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Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Of Gym Rats and Fucbois

Ariana Grande
Side to Side (feat. Nicki Minaj) - Single
Republic
Release date: August 30, 2016 (Single) / August 28, 2016 (Music Video)

By Vimal Esvaren


Before we get on with the review, pray tell us, where is the nearest SoulCycle class? 

Femmes fatale Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj have teamed up once again to deliver us with not just a catchy tune but also the motivation to exercise ASAP. The Caribbean-tinged track gets a gym-spired video track and we love every minute of it. 

A song about sneakily dating the wrong guy even when the whole world is against them, the reggae-based number is one of the best tracks from Miss Grande's latest LP Dangerous Woman and it's hard not to start swinging from side to side when the chorus hits. 

Being set in a gym instead, the video does not relate to the song's lyrics at all. The curtains open with Ariana and her backup dancers going all out on the bicycles at a SoulCycle class (the same imagery that she used for her 2016 MTV VMA performance - sponsored?) before leading them to the locker room where they playfully get changed. At this point we must say, the songstress' workout clothes are amazing and the gym would be so much more fun with her around. 

The video then moves to the showers and ends at the sauna where the Queen of Rap awaits as curvacious as ever in her throne amongst hot Ken dolls in various colours, spitting out rhymes like “If you wanna Minaj I got a tricyle” and “Body smoking, so they call me young Nicki chimney.” All in all a fun video for a fun song! 

P/s: Ariana appears in a few new hairstyles, maybe previews of some looks to come?