Ariana Grande Finally Drops Official ‘Problem’ Music Video
Last month, Ariana Grande dropped a pretty comprehensive lyric video for her single “Problem” featuring Iggy Azalea. The video – with its retro Herb Ritts feel and Grande and Azalea’s actual participation – would have easily stood on its own merits, but a month later Grande has finally delivered a proper music video for the Max Martin-produced “Problem.”
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While we enjoyed the simple film noir sensibilities of the “Problem” lyric video, this new clip, with its Vespas and costume design, feels more like a Topshop catalog put to motion. Azalea is less of a presence in the actual video than she was in the lyric video – she’s probably a lot busier now that she’s Number One and Two on the Hot 100 – only stopping by for the song’s intro and her verse. To make up for Iggy’s lack of screen time, Grande recruits the lower half of Big Sean’s face to make a cameo by whispering the hook “I got one less problem without you” over the Thrift Shopped horns. (Big Sean’s contribution was previously uncredited.)
“Problem” will reportedly headline Grande’s next LP, the follow-up to her 2013 debut Yours Truly. Speaking about “Problem” and Azalea, Grande told Rolling Stone, “I fell in love with Iggy when I saw this video of her performing ‘Work’ live, and I just thought she was so original and I loved the way she pronounced her words. I thought we would make the perfect girl-power duo for ‘Problem’, so I’m very grateful that she did it with me. I love meeting people I admire and discovering that they’re really chill human beings and nothing’s gone to their head.”