Chris Brown And Ariana Grande’s “Don’t Be Gone Too Long” Surfaces: Watch
Chris Brown‘s dance-pop duet with Ariana Grande, “Don’t Be Gone Too Long,” was announced last spring, before it was postponed due to Brown’s incarceration. Then the song appeared to have been scrapped entirely. (“My duet partner isn’t available at the moment to put the song out with me,” Grande had said.) A version without Grande will now appear on Brown’s sixth album X, out September 16.
Days before X‘s release, though, Brown released the “Don’t Be Gone Too Long” video that he directed months ago. While a previous teaser showed only him silhouetted in a dark room while dancing to the song, the full video isn’t as straightforward. In this storybook romance gone wrong, Grande plays a princess who falls in love with Brown. After the two are caught seeing each other, though, knights lock Ariana’s object of affection away in attempts to keep them apart.
The differences between the duet and X versions of “Don’t Be Gone Too Long” are slight, but still noticeable. The X rendition features another, unidentified female voice, who matches Brown’s hushed and wistful vocals almost note for note. Meanwhile, with the addition of Grande’s airy upper register, “Don’t Be Gone Too Long” actually sounds as if the whole affair could lead to a happy ending.
Watch the video above.
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