What is Ariana Grande’s The Boy Is Mine inspired from? Link with her unreleased song explored

Ariana Grande's the boy is mine was released on June 11, 2024, as the third single of her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, and made it to the top 20 of the US Billboard Hot 100.

In an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe in March 2024, Lowe asked Grande about what moved her to decide to add the boy is mine in her seventh album. The 7 Rings singer said:

"When I saw my fans' reaction to Fantasize, because they love it so much."

Fantasize - the unreleased song that inspired Ari to create the boy is mine - was recorded back in August 2021, which was leaked in June 2023 and went viral on TikTok immediately.

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Ariana Grande called the boy is mine a "bad girl anthem"

When Lowe first brought up the subject of the boy is mine in the March Apple Music interview, Ariana Grande confessed that she loved the original - created back in 1998, adding:

"I've always, like, wanted to reimagine the song in some kind of way."

The original track that the boy is mine is a reimagination of is a duet of the same name sung by Brandy and Monica in the 1990s, with the premise of the track being two women fighting among themselves over a man.

However, in Ari's version, there's no such triangular concept; it's all from her own perspective as she appears to have fallen for Max Starling - played by Penn Badgley - the new mayor of the city, in its music video.

In the interview, Ariana Grande introduced the track as "a bad girl anthem." Upon being asked if the track was an extension of her unreleased Fantasize, Grande replied:

"in a way I think it kind of was like, this is a very bad idea, but there is a large group of my fans that really, they do love a bad girl anthem and this is kind of, I think, an elevated version of that."

Brandy and Monica, the singers from the original 1998 track, also appear for a cameo in the boy is mine's music video as news reporters that make way for Badgley's first appearance in it.

In the music video of the track, Ariana Grande is seen with a bottle of a glittery pink magic portion of sorts, with "Max Starling Love Potion" written on its label.

As Ari listens to Starling talk about getting rid of the city's rat infestation by leaving hungry stray cats free on the streets on the TV, a stray cat comes in from her kitchen video, knocking the potion over.

As the song begins, the singer-songwriter appears to gather some of the potion using a syringe and bottling it up, supposedly for Badgley.

She runs over to what appears to be a personal shrine for the mayor, suggestive of her unhealthy infatuation with him. Then, Grande goes through her closet and picks out black clothing, sitting with scissors, thread, and needles to start cutting and sewing herself a costume of sorts.

In the next scene, Ariana Grande is seen atop a building complex, with a cat mask covering her eyes and a black, Dominatrix-style outfit with a whip in her hands. Grande then jumps buildings until she lands on Starling's apartment, peeking through his overhead window.

She uses her sharp nails to trace a circle on the window glass and cuts it out by licking her hand.

In the next scene, as the music stops, Starling is in his bathroom, dipping his face in a sink full of ice as Ariana Grande admires him from outside, sneaking in. Soon, Max catches her glimpse and comes out of the bathroom, only to find her lying on his bed.

As he tries to make an escape, Ari catches his foot with her whip and drags him to her, ready to feed the love potion she had bottled, when the mayor stops her, unmasking her face instead. He then throws the potion on the wall, and the song ends with it.

In the final scene, both Ariana and Badgley are seen sitting in a cozy apartment, feeding a cat while several others surround them.

The singer debuted the live performance of the track at the Met Gala 2024.