Here's How That 'Grey's Anatomy' Ariana Grande Music Video Actually Happened

There are some crossover events that will leave an indelible mark on pop culture. There was the time Britney Spears and Madonna made out at the 2003 VMAs, or all of Avengers: Infinity War, which brought together dozens of Marvel characters in one movie. But, perhaps no crossover event was more exciting than that Grey's Anatomy Ariana Grande video, which featured stars Ellen Pompeo and Giacomo Gianniotti dancing to "Break Up With Your Girlfriend." OK, maybe there have been some slightly bigger crossovers before, but for fans of both Grey's Anatomy and Grande, this video was pretty exciting. Elite Daily got the full scoop from Gianniotti himself on how that memorable Grey's/Grande came to be.

In the viral Grey's/Grande video, Gianniotti and Pompeo dance and lip sync to "Break Up With Your Girlfriend," a track off of Grande's latest album Thank U, Next. The actors are on the Grey's Anatomy set and wearing their doctor characters' scrubs, but they're out of character and having a good time with the dance break. Pompeo is especially bopping to the beat, which makes sense since Gianniotti says the idea for the video came from her.

Pompeo arrive on set one day with a high ponytail that was reminiscent of Grande's signature look. She told Gianniotti that she was feeling like the pop star. "[Pompeo] was like 'You know what, I love her song, and her album and I I wanna do a video like singing her song," Gianniotti tells Elite Daily. "'I want you to be in the video and we should dance together to the song.'"

The day that Pompeo arrived ready to pay tribute to everyone's favorite pop star also happened to be the day that they were filming scenes in the stress-reducing blue room, which recently aired. While the blue room is great reducing stress, it has additional appeal as some stellar mood lighting. According to Gianniotti, the blue room set served as the perfect backdrop for the impromptu music video.

"I said, 'We have this really cool blue room that kind of looks like a music video set, why don’t we go shoot it in there?'" Gionniotti explains. "So we just went in there we just danced and we were just having fun."

Pompeo posted the video on her Instagram, but the post truly went viral after Grande herself shared it. She's a self-proclaimed Grey's Anatomy fan, and she shared the video to her Instagram with the caption:

guys if i’m honest ......... this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. @ellenpompeo i love u sm. i cant breathe. i’ll never be the same.

Apparently there's a lot more where this video came from. Gianniotti says that the Grey's Anatomy set is filled with fun hijinks like this music video.

"It’s a very fun set we have a lot of really great comedic actors and funny people," Gianniotti tells Elite Daily. "We’re always like playing pranks with each other and having fun so that just happened to make it on tape."

While the Grey's Anatomy set is filled with fun and games, Gianniotti also takes his role as a public figure seriously. Elite Daily spoke with Gianniotti at an event for #JourneySafe by Super8. #JourneySafe is a campaign that aims to remind drivers who hit the road late at night, early in the morning, or any time in between that drowsy driving is extremely dangerous. It's a cause that hits very close to home for Gianniotti, who had his own bad experience with drowsy driving.

"I was very lucky to escape with my life and not harm anyone else," Gianniotti tells Elite Daily. "It's a personal issue that I care a lot about and really wanted to raise awareness about."

It's awesome to see that while Gianniotti isn't playing a doctor on screen, he's working to save lives off screen and on the road.