Ariana Grande releases third single 'God Is A Woman' from Sweetener, featuring monologue by Madonna

Ariana Grande surprised fans and dropped her newest single _‘God Is A Woman’ _ on Friday. The pop star had previously released ‘No Tears Left To Cry’ and ‘The Light Is Coming’ with rapper Nicki Minaj, which along with the new track, are going to be a part of her fourth studio album Sweetener. The music video is Grande’s homage to female sexuality and femininity, packed with feminist and religious imagery including several iconic historical artwork references. In one sequence, Grande is submerged in a pool of colorfully painted water similar to Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings, and in another, she is sitting on a book in a position similar to Rodin’s sculpture Thinker deflecting all the abuses and slut-shaming aimed at her. The most iconic scene, however, would be where she is the Norse God Thor in high heels and picks up a gavel, flinging it high up in the air with superhuman strength, literally and symbolically shattering the glass ceiling. Madonna’s voice makes a special cameo here, where she recites the female version of Samuel L Jackson’s Ezekiel 25:17 monologue from Pulp Fiction, “I will strike down upon thee, with great vengeance and furious anger, those who attempt to poison and destroy my sisters, and you will know my name is the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon you.” The video ends with a gender-swapped re-iminaging of Michaelangelo’s Creation of Adam with Grande replacing God as herself. Sweetener is scheduled to release on 17 August. Watch the video here.