Ariana Grande skipped out on the 2019 Grammy Awards, but she still made the telecast — in a way.
During a commercial break, the pop star’s single “7 Rings” played in a new Apple Music ad featuring her very own custom Memoji. Grande, 25, was watching at home with her manager, Scooter Braun, as well as her mom, Joan Grande, and a few close friends.
“‘7 Rings’ made the Grammys!” Braun, 37, exclaimed in a video he shared on Twitter on Sunday, February 10, throwing some not-so-subtle shade at the ceremony after the singer’s headline-making drama with Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich. In the tweet’s caption, he added, “Loved it @Ariana Grande.”
7 rings on the Grammys. Loved it @ArianaGrande pic.twitter.com/mGmJfB5HBb
— Scooter Braun (@scooterbraun) February 11, 2019
The video also showed Joan, 50, and the rest of the group singing and dancing along to the track. In a second clip, Braun gave a shout-out to Ariana’s newfound title as a Grammy winner after she won Best Pop Vocal Album for Sweetener during the pre-show. He panned the camera over to the honoree, who squinted, leaned over on the couch and simply said, “Hi!”
Grammy award winner pic.twitter.com/HejkWcgr0P
— Scooter Braun (@scooterbraun) February 11, 2019
Three days before the big show, Ehrlich claimed in an interview with the Associated Press that Ariana would not perform on Sunday night because she “felt it was too late for her to pull something together,” which she was quick to deny on Twitter.
“I’ve kept my mouth shut but now you’re lying about me,” the Victorious alum tweeted on Thursday, February 7. “I can pull together a performance over night and you know that, Ken. it was when my creativity & self expression was stifled by you, that i decided not to attend. i hope the show is exactly what you want it to be and more.”
She added, “I offered 3 different songs. it’s about collaboration. it’s about feeling supported. it’s about art and honesty. not politics. not doing favors or playing games. it’s just a game y’all.. and i’m sorry but that’s not what music is to me.”
After winning Best Pop Vocal Album, Ariana tweeted that the news was “wild and beautiful,” noting that she “still truly wished” her plans to perform had “worked out.” She later shared a series of photos of herself wearing a custom Zac Posen gown because “it doesn’t matter if you’re singing or not.”
