Singer-songwriter Ariana Grande has been on the upswing and everyone’s radar since her hit single “Thank You, Next”.
The 25-year-old pop singer is known for her long hair, tan skin, and relatively short relationships with other celebrities such as the late Mac Miller and Pete Davidson.
Her newest song, “7 Rings” has been a hit amongst her fans and followers. However, many people have come to criticize the singer for her use of copyright infringement and cultural appropriation.
The song begins with the same melody from The Sound of Music’s “My Favorite Things”. And although the song is catchy and has a great tune, rappers such as Princess Nokia have claimed Grande copied the song.
In Princess Nokia’s 1992 song “Mine”, the lyrics ‘it’s mine, I bought it’ go to the same beat as Grande’s ‘Gee thanks, just bought it.’
Rapper Soulja Boy also claims that Grande’s song sounds eerily similar to his 2010 hit “Pretty Boy Swag”. On top of the claims of copyright infringement, some critics claim the song is another example of cultural appropriation.
Some examples include when Grande speaks about her hair extensions she just bought in the song, as well as, the rap verse portrayed by a white woman. Although I agree the song may be similar to other songs that have come out prior, Grande did not copy them, nor is she perpetrating cultural appropriation.
Grande may have similar aspects to other songs, however this does not automatically make it copying. Very few songs are truly original, a lot of songs rely on the same chords, lyrics, beat, even title. For example, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” has the same four chord progression as Train’s “Hey Soul Sister”.
Grande did not copy anyone and meant no offense, as she has exclaimed in multiple interviews. She also is not a perpetrator of cultural appropriation.
Cultural appropriation is when one person steals a style, look, or culture of another race or culture without knowing the meaning or symbolization behind it, and without having to go through the struggle the minority culture has faced. Some of Grande’s biggest critics are stating that she cannot claim to “buy hair” as that is a “black girl thing”.
However, in Grande’s defense, she was on a Nickelodeon television show were she was forced to bleach and dye her hair red every week, thus damaging it. This is why she must buy her hair now.
Some other critics point out that Grande should not rap because she is a “white girl”. Grande’s heritage is of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Italian descent, yet the term “white” could be more ambiguous in her case compared to someone who’s heritage hails from northern Europe.
Furthermore and most importantly, the more we focus on insignificant and meaningless notions and claim they are examples of cultural appropriation the less validity actual cases of cultural appropriation receive.
As for Ariana Grande, keep doing you. Your music is fantastic and everytime I listen “my smile is beamin’”.
Emily Rubino
Opinions Editor