Ariana Grande Reveals ‘Scary’ Plans to Scale Back Pop Star Career & Focus More on Musical Theater
Ariana Grande may have become a superstar as a chart-topping pop star, but after pivoting back to musical theater while working on Wicked, the 31-year-old artist says she’s hoping to keep acting at the forefront in the future.
While speaking to her Wicked costar Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers on the duo’s Las Culturistas podcast on Wednesday (Nov. 6), Grande was candid about wanting to return to Broadway someday. “It is my heart,” said the R.E.M. Beauty founder, who got her start as a young teenager in 13: The Musical, followed by her role as Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon’s Victorious.
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“I’m gonna say something so scary — it’s gonna scare the absolute s–t out of my fans and everyone, but I love them, and they’ll deal, and we’ll be here forever,” she continued. “I’m always going to make music, I’m always going to go on stage, I’m always going to do pop stuff, I pinky promise. But I don’t think doing it at the rate I’ve been doing it for the past 10 years is where I see the next 10 years.”
“Reconnecting with this part of myself who started in musical theater, and who loves comedy, and it heals me to do that — finding roles to use these parts of myself and put them in little homes and characters and bits and voices and songs,” Grande added. “Whatever makes sense, or whatever roles we see fit, or where I could really do a good job or honor the material, I would really love to. I think it’s a lot better for me. I’m getting emotional.”
The podcast interview comes just a few weeks ahead of the Nov. 22 premiere of the first Wicked film, which also stars Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Golblum, Ethan Slater and more. Toward the end of filming last year, she recorded her first album in four years: Eternal Sunshine, which spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 following its March release.
Before Eternal Sunshine came 2020’s Positions, which Grande also spoke about on Las Culturistas. “When it came out, it kind of didn’t go so well,” she reflected of the LP, which also spent two weeks atop the U.S. albums chart. “I just mean as far as what my fans were saying … I just got like, ‘This is not what we want’ vibes.”
“That really put me in a cage of judging every piece,” she continued. “I scrapped so many things I was going to put out for it. And now people love it like it’s the best thing I’ll ever make! What is that? How is that fair? But I love them for it.”
Listen to Las Culturistas with Ariana Grande below.
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