Ariana Grande won’t make new music until she has finished the two-part film adaptation of Wicked.
While answering questions from fans in a video for her R.E.M. Beauty YouTube channel last week, the superstar explained that she is currently channelling all of her energy into the role of Glinda in Jon M. Chu’s highly anticipated musical.
“This is a question I’m nervous to answer, but I feel like I want to have a little bit of transparency and honesty with my fans,” the singer said. “The truth is, I have not begun an album. I hear through the grapevine that you have a lot of theories and expectations in that department.”
Ariana released her sixth studio album, Positions, in October 2020.
And while the popstar was tempted to work on more music at the time, she decided to focus on preparing for her Wicked audition and shooting the TV singing competition show, The Voice, on which she served as a coach.
“That was kind of around the time that I started hearing murmurs about a Wicked audition coming soon, so I went into full preparation mode while I was also shooting The Voice. I was shooting and then also doing lessons every day ’cause I just wanted to be prepared,” the 28-year-old continued. “I know that I know the material like the back of my hand, but I have so much to learn and I want to be prime condition, so I went pretty hard getting ready.”
Wicked, also featuring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, is set to be released in 2024.