Ariana Grande has had one hell of a year. From a terrorist attack at her own concert, a safe place for any successful artist to a publicized break up to losing an ex-boyfriend and longtime friend to a drug overdose—it’s almost as if the odds were against her. We’ve seen the story for so long with pop singers who gain too much spotlight and recognition—they burn like the bulbs of paparazzi cameras in an all too publicized breakdown. In the early 2000s, we watched “pop royalty” fall down the totem pole labeled as “crazy,” or “mental.” It was only a decade ago that cameramen were chasing down Britney Spears with an umbrella.
But, Grande has taken all of her adversity and proven that she is the iconic woman all young girls and women should be recognizing everywhere. Her most recent album, Sweetener, stood at the top of the Billboard charts for weeks, with not one, not two, but three singles breaking records. Her following single, Thank U, Next, stood at the top of Billboards Hot 100 chart for not weeks, but months.
And, yet, Grande was saving the best at an unexpected time. Her new single, 7 Rings, is one for the books, and something that will go down in history much like Destiny’s Child’s Independent Women as an anthem for all independent, self-sufficient, strong women to follow.
The song was inspired, as Grande let fans know, by a spontaneous shopping trip to Tiffany’s with her friends. After getting tipsy on champagne with her girls (goals) she bought 7 of her closest friends matching rings—and later got one for her mother and nonna (also goals).
https://twitter.com/ArianaGrande/status/1068929900856279040
And, thus, with her friends by her side—7 Rings was born. And yet, with all of Grande’s powerful lyrics off of Sweetener and her change of artistry, I was unprepared for the strength that was to come from this single.
While many accuse the song of being materialistic and embracing a consumer society based on luxury and wealth, I see it in a completely different energy and light. 7 Rings is about buying things—but it’s more about the ability for a 25-year-old, hardworking, successful, strong woman having the ability to rely on herself and only herself to get what she wants when she wants it. Grande is preaching an anthem to ladies everywhere that, while in the times of “My Favorite Things” and The Sound of Music, women were looking for men, now, women can look out for themselves. It’s a transformation that all women should embrace.
So often, the music industry has posed pop singers and women in a position in which they need a man, a male companion, by their side for marketing. Label executives plan PR events, red carpet walks, dinner dates to make women appeal to fans and followers. Grande defies all industry odds and makes a path for herself in her own way, letting women know that it’s okay to be on your own, play by your own rules, and get things for yourself.
You don’t need a man in your life to pave your way or help you get places. In all honesty, you only need yourself, and some really down to ride friends by your side.
If you take away anything from this song, besides the ability to rock to it in any setting (bass up in the car, ladies), it should be that your dreams and goals are never out of reach as long as you work hard for it. Grande has had a hell of a year success-wise, but that girl works harder than most artists today. No matter what you want in life for yourself—from the small to the big—it’s always possible, and you don’t need a man to bring it to you like Grande says “buy myself all of my favorite things.”
2019 will go down in history as the year of all the self-made ladies, with a little thanks from Ari herself.