In an interview with Billboard, Ariana Grande said she wanted to "put out music in the way that a rapper does" — meaning, releasing songs without any of the constraints that pop stars like her are beholden to. In that vein, she went to bat and followed up "thank u, next" and "imagine" with "7 rings": a song that interpolates the melody from The Sound of Music's "My Favorite Things" with a sparse pizzicato — and cribs a bit from Notorious B.I.G. and Princess Nokia.
She spins Julie Andrews' original ode to appreciating the little things into a big-spending-as-therapy bop. "Happiness is the same price as red bottoms," Grande half-sings. To her credit, who among us hasn't blown some cash in the throes of an emotional crisis?
The Hannah Lux Davis-directed visual, which occupies the same hyper-saturated, apocalyptic universe as "No Tears Left to Cry," is a Grande celebration with all of her closest friends. With cameos from the six girlfriends (one being Slingshot Artist to Watch Tayla Parx) for whom she purchased Tiffany and Co. rings, she embellishes herself with plenty of shimmering jewels and furs while spilling champagne and her long locks all over the floor. Come for Grande trying her hand at rapping; stay for her bedazzled double buns.
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