POP CULTURE
The singer will head out on her first tour since 2019 later this year
Ariana Grande has joked that putting together new music right now would require “an extra brain”.
Her most recent musical release arrived in March 2024 with the album ‘Eternal Sunshine’. An expanded deluxe edition followed in 2025, adding six new songs to the tracklist. At present, Grande has made it clear that she is not rushing back into album mode, quipping that she would need “an extra brain and four more arms” to even begin working on new material.
The comments surfaced after a recent interview with Variety, which reported that there was “definitely not” any new music on the way “before May”. Grande later addressed fans directly, saying: “I love them so much, but sometimes I want to ask, ‘Do you think there’s another version of me out there who had time to write an album?’ Not yet.”
She later took to Instagram to correct how the exchange had been framed. “Welp, I never said ‘but soon enough’ or mentioned any months! lol my goooooodness,” she wrote. “All I said was ‘no’ and ‘do they think there’s a clone of me out there somewhere’! There must’ve been a Zoom glitch or something.”
Her remarks sparked fresh speculation among fans that new music could appear ahead of her upcoming ‘Eternal Sunshine’ tour. Responding to one such comment, Grande doubled down on the joke, writing: “Ma’am i would need an extra brain and four more arms.”
In late August, Grande confirmed her first run of live shows since 2019, scheduled for later this year. The ‘Eternal Sunshine’ tour will take in dates across the US between June and August, before moving to London for a 10 show residency at The O2 from August through September. Any remaining tickets can be found here.
Following the tour announcement, Grande described the run as potentially her “last hurrah”.
She has largely stayed off the road since wrapping up her 100 date world tour in 2019, making only occasional appearances at charity events and award ceremonies. Earlier this year, however, she reassured fans that she was not “abandoning” music altogether.
Speaking last November, Grande reflected on what she called a newly “healed” relationship with music. “Until quite recently, it was really hard for me to navigate and I think it stripped a lot of joy out of this for me,” she said. She also alluded to changes behind the scenes, including her 2023 split from longtime manager Scooter Braun, explaining that she now feels able to balance music and acting without the constant pressure of the pop industry machine. “Said with love, but that was a piece.”
Reviewing ‘Eternal Sunshine’ for NME, Nick Levine awarded the album four stars, writing: “It’s the most sophisticated project yet from a preternaturally talented vocalist who keeps getting better. Whatever you take away from it, ‘Eternal Sunshine’ definitely isn’t an album you’ll want to wipe from memory.”
