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Francelle Dubuisson

Professor Pedrotti

ENG-1201

4 October 2020

Analyzing Visual Texts- “No Tears Left to Cry” By Ariana Grande

Both versions of “No Tears Left to Cry” tell a story. The original talks about Grande’s

recovery from the Manchester attack. Cyrus’ version is a response to Grande’s. Whether she is

congratulating her for her strength or relating to her, Miley Cyrus’ cover is giving Grande’s a

shout out in some form. However, Cyrus’ version appeals to people who prefer country more

than pop like Grande’s version.

In the original video, Ariana Grande is talking about overcoming her struggles. During

one of her shows during Dangerous Women tour, she encountered a traumatizing experience: the

infamous Manchester bombing. Twenty-two people were killed, and hundreds were injured. This

horrific experience left the pop star traumatized. She admits she suffered from PTSD and

crippling anxiety. Instead of ending her singing career, she decided to rise “No Tears Left to

Cry” is the first single Grande dropped since the tragedy. Afterwards, she dropped an album

entitled “Sweetener”. This song is only about healing and moving forward. The music video

included props such as a mask and umbrellas. Many believe that the masks represent Grande

showing her fans and the world strength after the incident. Although she was still struggling

behind closed doors, Ariana Grande refused to show her fans that they were alone. She decided

to be strong for her fans even though she may have felt differently during that time. One of the

songs on her “Sweetener” album is entitled “get well soon”. In this song, she is spreading love
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and positivity especially to those who were affected. At the end of the song, there is a moment of

silence for all the victims of the attack. She also added those 40 seconds to make the song

exactly five minutes and twenty-two seconds, the date of the attack. Grande’s style for this song

is definitely pop and appealed to everyone especially her fans and victims of the attacks.

Through this song and many others, Ariana Grande expresses what she went through. Through

this single, she is telling the world that although Grande went through devasting experience, she

rose above it. Grande even put together a Manchester Pride concert for the city. It was a free

concert with many other famous artists such Mac Miller, Pharrell Williams and Miley Cyrus.

Miley Cyrus’ version, on the other hand, was a response to Grande’s. As mentioned

before, Miley Cyrus was one of many artists to perform at the Manchester Pride concert. In a

way, she experienced firsthand what Grande was truly going through. Cyrus’ cover was

performed in a music lounge. It is just her singing with an orchestra in the back. Everything

about this cover is different from the style to the approach. Cyrus’s style was country and

appealed to those who enjoy country more than pop. Miley’s version was very straightforward.

In this version, she went for the “less is more” approach and it definitely worked in her favor.

Although both versions had their differences, they also had a lot in common. One

similarity is both of their appeals are pathos. The original version, Ariana Grande talks about

have no more tears left to cry. She is now starting the healing process. Her first step was starting

her singing career again. Originally, Grande was thinking about ending her career once and for

all. She grew frightened but after some time, she realized that it would be giving the attackers

what they wanted. As a response, she released “No Tears Left to Cry”. The symbolism in this

video is very powerful and uplifting. In Miley’s Cyrus’ cover, she took a different approach on

this song. Like the original, it was also powerful and uplifting but in a different way. Cyrus’
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slowed down the song which forced people to focus more on the words. Listening to lyrics

allowed to audience to hear Grande’s story. I also believe Miley was congratulating Grande for

coming such a long way and being so strong in such a horrible situation. Another similarity is the

audience both versions appeal to. Both videos are for another especially Ariana Grande and

Miley Cyrus fans.

In conclusion, Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus both did a great job with their versions of

this song. Personally, I like Ariana Grande’s approach more because I appreciate that she started

becoming more vulnerable with the world. This song started her sharing herself through music

more. Grande decided to use music as a coping mechanism, and it worked in her favor.
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Works Cited

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffxKSjUwKdU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UjJGNA4BL0