Ariana Grande enlisted R&B vets, Brandy and Monica, for the video to her latest hit song, “The Boy Is Mine.”
The "Eternal Sunshine" singer released the “The Boy Is Mine” track, which pays homage to Brandy and Monica's hit '90s song of the same name, in early June and told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that she's always been a fan of the record.
“I love that song. I always wanted to reimagine that song in some kind of way,” she said in a March 7 interview, noting that her version is also a “bad girl anthem.”
In the original song, which was released in 1998, the two artists sing about dating the same guy and their frustration with the other for not letting him go.
In the chorus they say, “You need to give it up / I had about enough / It’s not hard to see / The boy is mine / I’m sorry that you / Seem to be confused / He belongs to me / The boy is mine.”
However, in Grande's rendition, she's not competing with another for her love interest. Rather, she sings about her desire to be with someone who doesn't yet know her.
“Somethin’ about him is made for somebody like me / Baby, come over, come over (Oh my) / And God knows I’m tryin', but there’s just no use in denying / The boy is mine / I can’t wait to try him / Le-let’s get intertwined,” she croons.
To pay homage to the original track, Grande tapped Brandy and Monica for roles in her music video, which centers on a rat crisis in a metropolitan city.
In the video, Brandy and Monica play news reporters who announce that the city's mayor, played by Penn Badgley, plans to address the ongoing issue. His solution to the rat problem is simple: let hungry stray cats loose in the city.
“That’s f---ing brilliant,” Grande says after hearing his plan.
Soon after his announcement, it's revealed that Grande is obsessed with the mayor and that she plays to seduce him. She later breaks into the "You" actor's apartment dressed in a cat costume and tries to give him a love potion.
However, she ends up not needing the potion since Badgley is very much into Grande.
This is a huge departure from Monica and Brandy's music video which pitted the two singers against each other.
Fans online couldn't get enough of the legendary R&B singers' surprise cameos.
"Brandy and Monica as the news reporters!!! Iconic!!" one person wrote on YouTube.
Another said, "It’s brilliant that ariana paid homage to the original 'the boy is mine' by having Brandy and Monica make a cameo in this music video :)."
However, Grande didn't stop there. She also got Brandy and Monica to appear on the remix of her song, and in the new version, she added a bridge that reportedly alluded to her new relationship with her "Wicked" co-star Ethan Slater.
In the bridge, the trio says, "Yeah, said he wanna make plans with me, butI don’t f---withaffairs, you see(I know) / But listen what they say to me, (if it ain’t broke, then it can’t be broken)/ Well, he better sort out his business, ‘cause I’ll never be nobody’s mistress."
After hearing the track, one person praised the song and said, "Ariana, Brandy and Monica are the trio we never knew we needed like this remix is a masterpiece omg THE VOCALS ARE PERFECTION."
Another quoted her lyrics and said, "The “Well he better sort out his business, ‘cause I’ll be nobody’s mistress” is giving SLAYYYY."
Brandy and Monica also weighed in on the collaboration and working closely with Grande on the remix.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Monica said she adores Grande's version.
"I've always said that the song should not be touched, right? And I said that because I felt that it did not need to be redone in the idea of, let's say, actually doing it the exact way that it was," she explained. "But ... as soon as I heard this version, I fell in love with it."
Monica also said that working with the 30-year-old singer came together pretty easily, noting that Grande's enthusiasm for the project helped to sell her on the collaboration.
“What I am so amazed by is her humility, her compassion," she said. "On the day that we recorded, I received flowers and a note that was directly from her. Everything has been directly from her chest and, for me, authenticity, humility, all of those things are key.”
On X, Brandy also praised Grande and wrote, "Love you Ariana. Thank you for embracing us with so much warmth and kindness. Overjoyed to celebrate this moment with you and @MonicaDenise."
Read on to see the line by line breakdown of how Ariana Grande's "The Boy Is Mine" differs from Brandy and Monica's 1998 song of the same name.
Ariana Grande — "The Boy Is Mine"
How can it be? You and me
Might be meant to be, can't unsee it
But I don't wanna 'cause no scene
I'm usually so unproblematic
So independent
Tell me why
'Cause the boy is mine, mine
Somethin' about him is made for somebody like me
Baby, come over, come over (oh my)
And God knows I'm tryin', but there's just no use in denying
The boy is mine
I can't wait to try him
See AlsoAriana Grande - 31 Anos | Ótimas músicas da ICÔNICA artista que deveriam ter sido singles | CinePOP CinemaAriana Grande - Popular Song VideoLe-let's get intertwined
The stars, they aligned
The boy is mine
Watch me take my time
I can't believe my mind
The boy is divine
Boy is mine
Please know this ain't what I planned for
Probably wouldn't bet a dime or my life on
There's gotta be a reason why
My girls, they always come through in a sticky situation
Say, "It's fine" (it's fine)
Happens all the time
Somethin' about him is made for somebody like me
Baby, come over, come over (oh my)
And God knows I'm tryin', but there's just no use in denying
The boy is mine
I can't wait to try him
Le-let's get intertwined
The stars, they aligned
The boy is mine
Watch me take my time
I can't believe my mind
The boy is divine
Boy is
And I know it's simply meant to be
And I, I take full accountability for all these years
Promise you I'm not usually
Like this, sh*t, it's like news to me, to me
But I can't ignore my heart, boy (the boy is mine)
I can't wait to try him (oh)
Le-let's get intertwined
The stars, they aligned
The boy is mine
Watch me take my time
I can't believe my mind
The boy is divine
Boy is mine
Brandy and Monica — “The Boy Is Mine”
The boy is mine, the boy is mine
The boy is mine, the boy is mine
The boy is mine
Excuse me can I please talk to you for a minute?
Uh huh sure, you know you look kinda familiar
Yeah you do to, but I just wanted to know do you know somebody named?
You know his name
Oh yeah definitely I know his name
Well I just want to let you that he's mine
Huh no, no he's mine
You need to give it up
Had about enough
It's not hard to see
The boy is mine
I'm sorry that you
Seem to be confused
He belongs to me
The boy is mine
Think it's time we got this straight
Sit and talk face to face
There is no way you could mistake
Him for your man, are you insane?
You see I know that you may be
Just a bit jealous of me
But you're blind if you can't see
That his love is all in me
See I tried to hesitate
I didn't want to say what he told me
He said without me he couldn't make it
Through the day, ain't that a shame?
But maybe you misunderstood
'Cause I can't see how he could
Wanna change something that's so good
All my love was all it took (the boy is mine)
You need to give it up
Had about enough (enough)
It's not hard to see
The boy is mine (boy is mine)
I'm sorry that you (sorry that you)
Seem to be confused (confused, ohh)
He belongs to me
The boy is mine
Must you do the things you do?
You keep on acting like a fool
You need to know it's me not you
And if you didn't know it, girl it's true
I think that you should realize
And try to understand why
He is a part of my life
I know it's killing you inside
You can say what you wanna say
What we have you can't take
From the truth you can't escape
I can tell the real from the fake
When will you get the picture
You're the past, I'm the future
Get away, it's my time to shine
If you didn't know, the boy is mine, ohh
You need to give it up
Had about enough (enough)
It's not hard to see (to see)
The boy is mine (the boy is mine)
I'm sorry that you (sorry that you)
Seem to be confused (seem to be confused)
He belongs to me (he belongs to me)
The boy is mine (the boy is mine)
You need to give it up (ooh)
Had about enough (had about enough)
It's not hard to see (he's mine, he's mine, he's mine, he's mine)
The boy is mine
I'm sorry that you (I'm so sorry you seem to be confused)
Seem to be confused
He belongs to me (he belongs to me)
The boy is mine
You can't destroy this love I found
Your silly games I won't allow
The boy is mine without a doubt
You might as well throw in the towel
What makes you think that he wants you
When I'm the one that brought him to
The special place that's in my heart?
He was my love right from the start
You need to give it up (give it on up)
Had about enough
It's not hard to see
The boy is mine (the boy is mine, oh)
I'm sorry that you (I'm so sorry that you)
Seem to be confused (seem to be confused)
He belongs to me (he belongs to me)
The boy is mine (no, no)
You need to give it up (you need to give it up)
Had about enough ('bout enough)
It's not hard to see
The boy is mine (the boy is mine)
I'm sorry that you (mine, ohh)
Seem to be confused (seem to be confused)
He belongs to me (he belongs to me)
The boy is mine (the boy is mine)
You need to give it up (not yours, but mine)
Had about enough (not yours, but mine)
It's not hard to see (not yours, but mine)
The boy is mine
I'm sorry that you
Seem to be confused
He belongs to me
The boy is mine
Joyann Jeffrey
Joyann Jeffrey is a trending news reporter based in New York City
Candice Williams
contributed
.
