Paula Abdul Says Ariana Grande’s ‘Yes, And?’ Tribute to Her Is an ‘Honor’

Grande’s ‘Yes, And?’ music video takes notes from Abdul’s 1988 clip for “Cold Hearted.”

Ariana Grande “yes, and?”

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Paula Abdul is loving Ariana Grande’s “Yes, And?” music video.

In the new clip, released on Friday (Jan. 12), Grande wears a ballet-inspired outfit with a hat that pays homage to legends like Janet Jackson and Abdul — and the nod doesn’t end there. The clip, directed by Christian Breslauer, seems to take inspiration from Abdul’s visual for her own “Cold Hearted,” leaning deeper into the late-’80s energy of the song itself with the warehouse set-up, the dancers, audience and more.

Upon seeing the video, Abdul took to Instagram to give “Yes, And?” her stamp of approval. “WOW! Waking up to see Ariana Grande pay homage to ‘Cold Hearted’ in her new music video ‘yes, and?’ was EVERYTHING!!! What an honor! What was your favorite part of the video? I love you, Ari!!!” she tweeted. Grande herself also put a side-by-side of their videos on her Instagram Story, writing, “love you so @paulaabdul.”

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WOW! Waking up to see Ariana Grande pay homage to “Cold Hearted” in her new music video “yes, and?” was EVERYTHING!!! What an honor! What was your favorite part of the video?
I love you, Ari!!! 💋💋💋 XoP https://t.co/WK4C2UY91y

— Paula Abdul (@PaulaAbdul) January 12, 2024

On Monday (Jan. 8), Grande shared that although “Yes, And” is not the title for her forthcoming seventh album, the single’s artwork will be double as one of the album cover variants. She first confirmed new music at the tail end of last year with a Dec. 27 Instagram post, and officially started teasing the new single on Jan. 4 with sweatshirt bearing the track’s title — a callback to her announcement for Sweetener lead single “No Tears Left to Cry” back in 2018.

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