Ariana Grande’s music video for “The Boy Is Mine” features cameos from none other than Brandy and Monica.
Brandy, 45, and Monica, 43, play news anchors in the video, which dropped on Friday, June 7. Their appearances are apt given that they sang the original 1998 hit “The Boy Is Mine” together. The duet spent 13 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 after its release.
Grande’s “The Boy Is Mine” is a completely different song, but its title was clearly inspired by Brandy and Monica’s single. The timing of its accompanying music video coincides with the anniversary of the OG tune becoming a No. 1 single.
“This week, 26 years ago on June 5, 1998 THE BOY IS MINE reached number 1 Billboard Hot 100 … History … Legacy @brandy,” Monica wrote via her Instagram Story on Friday alongside a photo of her and Brandy dressed all in black for Grande’s video.
The “Angel of Mine” singer also shared a clip from the music video in a subsequent story, writing, “@arianagrande we love you.”
During the video’s intro, Monica and Brandy discuss Mayor Max Starling, played by Penn Badgley, and the press conference he is about to give. Badgley, 37, proceeds to give a televised speech about the city’s rat problem while a smitten Grande, 30, watches and prepares a love potion for the unsuspecting mayor.
“That’s f–king brilliant. So hot,” Grande says after Badgley announces the city’s plan to send a coalition of stray cats after the pests.
Grande’s mousy, bespectacled character then transforms into full-blown Catwoman dressed in a leather mini dress and mask while sneaking into Badgley’s house to give him her love potion. But when Badgley finds himself caught in Grande’s whip as she channels Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman from 1992’s Batman Returns, he is organically lovestruck. He throws the love potion at the wall and the twosome cozy up together in an apartment filled with cats as the credits roll.
Grande teased Badgley’s cameo during a Thursday, June 6, appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“The video stars Penn Badgley who I’ve been a fan of my entire life, so it was just so amazing to work with him,” she said, adding that she was “super honored to have him” on board.
“The Boy Is Mine” is the third single from Grande’s seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, which was released in March. Grande told Fallon, 49, on Thursday that she originally didn’t plan to release another album until she finished shooting the upcoming movie adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked.
“When the [SAG-AFTRA] strike happened [in 2023], I went home to see my family of course, first and foremost. … After that, I booked a week in the studio and I asked the brilliant [producer] Max Martin if he wanted to come be with me,” Grande explained. “And by the end of the week, we had five songs that are on this album.”
