In her new music video — her first release since her 2016 album Dangerous Woman — Ariana Grande seems to have been caught in the hipster Upside Down, a highly Instagrammable dystopia where, erm, gravity does not appear to exist. The song, called "No Tears Left To Cry," marks Grande's musical reemergence after the tragic Manchester bombing last May.
Grande is really going for the upside down theme, here. Teasing the song on Instagram, she shared the title of the song backwards and upside down. In the video itself, Grande's surroundings constantly rotate, often leaving her running across ceilings and floors. The video gets very dystopian as Grande literally removes her face and considers a new one. (Poetic!) In another shot, her face is reflected across the screen, a prismatic rendition of Ariana Grande. In the final frame, Grande sits on a sideways field while a bee flits nearby. The bee is reportedly a tribute to Manchester, as the "worker bee" is a well-known symbol of the city of Manchester. (Following the bombing in May, a number of Manchester citizens got bee tattoos in solidarity with the city.)
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The song itself is an anthem, a genre Grande claimed years ago with "One Last Time." Grande declares that she's got no tears left to cry, so she's "picking it up" and "living."
Following the devastating attack in Manchester last year, Grande rallied. After a brief respite in the United States, she returned for the concert fundraiser One Love Manchester in June. A number of artists joined her for the concert, including Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, and Justin Bieber. She then powered on and finished the Dangerous Woman tour.
Speaking to Coveteur in October, Grande said that finishing the tour was difficult, but it needed to happen. "I don’t think I’ve been through anything as traumatic as [what] we’ve been through," she said. "[But] calling it off and going home was not an option. The message of the show was too important. For the crew and everyone involved, it’s become more than just a show for us. We are really grateful to be here and really grateful for this show.”