Ariana Grande and Penn Badgley Star in Sultry 'The Boy Is Mine' Video — Featuring Cameos from Brandy and Monica

Grande lusts over Mayor Max Starling (played by Badgley) and crafts a love potion in hopes of winning over his heart

  • Ariana Grande released the music video for "The Boy Is Mine" on Friday
  • She stars with actor Penn Badgley
  • Brandy and Monica, who sang the original as a duet, also made cameos

The music video for Ariana Grande's steamy "The Boy Is Mine" is finally here!

To help bring it to life, Grande, 30 called on Penn Badgley to star alongside her in the highly anticipated music video, released on Friday, June 7.

Set in a city similar to New York, the clip opens with a sanitization worker expressing anger over fictional Mayor Max Starling's lack of care for cleaning up the area, which is infested with rats.

Ariana Grande - the boy is mine (Official Music Video)
Ariana Grande.

Ariana Grande/YouTube

Grande is then seen making a potion in her home, as a news report begins to play on her television — featuring Brandy and Monica, who sang the original "The Boy Is Mine" — as broadcasters introducing the mayor's segment.

Starling announces he's going to release stray cats into the streets to combat the rat issue. Grande thinks it's a "brilliant" idea, as it's revealed she's making a love potion specifically for him to fall in love with her.

Brandy and Monica in Ariana Grande - the boy is mine (Official Music Video)
Brandy and Monica in "The Boy Is Mine".

Ariana Grande/YouTube

Grande's cat breaks the potion bottle, but she's able to save some of it before getting ready for a mission by dressing up in a masked Catwoman-esque costume as she dances around a Starling shrine.

She then breaks into Starling's house and watches him from afar, before he finds her sitting on his bed. Scared, he tries to leave but she makes him stay, before giving him the potion. He takes off her mask to reveal her face and throws the love potion — because he’s already fallen for her.

Ariana Grande - the boy is mine (Official Music Video)
Ariana Grande.

Ariana Grande/YouTube

The video was directed by Christian Breslaur, who also worked on the video for "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" and "Yes, And?"

Grande first shared a teaser of the music video on Monday, May 27, and teased that Badgley, 37, would be her costar in a TikTok post on Monday, June 3, showing the actor dancing to the song's chorus.

Ariana Grande - the boy is mine (Official Music Video)
Ariana Grande.

Ariana Grande/YouTube

The song, which reimagines Brandy and Monica’s 1998 hit, is Grande's latest single from her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine.

Back in March, Grande revealed during an interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe that she "always" had an interest in reimagining the beloved R&B hit.

"In a way, I was kind of like, ‘This is a very bad idea.’ But there is a large group of my fans that really do love a bad girl anthem, and this is an elevated version of that," said Grande.

While fans first got a listen to a sonically similar leaked demo called "Fantasize," in 2023, Grande shared on the Zach Sang Show in February that she was inspired to repurpose elements of the track for a "completely different" version on her album, which resulted in "The Boy Is Mine."

After Eternal Sunshine's release, Grande thanked her fans for their constant support in a heartfelt Instagram post.

Penn Badgley and Ariana Grande - the boy is mine (Official Music Video)
Penn Badgley and Ariana Grande.

Ariana Grande/YouTube

"This album is most special to me for many reasons and just holds so much. sharing it has re-opened a lot of little and big feelings alike and it has been an emotional week in many ways !… but your overwhelmingly loving response to it all has made me feel such joyful, human connection and comfort," she wrote.

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Her caption continued, "Just wanted to say i love and appreciate you all more than one can say and thank you again. it is, as it always has been, my greatest honor to grow with you… 。˚❀ ·ꕤ let us promise to keep going ! .゚ꕤ"

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