- Ariana Grande has opened up about how her fifth studio album, Thank U, Next, got her through a ‘dark period’ in her life
- The Wicked actor revealed how the record felt ‘freeing and healing’ for her
- Grande suffered from several mental health conditions after a hugely traumatic period in her life
Ariana Grande is making waves in her acting career – and is currently waiting to see if she will bag her first ever Oscar win for her role as Glinda in Wicked.
But, unless you’ve been living on Mars, you will know that before she took to the big screen, Grande had an extremely successful career as a pop star.
With two Grammy wins and 18 nominations under her belt, the star, 31, is now parking her music to focus on more acting jobs.
However, that doesn’t mean that Grande doesn’t look back at her former self with gratitude – and credits one album for helping her through a “dark” period in her life.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards Chatter podcast, Grande spoke about the healing powers of her 2019 album, Thank U, Next.
While her previous album, Sweetener, dropped in August 2018, Grande worked tirelessly over the span of two weeks after that, and dropped her next record in February of the next year.
“I think I needed it,” she told the podcast. “I was doing so much therapy, and I was dealing with PTSD and all different kinds of grief and depression and anxiety.
“I was, of course, treating it very seriously, but having music be a part of that remedy was absolutely contributing to saving my life. They were dark times, and the music brought so much levity.”
Ariana Grande says album felt ‘healing and freeing’
Grande’s trauma is, sadly, well-documented. Around the time she was making the album, she publicly dealt with the grief of losing ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, who died in September 2018, as well as the heartbreak of her split from ex-fiancé Pete Davidson the following October.
Months prior, Grande’s Manchester concert was targeted by a deadly terrorist attack, after which she struggled with PTSD.
Adding to the conversation, Grande continued, “[Thank U, Next] poured out with urgency, and it was made with urgency. It was a means of survival.
“The label understood that, but they were also very hesitant to stop Sweetener dead in its tracks and move onto an album so quickly.
“I just said, ‘I don’t really care about the formula. I don’t want to play by the rules at this moment, because this is what I need for my soul.’ It felt really healing and freeing.”
It was a gamble that definitely paid off. Spending two weeks at the top of the Billboard 200, its title track also spent a whopping seven weeks at number one.
Ariana Grande is eyed up for more acting roles
While Grande’s music career is certainly being heavily missed by fans around the globe, they can’t help but wonder what she will get up to next as an actor.
And according to The Hollywood Reporter, she has been offered a number of projects since the Jon M. Chu-directed movie-musical.
While she is yet to engage with any offers, the parts she has been presented with are reportedly a disaster wedding comedy, a female detective romp set in a Housewives-style reality show, and a Spaceballs sequel.
When asked about the roles, Grande told the outlet, “Well, I can neither confirm nor deny, but I’m blushing.
“I just think it’s such an important thing to stay connected to that guttural creative thing in my heart and my chest that wants to give itself over to something that screams at me and says, ‘Oh, that’s a really cool challenge.’
“I have a thing, and when it goes off, I know.”
Grande also admitted that she knows the experience of being in Wicked will be hard to replicate – so isn’t going to try.
“I think it makes you hungry for something different,” she said.
