My pants are falling off and I'm just playing them my new album.
Look, see. Now he's listening
- with the headphones. -
( British accent ) It's-- It's top secret.
- It's so good. - ( cheering )
- Man: It's so good. - It's Ariana's music.
- Yay! - Lady Cultura: It's a new song.
- Ariana: Okay, David's turn. - Wow, this is a different sound,
- but I love it. - My pants are falling down. Excuse me.
Looking like a fool with your pants on the ground.
Hey.
( music playing )
This girl crazy.
This is Brian and Fredo's favorite.
Right?
My pants are falling down.
But I'm committed to the style, so I just walk like this.
I'm playing them my album. That's weird.
We're outta here again.
It's been a secret.
( laughs ) I don't know what I'm saying.
I just wanna be on camera.
Every time you try to pan away I'm like this.
I'm chasing you. I'm chasing you.
Oh, hey, I didn't see you there.
I hate that. Okay, bye.
( laughs )
Holly.
You look amazing.
So I'm just gonna walk around and keep--
And keep playing it for everyone,
asking them to like it.
I'm forcing everyone to hear it.
They're always the first to hear everything and they're always honest with me.
- What's up with, like, halfway-- - I'm so annoying.
They all want me to leave the room.
( music playing )
You know it. I'm putting pressure on him.
You like it.
( indistinct chatter )
- ( humming ) - ( coughs )
Uh, here's a little tip, kids.
Don't drink laying down.
Don't do it.
I feel like I looked cool so I just took a little sip.
Then I choked.
( humming )
- Hey. - Hey.
- Hum. - Get it.
- Hum. - He.
Okay, I have to pee.
I'm... I'm peeing.
Get it in the camera.
- ( laughs ) - Bye.
♪ We'll be alright ♪
This is the episode
in which we're gonna bring you into the "Sweetener" world.
And, uh, let you see a little bit of this journey
and how we created it, and a little behind the scenes
from "The Light is Coming" and "God is a Woman,"
and making the albums,
and studio moments with Pete, the VMAs.
I'm tired.
When you drop an album it's like...
temporarily dying.
I'm so tired.
Man:
( snapping fingers )
Ariana:
♪ Come back down, down, down, down ♪
♪ Is there such a ladder to get above this? ♪
♪ Down, down, down ♪
♪ Girl, what's wrong with you? ♪
♪ Come back down, down, down, down ♪
♪ Maybe I should grow myself where the mud is ♪
♪ Before I'm gone ♪
( holding note )
♪ This is for everybody ♪
♪ Babe, you gotta take care of your body ♪
♪ Ain't no time to deny it ♪
♪ That is why we talking about it ♪
♪ Yeah, we talking about it ♪
As an artist, I want to love each project I work on,
and in their own special way,
but this feels like the most me
an album has ever felt.
It just feels like super close to home.
More so than I've ever felt I think.
Like a lot of people were like,
"Oh, how does it feel like stepping out of your comfort zone?"
And I'm like, "Nah, I don't feel like I stepped out of my comfort zone.
I feel like I found it."
♪ Unfollow fear and just say you are blocked ♪
( humming )
Working with Pharrell is really dope, because he's always,
like, down to push you places you've never been before.
And, like, I am super open in that way.
I love-- I'll try anything.
Don't be mad at me.
- Hmm? - But I think the second time the chorus comes around,
we might need you to do all the backgrounds again,
and go... ( holding note )
Oh, completely.
Yeah, absolutely.
- It's-- - ♪ Whoo-hoo ♪
It's my "Star Search" moment.
- Yes! - I'm just gonna impersonate JHud and I'll nail it.
Yes, like, we-- Like those backgrounds--
Like they need to be so much louder the second time.
I feel like I have worked really hard for a long time
to solidify my sound.
And I feel like it's more solid than ever.
I'm doing a tutorial.
- Nice. - I'm doing a Pro Tools.
Baby's first Pro Tools lesson.
- For children. -
♪ I'm too much in my head, did you notice? ♪
I like that.
And I think that came from Pharrell
bringing this new flavor.
Like '90s influenced. It was dope.
It's pretty special.
- Yeah. - And I'm so glad--
♪ You can work your way to the top ♪
♪ Just know that there's up and downs and there's drops ♪
Where?
♪ I'm with ya, I'm with ya, I'm with ya, with ya ♪
♪ Unfollow fear and just say you are blocked ♪
-
He's brought so much life to this music
and I'm so grateful.
I don't think you realize the vocal ( bleep )
that's about to happen.
Like, this ( bleep ) is so--
This is-- This is by far our most rainbow cloud song.
Yeah.
- It's a rainbow cloud song. - Yeah.
Literally, it's like you take a tincture,
and a tincture under the tongue.
And anybody is guaranteed to taste and see
and feel rainbow clouds.
- Hmm. - I'm just saying.
I'm excited.
( Ariana giggles )
This and R.E.M. are the most rainbow cloudy to me.
Oof. Oof.
These two I feel like sound like my DNA.
- Wow. - Does that make sense?
Yeah.
Or how I wish I felt.
( laughs ) Not how I feel.
How I'm striving to feel.
Listen, when you sing these songs on stage, okay?
You will tell people the story of how you felt
when we were doing this song.
That's what is so amazing.
- Yeah. - You-- You will have this to look back on.
It's an escape.
100%.
I feel like this is like the most updated album
- to the last second that you ever made. - Yeah.
- The last second. - It was like-- And wait--
- You know, and then it's like-- - Yeah.
- Oh, my God, one last thing, one last thing. - Oh, ( bleep ). It was-- Yeah.
I was like, "Oh, my God, I have to tell you one more thing."
Exactly!
Uh, hi.
We're at the shoot
for "The Light is Coming."
And, oh boy, do I wish it would.
♪ The light is coming ♪
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
♪ Stole, stole, stole ♪
♪ The light is coming ♪
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
♪ The light is coming ♪
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
♪ Stole, stole ♪
♪ The light is coming ♪
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
♪ The light is coming ♪
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
♪ Stole, stole ♪
♪ The light is coming ♪
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
Hey, it's Dave Meyers.
We're on set of "Light is Coming."
Nicki Minaj and Ari doing it again together.
Concept this time,
we kinda wanted to go the opposite direction of last time.
Something really simple in the middle of a forest
with sort of an abstract relationship with light.
I suppose, metaphorically,
it's sort of trying to find your way through the forest of life,
and how the light is what guides you.
There are 14 beetles in my asshole.
Create a gap-- You went-- You went asshole.
( Ariana laughs )
- And you-- You went like this. - It's the scariest.
I don't know. Can you see while we're over here?
Man: Oh, wow!
Ariana: Oh, no, no, no. Brian, can we wait till we get the shot?
Please? Because, like, I'm not gonna do it again.
- They have so many logs. - So, Brian--
He sat down so hard.
The first time we sat down over here.
I sat down so fast.
Slammed my nuts.
Slammed my nuts, right?
Slammed my nuts. It took my breath away.
It took my breath away. And I was like--
( gasps ) To help it, right?
Nothing's funnier than "Took my breath away."
- Right here. You're dragging something. - Come on.
- You look ridiculous! - Thanks, babe.
Can you look at her?
( laughs )
- She's cold. - She's cold, okay.
He would start the take right now with Fredo in the shot.
Okay, where am I going?
- Oh, yeah. - Oh, my God, no.
What? We're not ready.
Here we go. Okay.
Okay, okay, okay, okay.
Okay, we're-- Oh, my God.
Man: Go ahead and-- Slate.
And roll playback.
♪ What did she say? ♪
♪ What did he say? ♪
♪ You don't listen 'cause you know everything ♪
♪ You don't even need dreams ♪
♪ Tellin' everybody, "Stay woke, don't sleep" ♪
♪ Ah, gonna break the ( bleep ) down ♪
♪ You don't wait, tell 'em wait another round ♪
♪ Ah, guess you're way above it now ♪
♪ And that's your way to love it now ♪
I'm, uh, trotting around
on some really, really, thick,
invisible, slippery roots.
I don't know who had this idea.
( whispers ) Me.
But she's an idiot.
I think we got the first take.
Stay tuned, MTV.
♪ His shot like drive-by ♪
♪ Why you had to make me go call up my side guy? ♪
♪ Can't let a f-boy eff up my nice vibes ♪
♪ Yo, Ariana, come let me give you a high five ♪
♪ The light is coming ♪
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
♪ The light is coming ♪
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
Hi. Okay, so, update.
Uh, Brian and I--
I'm pretty sure we were in that last shot.
In the background.
We didn't know any of the, um--
Those lights were gonna be, like, flickering like that.
Like back and forth.
And we were like, "What is that?"
We were like--
They, like, approached so gracefully and slowly.
I was like this--
What?
We're in the forest.
- Are we? - There can't be a leaf on my face.
Are we, though?
So basically the concept of this video is like
this is my forest, get out.
You know?
Actually, I have no idea.
I thought it was one thing
and now I don't think it's that thing.
So, I'm just gonna let Dave run with this one.
With "No Tears Left To Cry" I was like,
"Oh, this is what this is about."
This one I thought I knew, but now I don't.
I thought I saw the treatment and, like, read it,
and came up with it, but then I got here
and realized that's not what we're doing.
So, um, Dave... back to you.
Really I think what's special about this
is just show Ari and cut.
You know, we're not over-- overcutting it.
We're not doing-- You know, we're not overproducing it.
We're just sort of letting her move through the forest.
Even Nicki is only one take, you know.
So it's nice to see a performer in good light,
uncut every once in a while.
Just to know their X factor is real.
♪ Oh, yeah, oh, yeah ♪
♪ The light is coming ♪
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
- Yeah, cool. - That's my Molly girl.
Working with Dave Meyers on all the visuals for this album
has been so extraordinary and, like, such a blessing.
He's brought so much life to this music.
And I'm so grateful,
'cause, like, working with someone who I can have the simplest conversation with
and he can bring it to life
has been, like, such a dream come true.
You can kinda be just over there,
and then just kinda milk the moment
as you feel the spotlight on you.
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Your body since you're missing me ♪
Work. Hell, yeah.
I call it sleepy drunk.
- Sleepy drunk? - Sleepy drunk.
Yeah, I'm never-- I'm never up this late.
So my mind is going to the deep, deep, deep, deep trenches.
I'm just really cold. So I'm just gonna roast myself
- Rotisserie. - Until it's time to go.
- I believe you. - Oh, my God, I'm too close.
Oh, my God.
My eyelashes are gone.
Guys-- No, this is the first--
Behind us is the balloon forest. They're setting it up.
This is the final scene where she kinda makes it
to a-- a little more illumination.
Uh, so it's a little more visceral, a little bit prettier.
It's only there for a moment
and then she disappears into the darkness of the forest.
To leave the viewer with the reality that the viewer faces,
which is they gotta find their way through their forest.
I think it's like five in the morning,
but it's gonna be amazing.
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
♪ Stole, stole ♪
♪ The light is coming ♪
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
♪ The light is coming ♪
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
♪ Stole, stole ♪
♪ The light is coming ♪
♪ To give back everything the darkness stole ♪
( music stops )
( cheers and applause )
And that is a good morning to Ariana Grande.
All right, guys, good night. That is--
♪ You ♪
♪ You love it how I move you ♪
♪ You love it how I touch you ♪
♪ My one, when all is said and done ♪
♪ You believe God is a woman ♪
♪ And I, I feel it after midnight ♪
At the end of the day,
none of us would be here without a woman.
To me, Ari took this to a quick transcendent level with the song
and so I was just going crazy with the visuals.
You know, I've always wanted to do the thinking woman,
which is obviously a twist on the thinking man.
There's no reason that we shouldn't understand the power of a thinking woman.
And it seems like that's what people are afraid of these days.
Hey, ladies, wanna say hello?
Ladies: Hey!
Oh, my God, that was so cute.
I didn't expect it to be that cute.
Hey, guys.
( all laugh )
Just feeding my twins a little meal.
It tastes better than the mango, even.
"It tastes better than the mango, even."
It tastes better than the mango, even.
- Ew, what? What? - Man: Breastfeed her mom
and she's like ten years old.
Woman: Wait, stop, stop.
Stop talking about that, because I look really pretty.
Hey, guys.
Everyone, please.
It's super important.
That's ( bleep ) Madonna.
That's Madonna.
Okay, continue. Carry on.
So today's a really stellar day.
So, Madonna--
She gave us seven takes.
Not one, but seven.
And I, um...
I don't have words.
Gonna cry myself to sleep.
( whispers ) Guys.
Life doesn't get better than this.
I swear to God if something changes,
honest to God, knock me out.
Madonna carried the struggle on her shoulders to--
to put out what Ari's able to put out now.
And so that-- that baton pass to happen on this video
is like ( bleep )-- It's subtle, which is what's badass about it,
but it's also so big.
And wire in.
- Stand by. -
♪ Baby, let me down and let's pray ♪
♪ I'm telling you the way I like, how I want it ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ And I can be all the things you told me not to be ♪
♪ Yeah, when you try to come for me ♪
♪ I keep on flourishing yeah ♪
♪ And he see the universe when I'm in company ♪
♪ It's all in me ♪
♪ You, you love it how I move you ♪
♪ You love it how I touch you ♪
♪ My one, when all is said and done ♪
This stuff is-- is a special, Ethan special.
- Implied. - Ethan's my-- my--
- My secret designer extraordinaire. - Chair remaker.
I can be a little bit literal
and then Ethan comes along takes my literal thought
and turns it to abstract avant-garde.
♪ Let's pray ♪
♪ You, your love is like-- ♪
Ladies and gentlemen, that is a wrap!
Thank you very much.
- ( cheers and applause ) - Give him a hand!
Give him a hand!
( cheers and applause )
( Ariana laughs ) You're like--
I hate you!
All of us.
He hates me.
( indistinct chatter )
He just rubs it.
- I'm hugging you. - Ready?
Yeah.
( screams and laughs )
I give this to you, Ari, and to the fans.
And to every woman who's ever put up with a stupid ass dude.
All: Yes!
Who wants me to start it over?
♪ The night feels strange ♪
I'm always more curious
to hear what my fans have to say
about my music than, like, my label, or anybody,
because I feel like we have such a close bond,
and connection and relationship, I feel like.
♪ And we'll get it, get it, get it, get it ♪
♪ Get it, get it, get it ♪
That's why I flew in a fan from Paris named Anise.
You might know him as @behoright.
To listen to "Sweetener" before I played it for my label or anybody.
So, I'm always curious to hear what they have to say first.
So I kinda wanted to do that for a larger group of kids this time.
Just to celebrate the album and see what they think.
- Oh, my God! - ( applause )
Oh, my God!
- Yeah. - Do we like?
All: Yes!
It also helped me calm my nerves a lot
before I put it out.
- I love that. - That was--
( overlapping chatter )
I'm so--
I'm so happy you were moved to get up.
It makes it so much better to know that, like,
it means so much to you.
- Ariana: That makes me happy. - It's-- Yeah.
- Yeah, trust-- That's incredible like that-- - Oh, thank you.
I'm just-- I'm just--
I feel so blessed that this record is actually happening.
- Oh, me, too. - Straight up.
Man: You could tell on your face you did something you love.
What was the first layer to this song?
What was the first layer to "Sweetener"?
The first layer to the song was this--
"Hey, how are you?" And I was like, "I'm good. How are you?"
And Pharrell was like, "Not-- Can we talk about, like,
some life stuff?" And I was, like, "Sure."
And he was like, "How's life?" And he was like, "Sure."
And he was like-- ( humming )
( all laugh )
It's been beautiful, you know.
( music playing )
There's something intimidating
about making a more personal album.
♪ And breathe in, and breathe in, and breathe in ♪
And there's a tremendous amount of pressure that comes with it
because you want people to feel the same way about it as you do.
But it's been beautiful,
and people seem to really understand it.
( music playing )
Hey!
( cheers and applause )
So we go five, six, seven, eight.
It goes-- ( grunts )
Ariana had a dope idea.
I was writing on the treadmill when I came up with the concept
for the VMA performance.
And I FaceTimed Brian and Scott
and Roy and Rashad, and I was like,
"We have to re-create The Last Supper."
We started making up choreography.
And tap-- You-- Tap.
( singing ) ♪ You love it how I move you ♪
♪ You love it how I touch you ♪
♪ My one-- ♪
We rehearsed I think for, like, three full weeks.
And then we went to New York, rehearsed in this huge,
kind of warehouse vibe.
So we can pull the-- The table separated,
and get all the risers and columns in.
And then, yeah, it was cool to get to work with 47, I believe,
47 women, all in this one piece, including Ariana.
-
♪ Oh, yeah ♪
-
♪ My one, when all is said and done ♪
♪ You'll believe God is a woman ♪
( cheers and applause )
Ladies, nice job.
- You're done. - Yeah, nice job, nice job.
I think everyone noticed
that when they saw the piece they were like,
"Wow, this is such a special moment
for all these types of women."
We had every-- Every type of woman on that stage.
Yell, everyone!
( cheers and applause )
Ariana: Nonna, Mommy.
Hi!
- Hi! - How are you?
- Smile, Nonny. - Where'd you get that gorgeous camera?
Smile.
Man: Turn it on.
The red light means you're on camera, Mom.
- You look stunning, Mom. - Thank you, sweetie.
♪ You ♪
♪ You love it how I move you ♪
♪ You love it how I touch you ♪
♪ My one, when all is said and done ♪
♪ You'll believe God is a woman ♪
♪ And I, I feel it after midnight ♪
♪ A feeling that you can't fight ♪
♪ My one, it lingers when we're done ♪
♪ You'll believe God is a woman ♪
Y'all look so beautiful!
( cheers and applause )
Where's Patience? Patience, where you at?
- Where's Patience? - Jesus.
- Jesus. - Jesus!
Jesus, come to the floor.
( cheers )
Oh, my God, you look so good!
You look so good!
- I need a better outfit. - No way!
No way, no way.
I need something-- Should I put something on my head?
They have small ones--
- Can I have a small one? - Yeah.
Oh, my God, I wanna-- I wanna look--
Woman: I am the light.
All: I am the light.
We are the light.
All: We are the light.
We are the light.
All: We are the light.
We are the light!
All: We are the light!
- Whoo! - ( all cheer )
Whoo!
- Whoo! - Whoo!
You made this.
What? Are you so happy?
- Absolutely. - It's her dream.
( laughs )
I think, um--
I don't know what to say.
- I love you guys. - We're proud--
Lani, I'm so proud of you.
I won't remember that you said that,
'cause I'm gonna black out from anxiety.
- So-- - Same.
- Same. - Some anxiety.
I'm gonna black out in three seconds.
- Gonna have an anxiety attack. - Be fine.
It's gonna be dope.
- Oh! I'm so proud of you. - It's gonna be dope.
- I love you for that. - Thanks.
So exciting, but you kill this.
- I love you. - For real. You kill this, bro.
Look at all these generations of Grande women.
- That's right. - Yay!
And-- And your twins have been with you so long.
- Just as long as you. - From the beginning.
Yes.
- 25 years. - Literally.
I'm crying.
- This is-- I'm so excited. - I'm so glad, I'm happy.
- My heart has to pee. - Seriously.
- My heart has to pee. - I need a--
Does that make sense?
Do you know what you believe?
- God is a woman. - Literally.
- Thirsty. - Here's JLo.
( vocalizing )
♪ Baby ♪
It was Brian's idea to bring out my Nonna and mommy at the end.
And when he told me about that I cried and my mom cried.
And Nonna's reaction was, like,
"It's about time you asked me.
I thought I was coming and never-- You never called.
When were you gonna ask me to join you?"
And I was like, "Sorry I'm late."
And, um, I definitely didn't think Lani was gonna do it,
but she did it and it meant the world to me.
Lani is my cousin.
And she's been like such an inspiration to me growing up.
I always wanted to as, like, smart and cool as Lani.
So, yeah, it was a really beautiful moment.
Did you have fun?
I-- I was so nervous.
Oh, you were?
( cheers and applause )
- Amazing. - I sound okay?
Okay, good. Yay!
You all look good, ladies.
I died. The whole time I died.
- Whole time I died. Died. - Yay!
Jimmy Jam, one of the greatest producers of all time,
just texted me, "Now," capital, "THAT WAS A PERFORMANCE!
First one I've seen that actually seems super level star
where song and staging go together with an artist.
Not to mention, means anything, but, uh,
but giving you my two cents for free.
You my friend, have a superstar on your hands.
- Congrats, Ariana." - ( cheers and applause )
Yay, Nonna, Mommy, you did so good.
You didn't cry.
- I didn't. - You didn't cry.
Muah.
- And you didn't throw up. - I didn't throw up.
Yay!
These are my family!
( music playing )
-
Man: What are they chasing?
Am I a Spice Girl?
Ari has been just killing herself all release week,
and she goes into that overdrive,
where she wants to be as close to the fans as possible.
And she does every show, she does every interview.
She does every appearance.
She's on every piece of social media talking to the fans
and expressing herself in every which way possible.
But that's who she is.
And that's why she's having this moment,
that's why she's a superstar.
And that's why she deserves
and will be the number one album in the country.
She doesn't know that yet.
♪ You'll believe God is a woman ♪
- ♪ My one ♪ - ( cheers )
♪ I tell you all the things you should know ♪
♪ So, baby, take my hand and go slow ♪
♪ We can make it last and go slow ♪
- Stop. - ( cheers and applause )
Woman: No way!
( cheers and applause )
This has been, um, a "Sweetener" diary,
if you will.
And, um, I'm so excited
to bring you into the world of the Dangerous Woman diaries.
So, you've waited very long for this.
So, thank you for your patience,
and, um, I can't wait for you to see
what we've been holding on to for so long.
I hope you enjoy.
- ( cheers ) - ( vocalizing )
All right, ladies, I have a question.
- Can you do me a solid? - Yes.
I know one of y'all has a tampon.
- You've got to. - ( laughs )
- May I? - Yes.
( overlapping chatter )