Richy Jackson for People Magazine: Ariana and Gaga "like sisters"

[Hybrid AT 78]

When it came to her "Rain on Me" collab with Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande "glided" right into the Gagaland galaxy, choreographer Richy Jackson tells PEOPLE.

"Ari allowed herself to come into our world," says Jackson, Gaga's longtime choreographer, who dreamed up all the moves for the iconic duo's "Rain on Me" video and their epic 2020 MTV Video Music Awards performance last month.

The "Thank U, Next" singer was a total pro, he says.

She "spoke to Gaga about how Gaga saw the video, how she saw the fashion, the hair, the makeup, the dancing," he says. "She was really just free to come into the Haus of Gaga and perform and give her best, through our eye and through our lens and through our choreography."

[...]

So how were they when he saw them working together?

"Oh my gosh," he says. "Like sisters."

During rehearsals, the high-wattage duo "were laughing, cracking up, speaking about fashion, going over the dance moves, talking to each other, coordinating with each other," he says.

"It's always hard work," he adds. "Though we were working, it was still such a good time."

Figuring out how to "bring two humongous stars together on one song" certainly had its challenges, he says.

"For the music video, my vision choreographically was about how to make Gaga and Ariana stand alone as two separate artists with their dance movements and then how to also bring them together as one under this fantastic song."

Grande loved the choreography Jackson created for her, he says.

"When she saw it, she was very happy," he says. So happy, he says, "She clapped! Then I asked her, 'How much of this do you want to learn?' And she said, 'I want to learn all of it.'" They shot the video in Los Angeles in late February or so, just before the COVID-19 quarantine locked down the nation.

"We just got in there," he says. That wasn't the case in late August when the duo performed "Rain on Me" on a remote set in Los Angeles for the VMAs and had to stay six-feet apart and wear masks the entire time – even when they were rehearsing.

Normally, big award shows like the VMAs "are pretty much like a big reunion. You see everyone backstage," he says. "But this just was completely opposite of that."

Still, he says, "We all got a chance to perform again and to be on stage and to hear live music."

That was a thrill for Gaga and Grande, "who were just two happy pop stars happy to be back on a pop stage doing pop music," he says.

"I just saw nothing but just joy and like, 'Yes, let's go give a great performance.'"

 

LInk: https://people.com/music/ariana-grande-lady-gaga-like-sisters-rain-on-me-collab-choreographer-richy-jackson/

We LOVE to see sisters of pop, Italian QUEENS slay together! 

   

[JINNOCIDE 3,820]

We love a good friendship 

 

PS: Can this "the [song] singer told..." gimmick go away? It's so meh 

[GagaEnigma 1,474]

4 minutes ago, JINNOCIDE said:

Can this "the [song] singer told..." gimmick go away? It's so meh 

This 

They always write the most random songs I swear 

[KatieJudasGaga4 67,907]

7 minutes ago, GagaEnigma said:

This 

They always write the most random songs I swear 

"The Christmas Tree singer reported"

[Doot 2]

Hopefully Gaga is featured on Ariana's next album. 

[Hybrid AT 78]

11 minutes ago, Doot said:

Hopefully Gaga is featured on Ariana's next album. 

She's extremely picky about collaborating as a featured artist, even though countless other artists have approached her or expressed interest over the years. So far, in her 12 year career, she has only featured herself on not more than idk, 3 songs? 5?

I can only think of Video Phone, Chillin' and 3 Way tbh 

Edit: And The Lady Is A Tramp (with Tony)

[Doot 2]

17 minutes ago, HybridAT said:

She's extremely picky about collaborating as a featured artist, even though countless other artists have approached her or expressed interest over the years. So far, in her 12 year career, she has only featured herself on not more than idk, 3 songs? 5?

I can only think of Video Phone, Chillin' and 3 Way tbh 

Edit: And The Lady Is A Tramp (with Tony)

Oh I know, but since she loves Ari so much, I feel like she'd be on board given the song was right. 

I mean she was featured on Videophone after all. 

[DC 25,164]

49 minutes ago, JINNOCIDE said:

PS: Can this "the [song] singer told..." gimmick go away? It's so meh 

“The Quicksand writer for Britney Spears singer” 

[Hybrid AT 78]

34 minutes ago, Doot said:

Oh I know, but since she loves Ari so much, I feel like she'd be on board given the song was right. 

I mean she was featured on Videophone after all. 

Yeah but that was like waaay early in her career. Idk how she feels about herself as a featured artist now. I feel like she wants to be as independent and in control of her art as much she can, even more as she grows in her career. Chromatica was an exception, obviously. But it would be really cool if she reciprocated the love 

[buzzkill 5,147]

1 hour ago, JINNOCIDE said:

We love a good friendship 

 

PS: Can this "the [song] singer told..." gimmick go away? It's so meh 

Its just a journalist way to address someone without having to repeat the person’s name all the time... 

[Gagz4Gaga 7,278]

I always wonder how their friendship started because honestly before ROM, I didn’t even know that they interacted on private. 

[Hybrid AT 78]

29 minutes ago, Gagz4Gaga said:

I always wonder how their friendship started because honestly before ROM, I didn’t even know that they interacted on private. 

I feel like it started this evening, when they performed their tributes to Stevie Wonder

Gaga even introduced Ari to Tony

 

And then over the years their friendship just continued to blossom

Like you can see Ari really respects her and Gaga appreciates it

Their friendship seems genuine and beautiful ☺️

[JINNOCIDE 3,820]

23 minutes ago, buzzkill said:

Its just a journalist way to address someone without having to repeat the person’s name all the time... 

I kno, but I think it has become sloppy and overused. I'm sure they can use lots of ways to say what they wanna say without doing a cliche phrase.

But that's just a nitpick of mine

[Shadow 6,549]

What an amazing and beautiful friendship displayed through a glamorous, marvelous artwork!

I love it when powerful, talented ladies work together to fight this constant image of them being pitted against one another by the media and culture. 

[Curunir 7,510]

1 hour ago, Doot said:

Hopefully Gaga is featured on Ariana's next album. 

I was just thinking about that the other day when I got high 

1 hour ago, HybridAT said:

She's extremely picky about collaborating as a featured artist, even though countless other artists have approached her or expressed interest over the years. So far, in her 12 year career, she has only featured herself on not more than idk, 3 songs? 5?

I can only think of Video Phone, Chillin' and 3 Way tbh 

Edit: And The Lady Is A Tramp (with Tony)

The Lady Is A Tramp is a 50-50 song, so she's not really a feature, but rather a main female vocal

7 minutes ago, HybridAT said:

I feel like it started this evening, when they performed their tributes to Stevie Wonder

Gaga even introduced Ari to Tony

 

And then over the years just continued to blossom

Like you can see Ari really respects her and Gaga appreciates it

Their friendship seems genuine and beautiful ☺️