Watch Ariana Grande Do Her Own Stunts In ‘No Tears’ Behind-The-Scenes Video

Still attempting to prepare sense of the gravity-defying drama of Ariana Grande’s “No Tears Left to Cry” video? You’re in luck, because on Monday (April 23), the pop star released a behind-the-scenes video that explains what all that ceiling-walking and wall-shifting was about.


In the behind-the-scenes vid, we get a glimpse at the revolving hallway — which Grande describes as a “illusion” — that enabled her to walk on walls without the help of any post-production magic. Director Dave Meyers revealed that it was a trick he first saw in an old Fred Astaire movie (though you could remember a similar trick used in NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” video).


Meyers also gave some key insight into the video’s ambitious concept. “The concept we wanted to explore was the disorientation that you go through in life... To find the ground again,” the VMA-winning director mentioned. “We flirt with the ambiguity of whether you should find the ground or whether the ground is what you make of it. The optimism of the song and [Grande], mixed with the complexity and disillusionment of the world that we’re putting her in... It’s going to be a special one.”


The coolest segment of the vid, although, may be watching Grande do all her own stunts (and in heels, no far less. We visualize her majestically fall off a platform, and then get strapped into a harness to dramatically swing and dangle from a free-floating staircase. You can’t fake that sort of upper-arm strength, folks.


Check out the behind-the-scenes video above, and keep your eyes peeled for more videos soon — apparently “part two” is on the way.