“Ain’t got no tears left to cry.”
That’s because she’s been teasing new music, and last night she finally dropped the song “No Tears Left To Cry” along with a brand new music video.
This is a momentous occasion for Ariana, not least because this marks her comeback after a tough year following the Manchester bombing that claimed the lives of 22 victims outside her concert back in May.
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People have been wondering how, if at all, Ariana would reference what happened in the track. It was reported that although the song wasn’t entirely about the incident, Ariana had alluded to it in “a perfect, powerful way” that left people “hysterically crying”.
Well, now the video has arrived and after watching it a couple of hundred times, here's what I've picked up on.
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In it, the world around Ariana is constantly spinning, perhaps representing the way her world – and the worlds of many others – were upended the night of the attacks.
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There’s also a scene in which she removes her face. Some fans have questioned whether this references the way she put on a “public face” of strength after the attack.
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And how this face literally masked her true feelings, especially because she only takes it off when she’s alone.
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While the lyrics of the song don’t reference the attacks directly, they are full of positivity, and this is reflected in the video as it progresses.
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Ariana states that she’s in a new mind-set, which some fans have taken as a reference to her managing to move forwards after the incident.
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She then looks up and appears to be singing to the sky, which could be a nod to the Manchester victims, who Ariana has said will be “on her mind and in her heart everyday.”
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And right at the end, a bee flies away past the camera – definite dedication to Manchester.
The worker bee has long been a symbol for Manchester, representing “the city’s hard-working past”.
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However, there are a couple of other interesting details which might give us some clues about her upcoming album. Going back to the scene with the masks, it’s interesting to note that there are three, perhaps representing each of her past albums.
Taking off the third mask could be symbolic of leaving the Dangerous Woman era behind and preparing to enter a new one.
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But the fact that Ariana removes her “mask” while surrounded by notes and a tracklist could point to the fact that this will be her most real and emotionally raw album yet.
This supports a TMZ report which said that the album is a “personal masterpiece”.
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No word on when AG4 will actually be released, but I’ll be watching this video on loop until then.
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