Ariana Grande Talks Her New Album 'Sweetener' to 'The FADER'
Ariana Grande, princess of pop, recently came through with an unexpected jam that just might be the bop of the summer, if not of 2018 - “No Tears Left to Cry”. After covering Kendrick Lamar on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, we now know she's working on her next album Sweetner, which includes a Nicki Minaj collab called “The Light is Coming”.
Now, she's The FADER's Summer Issue cover star, sitting down with Myles Tanzer to discuss everything from her trademark ponytail to the devastating Manchester attack that followed her concert last May. During their time together, Ariana discusses her heartbreak around the tragic event and how it made her dedicated to bringing people together with love, including kids from Parkland High School.
“I guess I thought with time, and therapy, and writing, and pouring my heart out, and talking to my friends and family that it would be easier to talk about, but it’s still so hard to find the words,” she told The FADER.
She also revealed that she's been working with none other than Pharrell Williams on her fourth studio album, Sweetener. It's clear that Manchester has given her a lot to consider, and as a result she's been more vulnerable, and it sounds like this will be her most emotional work to date:
“I’ve always just been like a shiny, singing, 5-6-7-8, sexy-dance… sexy thing. But now it’s like, ‘OK … issa bop — but issa message. Issa bop but also has chunks of my soul in it. Here you go. Also, I cried 10 hundred times in the session writing it for you. Here is my bleeding heart, and here is a trap beat behind it.’ There’s definitely some crying-on the-dancefloor stuff on this one.”
Read The FADER's Ariana Grande cover story in its entirety here, and revisit “No Tears Left to Cry” below.
In other music news, Grimes just previewed two new tracks. Check them out right here.