Ariana Grande credits her ‘Thank U, Next’ album with saving her life.
The 31-year-old pop star went through a dark time battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the bombing of her concert at Manchester Arena in 2017 – which killed 22 people and injured more than a thousand – and she has now revealed working on that album was a form of therapy.
During an appearance on The Hollywood Reporter‘s ‘Awards Chatter’ podcast, she explained: “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 released ‘Thank U, Next’ in 2019 – just months after she dropped her previous record ‘Sweetener’ – and she reveals bosses at her record company weren’t convinced by her plan to launch another album so soon after the last.
She added: “The label understood that [I needed to release ‘Thank U, Next’], 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 comes after Ariana admitted she changes her speaking voice to “preserve” her vocal health so she can keep singing for years to come.
The chart star has faced criticism over her changing timbre as she now speaks in a higher register than she did in the past, but Ariana is adamant it’s for the good of her voice.
She told the ‘Smartless’ podcast: “The thing that I do that perplexes people so much – and it’s just so funny because if you’re a person who uses their voice, you know about this.
“If I have a long day of press or if I have to sing, I’ll place [my voice] a little higher. I’ll change my vocal placement to kind of preserve.
“But that is just something that’s healthy for the voice. It’s just basically pitching your voice up a tiny bit.”