Ariana Grande has become “tired” of being a pop star: “It is a character”
Ariana Grande is opening up about the pressures of being a pop star. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar nominee said that playing a version of herself as a singer was just as much of a performance as playing Glinda in Wicked.
“At a certain point, you get tired of that [pop star] character, because it is a character,” she said. “There are pieces of you and your story that are woven throughout your songwriting, but then, because of the way it travels and becomes sensationalised, it gets away from you.”
Grande is no stranger to show business. As a teenager, she played Cat Valentine in the popular Nickelodeon sitcom Victorious and again in the spinoff show Sam & Cat. Shortly thereafter, she signed a record deal and released her first album, Yours Truly, in 2013. It shot straight to the top of the charts and reframed her in the public eye. Though she may have started as a comedic actor, most fans know her as a pop star.
Last year, Grande pivoted back into acting, taking the role of Glinda in the long-awaited adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked. The casting didn’t come out of nowhere. The singer saw the show when she was ten and became determined to play the role if a movie was ever made.
When she signed with her talent agency at 18, she specified that playing Glinda in a potential film adaptation was a priority. Now, she’s nominated for an Oscar for the part, and the film is nominated for nine others.
In her interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Grande talked about how freeing and therapeutic it was to throw herself into a new role after so many years playing herself. As a pop star, she felt that her public image got away from her.
“Beneath all of it is just a girl from Boca who loves art,” she said, “And I think that’s why it’s been such a deeply healing gift to disappear into this character — to take off one mask and put on another.”
When looking ahead to her future projects, which are reported to include a disaster wedding comedy and a detective movie set in a Housewives-style reality show, Grande said: “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.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.