On November 3, Ariana Grande released a long-awaited video to her song ‘Thank You, Next’. Before the video was even released, Ariana was in the public’s eye due to the loss of her ex boyfriend and recent break from her engagement with SNL star, Pete Davidson. Grande’s ‘Thank You, Next’ video is filled with stars such as past cast mates from the show ‘Victorious’ and even Kris Jenner.  The video pays homage to the movies ‘Mean Girls’, ‘Legally Blonde’, ‘Bring it On’, and ‘13 Going on 30’. The video and lyrics include inside jokes, images and references to past boyfriends, and pop culture references. It’s close to impossible to scroll through your feed on social media and not see a post with the words “thank you, next” no matter what the context.

Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’ music video is filled with graphic imagery and metaphors. The musician/actor told E! “I just wanted to make a good song”.  With over 440 million views and hundreds of thousands of comments, the video initiated conversation on social media, quickly becoming a top trending video soon after its release in early May, 2018. The video touches on important subjects in today’s climate such as gun violence, race, and politics