Ariana Grande and Her Beau Are Lovers On the Run in ‘Into You’ Video
Hot off her electrifying performance at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday (May 22) and the debut of her "Let Me Love You" video featuring Lil Wayne, pop's pearl-wearing diva and self-actualized Dangerous Woman Ariana Grande has dropped the steamy music video for her latest banger of a single, "Into You."
Released at midnight on Tuesday (May 24), the clip finds Ari on the run with her beau, played by America's Next Top Model alum Don Benjamin. The beautiful lovers find solace in the desert—a lush, romantic oasis of cactus-silhouetted landscapes, rosy dusk skies, and neon-lit honeymoon motels.
There, sparks literally fly, and the couple falls deeper into one another, their passion only heightened by their shared solitude: They take scenic motorcycle rides, eat candy and drink champagne in deserted parking lots, and ("a little more...") touch each other's bod-ehs. They even reference, of all things, 1998's disaster blockbuster Armageddon, paying homage to an iconic, gloriously cheesy love scene in which Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler's characters foreplay involves, uh, animal crackers.
Yet, not all is as it seems in the Hannah Lux Davis-directed video, and it turns out that Ariana and her lover are literally on the run after all, having escaped the stifling glitz and social expectations of Los Angeles—as well as the star's suffocating relationship with some insufferable Hollywood hunk. And surprise, surprise! Taking a cue from films like The Bodyguard and Beyond the Lights, or perhaps Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki's "Glitter/Fated" video, Ari's mysterious boytoy is actually her hired protector.
So, is the narrative an instance of art imitating real life? Well, the pop star is rumored to be dating her backup dancer and longtime friend, Ricky Alvarez, who has a penchant for tattoos and bandanas, much like Benjamin's character in the music video. Either way, though, it's a fantasy we're just as eager to live out as Ari. Watch above.
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