The ‘petal’ season is amongst us with Grande’s new music video delivering horror visuals and a Justin Long feature.
Directed by Christian Breslauer, Ariana Grande’s music video for ‘hate that i made you love me’ was released overnight.
Featuring Justin Long, who’s notably featured in horror movies such as Jeepers Creepers, Tusk and Drag Me To Hell, he is recognised as a bit of a scream king.
The film is shot with a 1960s horror aesthetic, opening with the protagonist, played by Justin Long, shovelling dirt into a grave.
Transitioning underground, Ariana Grande stands in a lemon-yellow dress, around boxes and diaries strewn across the ground.
Ariana floats through the video, simply and calmly appearing as the protagonist, who is riddled with guilt and is overwhelmed after supposedly burying his lover.
Flipping his car, setting himself on fire, driving him to insanity, Long’s character is a ball of energy and fear, while Grande’s steady arrival, coupled with her gentle lip-sync of the lyrics to the camera, places her in a limbo of us never knowing if she’s truly there, or just a figment of the protagonist’s imagination.
Articulating the simplicity of someone falling in love with you, Grande haunts Long, in his memories, in his mind’s eye and finally, as she materialises physically in the end, flipping the opening shot by burying him in the grave.
The track embodies the empathy that comes with loving, while still understanding why something needs to end. In a vulnerable bridge, Grande says, ‘I’ve held your projections when you’ve felt so insecure / Tell me, why is it this way?’
Grappling with pain, articulating, ‘hate that I made you love me’ and ‘I’m sorry if I made me your type,’ taking accountability while knowing it is out of your control what others do.
Ariana’s masterful lyricism, exhibited in this track, partnered with her artful visuals, is leading us into a promising AG8 season.
‘hate that i made you love me’ is the lead single from Ariana’s upcoming eighth album, Petal, releasing on Friday, July 31.
