The Meaning Of Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" Is All About Women Empowerment

Ariana Grande is well-known for her extremely heartfelt and meaningful lyrics. Throughout her career, she’s delivered some really catchy and emotional tunes, and all of them, in one way or another, speak to something really personal. Well, Grande’s new song “7 Rings” is no different. The song was released on Friday, Jan. 18, and almost immediately, fans latched onto it and took its meaning to heart. So, what’s the meaning of Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings”? It’s basically an ode to her best friends, and also to how rich she is. I stan.

Back in December 2018, Grande explained some of the meaning behind the song to a fan on Twitter. When the fan asked Grande how the song came about, she revealed that was inspired by her best friends.

"'Twas a pretty rough day in nyc," Grande said of how her friends inspired the song. "My friends took me to tiffany's. we had too much champagne. i bought us all rings. it was very insane and funny. & on the way back to the [studio] njomza was like 'b*tch, this gotta be a song lol.' so we wrote it that afternoon."

Some of that adventure is detailed in the song:

Yeah, breakfast at Tiffany's and bottles of bubbles / Girls with tattoos who like getting in trouble / Lashes and diamonds, ATM machines / Buy myself all of my favorite things (Yeah) / Been through some bad sh*t, I should be a sad b*tch / Who woulda thought it'd turn me to a savage? / Rather be tied up with cuffs and not strings / Write my own checks like I write what I sing, yeah (Yeah)

My wrist, stop watchin' / my neck is flossin' / Make big deposits / my gloss is poppin' / You like my hair? / Gee, thanks, just bought it / I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it (Yeah)

I want it, I got it / I want it, I got it / I want it, I got it / I want it, I got it / You like my hair? / Gee, thanks, just bought it / I see it, I like it / I want it, I got it (Yeah)

In the song, Grande also sings about the seven rings she references in the title of the track and how those rings came to be so empowering. Here’s a look at some of those lyrics:

Wearing a ring, but ain't gon' be no 'Mrs.' / Bought matching diamonds for six of my b*tches / I'd rather spoil all my friends with my riches / Think retail therapy my new addiction / Whoever said money can't solve your problems / Must not have had enough money to solve 'em / They say, 'Which one?' I say, 'Nah, I want all of 'em' / Happiness is the same price as red-bottoms

She want it, she got it.

As for the friends who helped make this song possible, Grande said in a December 2018 tweet that they were: “vic, courtney, alexa, tayla, njomza, kaydence (and my mom and nonna so technically nine but they got theirs after song was done).” All of those women (besides her mother and her grandmother, although I wish they were in it) make cameos in the video.

So, this song was truly about Grande’s closest friends and allies and how amazing they all are when they come together.

Grande first shared bits and pieces of “7 Rings” when she released a teaser for her “thank u, next" music video.

“Y’all like this instrumental in the beginning?” Grande captioned an Instagram Story in November 2018 before adding seven ring emojis.

Here's the instrumental she was talking about:

Now that “7 Rings” is finally here, it’s easy to see why she linked it with “thank u, next” in that way. If you recall, “thank u, next” has some lyrics about her friends:

Spend more time with my friends / I ain't worried 'bout nothin' / Plus, I met someone else / We havin' better discussions / I know they say I move on too fast / But this one gon' last / 'Cause her name is Ari / And I'm so good with that (so good with that)

So, it seems like Grande always had it in mind to link these two songs together. Amazing!