Ariana Grande Tries to Forget Her Ex in ‘We Can’t Be Friends’ Video

Ariana Grande – Credit: Katia Temkin*

Ariana Grande has debuted the emotional video for her second Eternal Sunshine single, “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love).” The visual directly references the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, an inspiration for Grande’s latest LP.

The video opens with Grande, playing a character named Peaches, in an office for Brighter Days Inc. She’s planning on undergoing a procedure to remove all memories of her ex, who is played by Evan Peters.

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In the opening lines, she sings, “I don’t wanna hide, but I don’t want to feed this/monstrous fire/just want to let this story die/and I’ll be alright.” She also questions if she can become friends with someone she used to love. “But I don’t wanna bite/my tongue yeah I think I’d rather die,” she sings. “You got me misunderstood but at least I look this good.”

As the process begins, the video recounts the happier and more intimate memories the pair shared. Overwhelmed, Peaches attempts to stop the procedure from finishing. In the end, she and Peters’ character end up with other people, passing by each other in the street as they hold hands with their new partners.

Grande had referenced the 2004 film when she first began teasing the title of her new album. Like the majority of Eternal Sunshine, Grande worked on the song with Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh. “We Can’t Be Friends” follows lead single “Yes And?,” a house track inspired by Madonna’s “Vogue.” The single debuted at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100.

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