Ariana Grande sheds her pop star persona in her new single, “7 rings.” Grande’s newest hit along with its music video — which is already raking in millions of views — was released on Friday.
Grande has become one of the most talked-about artists in the world after the release of her latest album, “Sweetener,” which focused on love and relationships, even including a song called “pete davidson” as a dedication to the singer’s ex-fiance. Grande’s sudden split with Davidson led to the release of her latest hit, “thank u, next,” a song that focuses on the importance of past relationships and self-love. Grande has wasted no time putting out new music as she ended 2018 with “thank u, next” and started 2019 with “7 rings.”
“7 rings” has a completely different sound than the light melodies of her “Sweetener” album. With heavy bass and catchy beats, “7 rings” isn’t quiet about its rap influences. While “Sweetener” was a tribute to love, “7 rings” is a tribute to self-love, but specifically self-love by treating yourself.
It’s no secret the pop sensation is incredibly wealthy; according to INSIDER the 25-year-old singer is worth $50 million. Whether or not you have $50 million or $5, you can still enjoy this party beat by Grande.
As a college student, it’s not possible to relate to Grande’s financial situation, but as someone who loves catchy music, a lot of bass, and hip-hop, Grande’s new sound in this song is too good to not enjoy even if you can’t afford diamond rings for all your besties. Grande even shows off her rapping ability in the song which was something unexpected from the pop-princess, but her bold risk paid off.
It didn’t take long for the internet to start listening to Grande’s new hit, and it received a lot of praise as well as controversy. In particular, the line, “You like my hair? Gee, thanks, just bought it,” became a meme on Twitter among both fans and critics of Grande. The line drew special ire because of a controversial Instagram story, in which Grande reposted a fan comment: “white women talking about their weaves is how we’re gonna solve racism.”
An A-list celebrity like Grande will always face some controversy when releasing a new project, and the internet quickly began comparing “7 rings” to Soulja Boy’s 2010 hit, “Pretty Boy Swag,” arguing that the singer copied Soulja Boy because their vocal delivery sounds similar.
Soulja Boy even addressed Grande in a series of tweets, making claims that she stole his song. Grande has yet to respond to Soulja Boy’s comments, leaving the internet wondering how serious his accusations were.
While I’m not sure if a pop star at the top of her game like Grande would need to steal music from Soulja Boy, I do know that when I listened to the song for the first time, I immediately noticed her use of the tune from “My Favorite Things” by Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music.” Grande began her career on Broadway, so the fact that she took a modern spin on a timeless song and managed to make it into her own was clever and well-executed.
I’m looking forward to Grande’s newest album after listening to the singles “thank u, next” and “7 rings.” It was refreshing to hear “7 rings” because Grande decided to write about her success and herself instead of focusing on her past relationships that have been getting so much attention. Between the heartbreaking death of Mac Miller and her split with Davidson, Grande is taking time to focus on herself and it’s reflected in her music.
I’m expecting Grande’s new album to be full of fun-loving party hits such as “thank u, next” and “7 rings” as well as an underlying message of female empowerment. Even though she is constantly putting out new music, Grande has yet to disappoint. I’m excited to see how her album as a whole compares to her wildly successful singles.
