Republic RecordsIf it took you several views of Ariana Grande‘s new video “thank u, next” to catch all the movie references and shout-outs, well, you evidently weren’t alone. VEVO has announced that the video has broken the platform’s 24-hour view count record, with over 50 million views.
As previously reported, “thank u, next” is a tribute to four of Ariana’s favorite movies: Mean Girls, 13 Going on 30, Legally Blonde and Bring It On. Some of those movies’ stars reprised their roles, such as Jennifer Coolidge and Jonathan Bennett, while others — like Jennifer Garner, Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo — all took to social media to say how much they liked it.
In a statement, a VEVO exec said, “This video continues a string of immensely creative visual work that Ariana has released on our platform this year. Each video has been meticulously crafted and has had a brilliant lead up campaign. Ariana and [director] Hannah Lux Davis‘ entertaining work now joins the ranks of some of our most successful videos of all time.”
Meanwhile, according to Billboard, “thank u, next” is also the most popular video ever to be part of YouTube’s Premiere feature, which allows viewers to watch a new clip simultaneously with a group chat and a countdown clock.
At its peak, more than 829,000 viewers were watching Ariana and her pals cavort their way through famous scenes like Mean Girls‘ “Santa Dance” and Legally Blonde‘s “bend and snap.”
Ariana’s “thank u, next,” an ode to her ex-boyfriends, is her first solo #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been #1 for three weeks.
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