Is Ariana Grande saying “thank u, next” to pop music?
The diva behind chart-topping hits such as “7 Rings,” “Positions” and “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” revealed her plans to break free from the usual grind of her pop career after starring in “Wicked,” the big-screen adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical that hits theaters Nov. 22.
“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,” Grande, 31, said on the latest episode of the “Las Culturistas” podcast hosted by her “Wicked” co-star Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers.
“I’m always going to make music, I’m always going to go onstage, I’m always going to do pop stuff, I pinky promise,” she continued. “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.”
In fact, playing Glinda in “Wicked” has led Grande to rediscover her first love: musical theater.
“It is my heart,” said the the Grammy-winning singer, who, at 15, got her start on Broadway in the musical “13” before going on to become a Nickelodeon star in “Victorious.”
“Reconnecting with this part of myself who started in musical theater, and who loves comedy … it heals me to do that,” said Grande, noting the reward of “finding roles to use these parts of myself and put them in little homes and characters and bits and voices and songs.”
Indeed, transforming into Glinda has made Grande wish for more acting roles where she can also flex her singing skills.
“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,” she said. “I think it’s a lot better for me.”
Grande has also opened up about having to audition for the coveted part of Glinda — one that was originated on Broadway by Kristin Chenoweth — opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba in “Wicked.”
“Some members of my team at the time were like, ‘You shouldn’t even have to audition,’ and I was like, ‘You don’t understand, of course I have to. This is something that has to be earned,’ ” she told the New York Times in an interview with Erivo.
“I have so much to prove, and I threw myself at it in every way that I could.”
