz. Broadway director and choreographer, Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider essentially portraying Bob Fosse) is burning the candle (and many cigarettes) at both ends, trying to cast and create a new show, plus complete the editing of a film, all while barely co-raising his young daughter, and popping a lot of pills.
The new show that Gideon is working on entitled, NY/LA, a loose reference to Fosse’s very own, Chicago, features a musical number about airline travel called “Take Off With Us” (a cheeky title already filled with foreshadowing). Gideon invites a few suit-wearing financial backers to preview the song and dance, which starts out with the character of a purser (Sandahl Bergman), along with her crew of dancing flight attendants, touting the exceptional service they will bestow up their passengers (“They only live to service you...”). The first half of the performance is bubbly, which garners smiles, even a round of applause midway through from the straight-laced observers, but unbeknownst to them, there’s a second half that suddenly turns steamy (literally), with one of the dancers welcoming all aboard “Airotica,” Gideon’s ode to the “Mile-High Club.”
The studio goes dim, now lit only via a few flashlights, with the dancers peeling off their clothes (the “take off with us” double entendre now realized), and pairing up to perform a sensual, then overtly sexual, albeit artistic, number, much to the confusion and disappointment of the backers, the realization sinking in about the limited monetary and sponsorship potential that the addition of “Airotica” will bring. “There goes the family audience,” the head backer whispers to his colleague. At the end, Gideon asks what they think, only for the head backer to feign acceptance and approval with a nervous smile.
Ten years later, the dancer and choreographer, Paula Abdul used Fosse’s “Take Off With Us” as the basis for her “Cold Hearted” music video, directed by a then relatively unknown, David Fincher. The video starts out with a group of record-company executives arriving at a rehearsal space, seemingly uninterested in what they’re there to preview. One says it’s a “Bob Fosse kind of thing; it’s gonna be really, really hot,” to which another executive nervously replies, “Yeah, but tastefully, it’s tastefully hot.”
The first two verses and choruses find Abdul and her crew dancing much to the toe-tapping approval of the executives, but by the bridge, a couple of the dancers begin lowering the window shades, thus beginning Abdul’s (understandably much tamer) version of “Airotica.”
A couple of the executives are turned off, a couple of them turned on. Similar to Gideon asking his backers, Abdul asks her audience, “Well, what do you think?,” to which a conservative executive reluctantly replies, “It’s very nice.”
In January 2024, Grande released “yes, and?” as a self-empowerment reminder amid a social-media culture of click-and-critique. The video came at a time when Grande, once again, became the subject of chatter surrounding her personal life, specifically her short-lived marriage, and quick subsequent kindling of a new relationship with a co-star from the film adaptation of Wicked. For the Christian Breslauer-directed video for “yes, and?,” which starts similarly to Abdul’s, a group of jaded critics reluctantly arrive at an industrial space, yet ironically can’t seem to talk about anything but Grande and her signature ponytail, with some of the critics even rehashing, and reacting to, internet-sourced gossip.
As these critics enter the space, an elated group exits. The new batch take their seats in front of a series of stone statues, one of which is in the form of Grande with her hands covering her eyes in a see-no-evil posture. As the song’s beat drops in, the statues crumble into piles of rubble. Grande is released to tell her story, with the bridge reserved for commentary to those who deliver just that about her (“Don’t comment on my body/do not reply/your business is yours/and mine is mine”).
Through confident lyrics and cohesive choreography, Grande and her dancers persuade the critics to drop their metaphorical stone exteriors as well. Yet just as this is achieved, she and her dancers within a flash assume their statuesque personas once again, perhaps symbolic of the thick shell needed to navigate the current, all-too-easy, drop-a-comment culture. As the newly elated converts leave, yet another cluster of critics enter, they too soon to be shook.
In summary, the common threads between the three depictions are as follows:
The critics arrive.
Principal female character with a group of dancers.
Principal character dressed in black, and wearing a black hat with brim.
Stripped-down, industrial-looking rehearsal space featuring scaffolding structures.
Principal character on top of the scaffolding structure.
The controlled critics sitting on chairs as the audience, as opposed to the creative artists “in the arena.”
There’s always a moment when the critics are enjoying what is presented to them.
The rehearsal space goes from light to dark for a version of “Airotica.”
When it comes to Ariana Grande’s “yes, and?” video, there’s no place like homage.
Photos 1, 8, 9, 10: Ariana Grande in the music video for “yes, and?,” directed by Christian Breslauer; Photos 2, 3, 4: All That Jazz, directed by Bob Fosse, cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno; Photos 5, 6, 7: Paula Abdul in the music video for “Cold Hearted,” directed by David Fincher.
The Pop Zeal Project (Track 85): LL Cool J: “Around the Way Girl”
Ladies Love Cool James, and LL Cool J, for short, loves them right back. He offered further clarification on his 1990 hit single, “Around the Way Girl,” where the rapper describes the type of woman for whom he’s looking. In the prologue to the music video, a frustrated LL, sitting in a casting session, shares what he doesn’t want or need in a girlfriend, particularly “a homegirl that’s jumping out the limousine with the fur on and all that.” All LL wants is a “regular girl.”
Together, LL (James Smith) and Marlon Williams craft visually descriptive lyrics, in order to provide insight for the listener as to the physical traits (“extensions in her hair”; “honey-coated complexion”; “perm in your hair or even a curly weave”) and fashion trends (bamboo earrings; a Fendi bag; New Edition Bobby Brown button) likely sported by “all the cuties in the neighborhood.” With LL’s massive rap-pop crossover appeal, he essentially took what could be considered a regional phrase, an “around the way girl,” and introduced it into the larger MTV-generation lexicon.
And while the lyrics start out addressing physicality and style sense, they eventually begin speaking to the personality of this independent young woman who can read a relationship (“You always know what to say and do/Cold flip when you think your man is playing you”) and, more importantly, knows her value even before getting into one (“I tell you come here, you say meet me halfway”). Unlike a year prior on LL’s track, “Big Ole Butt,” where Tina, Brenda and Lisa were relegated to one particular physical characteristic, on “Around,” “Lisa, Angela, Pamela, Renee” are admired for more.
Holding everything together on the track is the inspired inclusion of classic R & B and funk elements. Rick James earns a writing credit as well on “Around the Way Girl,” as it contains a lyrical sample (“You got me shook up, shook down, shook out on your lovin’”) from “All Night Long,” the 1983 single by the group James formed, Mary Jane Girls. “Around” also features aspects from Keni Burke’s 1982 song, “Risin’ to the Top.” All these components, and LL’s smooth, suave delivery, help make “Around the Way Girl” a timeless rap jam, “fine as can be."
“Flowers” Power: Miley’s Message of Self-Sufficiency
The new year is blossoming beautifully for Miley Cyrus, as the debut single, “Flowers,” from her upcoming album, Endless Summer Vacation, reached the number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in late January. The track, co-written by Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein and Michael Pollack features references to Cyrus’ former marriage to the actor, Liam Hemsworth. In the first verse, “Built a home, and watched it burn” relates to the couple losing their Malibu house in the 2018 Woolsey Fire. But most notably, “Flowers” serves as a response to Hemsworth allegedly dedicating the Bruno Mars regret-filled ballad, “When I Was Your Man” to Cyrus. She offers a form of lyrical rebuttal in the following ways:
Mars’ chorus: “That I should have bought you flowers.”
Cyrus’ chorus: “I can buy myself flowers.”
Mars: “And held your hand.”
Cyrus: “And I can hold my own hand.”
Mars: “Should have gave you all my hours.”
Cyrus: “Talk to myself for hours.”
Mars: “Take you to every party ‘cause all you wanted to do was dance.”
Cyrus: “I can take myself dancing.”
From a production standpoint, Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson keep the verses quiet, gloomy, almost wilted, all constructed to make the cloud-free chorus flourish with confidence. Harpoon’s prominent disco-funk bass line lends smooth, soulful sass, the kind that inspires strutting down a hallway before erupting in euphoric abandon, as displayed by Cyrus in the accompanying Jacob Bixenman-directed music video. (The video is reminiscent of Francis Lawrence’s “Cry Me a River” for Justin Timberlake, who, like Cyrus, is shown breaking into the home of a former, and allegedly unfaithful, lover.)
With the New Year a little over a month in, and Valentine’s Day ahead, Cyrus’ “Flowers” could not have been released at a better time. (Likely its January 13 launch date was to coincide with Hemsworth’s birthday.) Two of the possible reasons the track has resonated with so many: Resolutions for better self-care are (hopefully) still in practice, with the song serving as an extra push to stay resilient; singles get an added reminder to tend to—and cultivate—self-sufficiency. “Flowers” is the musical equivalent of a dozen red roses.
Columbia Records. Album-Cover Photography by Brianna Capozzi.
Impossibly Indie: Three HD Videos from Kylie in the ‘90s
Kylie Minogue’s sixth studio album, 1997’s Impossible Princess, marked another major shift in Minogue's career. Gone was the late-‘80s bubble-gum pop singer; g’day to ‘90s singer/songwriter, ready, willing and able to delve deeper into experimental territory. Surrounding the material, some of which explored topics such as personal happiness, and inner peace in spite of chaos, was a new sound, one significantly different from 1987’s “The Loco-Motion,” even from the dance-pop direction of 1990’s “Better The Devil You Know.”
This late-‘90s shift actually originated in the early part of the decade. In 1992, Minogue parted ways with her record company, PWL, and signed with the independent dance-music label, Deconstruction Records, who afforded Minogue more creative direction and input. The first result: the 1994 self-titled album, Kylie Minogue, with the eerily effective, “Confide In Me” representing the first effort in an era that would be coined, “Indie Kylie.” A year later, a musical collaboration with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds on “Where the Wild Roses Grow” was another confirmation that trying new things came with commercial and critical accolades. On the personal front, she was in a relationship with the French photographer, Stéphane Sednaoui, who inspired her to push the professional envelope. However, when Impossible Princess was released, it became her most polarizing album to date, due to its sharp departure from what many were accustomed. Yet over the years, the artistic endeavor has garnered acclaim as one of Minogue’s most respected works, and a fan favorite, for its unexpectedly bold foray into rock, electronica, drum and bass, even Celtic-folk influence on the fourth and final single, “Cowboy Style.”
On October 22, 2022, the enduring album celebrates its 25th anniversary. To help celebrate, Minogue recently released HD versions of the music videos for the first three singles: “Some Kind of Bliss,” “Did It Again” and “Breathe.” Much like how the musical direction for each single served as a departure for Minogue, the visual companions followed suit:
I’m With the Bandits
The David Mould-directed video for “Some Kind of Bliss” features Minogue and the actor, Dexter Fletcher, playing a devilish duo on the run (or more like on a ride, in a classic Pontiac). The Bonnie and Clyde-inspired tale is edited in a non-linear format, so it’s left up to the viewer to determine the actual order of the crime-spree events. Here’s a theory as to what the storyline would be if it was edited in linear sequence:
Minogue’s character, in a black dress, picks up Fletcher’s from jail. He’s wearing a black shirt, tan pants, and carries a black-and-red bag as he leaves the jail. After spending some time at a motel, Fletcher’s character has changed into a white suit; Minogue’s into a blue mini-dress. They’re seen fleeing to the Pontiac, while he carries the same black-and-red bag.
The couple descends upon a gas station in the middle of the desert, still wearing the white suit, still wearing the blue mini-dress. As Minogue flirtatiously distracts the attendant, she heads to the restroom, while Fletcher robs the station. When she leaves the restroom, we see she’s changed into a white tank top and blue hot pants that we can presume were under the mini-dress. (Three years later, Minogue would wear a pair of gold hot pants in the video for “Spinning Around”; the article of clothing would later become synonymous with the singer.)
Post-robbery, the two once again change outfits: He adds a green shirt to the white suit; she into a white top and pink pants, her ginger-red hair now in a ponytail. Back in town, he robs a business, while she remains outside near the Pontiac, only to observe a police car pulling up to the building, just as he runs out and right into the cops. He yells at her to make a break for it, as he’s put into the back of the squad car. She drives away, crying, her Bonnie separated once again from her Clyde. In summary, based on this theory, this would mean that Fletcher’s character returns to jail mere hours after initially being released, carrying the black-and-red bag. Not watching the video below would be criminal.
Kylie Chameleon
Many of Minogue’s previous videos, particularly the ones from the ‘80s, showed her as a happy-go-lucky (“lucky, lucky, lucky”) late-teen. “Better the Devil You Know” (1990) showed her as a girl all grown up, with “Some Kind of Bliss” showing Kylie as that good girl gone bad. What makes the video for Impossible Princess’ second single, “Did It Again” compelling—and comedic—is that it’s a tongue-in-cheek look at Kylie’s various professional personas in direct opposition with each other. The Pedro Romhanyi-directed video features four characters: Sex Kylie; Cute Kylie; Indie Kylie; Dance Kylie, in a police lineup, battling it out for the camera’s attention.
These monikers doubled as references to, and commentary on, the media coverage Minogue had endured up to this point, often pigeonholed by the press into a confined category, a current incarnation put “in quotes,” a creative pursuit reduced to an easily digestible soundbite. It’s no wonder the four figures are set against a mugshot backdrop; it’s as if Minogue daring to change direction, musically and visually, was a criminal act. Lyrically, Minogue co-wrote the track as self-commentary, reportedly frustrated at not learning valuable lessons when it came it to her personal relationships. (“Clever girl, think you know, but you don’t know much.”) “Did It Again” is all about conflict, both external and internal.
“It Won’t Be Long Now”
If “Some Kind of Bliss” is Impossible Princess’ most cinematic video, and “Did It Again” its most technically creative, the video for the third single, “Breathe,” directed by Kieran Evans, is its most beautiful, thanks, in part, to its artistic simplicity. Most of the video has Minogue, floating in a vast openness, in a nude-colored dress. Blurred, fragmented shots of her hands, fingers and feet are almost embryonic in nature.
At video’s end, the visual concept connects to the central theme of the track, which revolves around living inside one’s own head. (“I’m sorting everything inside/I’m looking in the space.”) “Breathe” was a fitting follow-up single, and antidote, to “Did It Again.” Just as Minogue expressed feelings of frustration towards herself, the introspective, meditative “Breathe” is her seeking inner peace. (“It won’t be long now, breathe, breathe.”) A new Kylie is born.
And it won’t be long now until fans are putting Impossible Princess on repeat, and these three videos on replay, revisiting one of the most intriguing chapters in Minogue’s now legendary career. It’s a chapter that’s impossibly indie, yet still consistently Kylie.
Dancing With Myself: Aquaria Heads Out Alone in The Knocks’ Video for “Slow Song”
The electronic-music duo, The Knocks, consisting of Ben “B-Roc” Ruttner and James “JPatt” Patterson, released the sound of summer, in spring 2022. “Slow Song,” featuring Martina “Dragonette” Sorbara on vocals, is shimmery, “bassy” synthpop with a melody line in the chorus that’s so sunny it ironically brings the chills (the good kind).
If the song itself isn’t shimmery enough, the Austin Peters-directed music video delivers the (lip) glossy glam, thanks to “Rupaul’s Drag Race” season 10 winner, Aquaria. Stuck in a dead-end job in the dead of night, Aquaria’s character closes up shop at the farmacia, and retreats to a nearly deserted dancehall to spiritually recharge, with music and movement the metaphorical sources of energy.
After sitting solo at a table, the stunning performer stands up, and sashays out to the dance floor, for what could be considered a Flashdance-finale moment.*
During the song’s bridge, the video cuts to footage of a strobe-light-bathed Aquaria suddenly surrounded by other dancing patrons. It seems unlikely the empty club had an influx of nightclubbers, leading to the theory that this could all be in Aquaria’s head, perhaps a dream of life before COVID closed the clubs, before socializing was replaced by social distancing. The video then quickly cuts to Aquaria adamantly exiting the dancehall, a few patrons can be seen off to the sides, but it becomes more about Aquaria’s ownership of a night out alone, reminding us that sometimes you just have to break free, even if it’s—especially nowadays—by yourself.
*Flashdance, directed by Adrian Lyne. Paramount Pictures, 1983.