2024 May Have Just Been Ariana Grande’s Year – Here’s Why

 

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Most people nowadays know Ariana Grande for her successful music career and were quite surprised when it was announced she would be playing Glinda in the 2024 movie adaptation of the wildly loved musical Wicked.

However, most of us who have been following Grande’s journey knew that she’d be perfect for the role due to her involvement in Broadway’s 13 and her role on Nickelodeon’s Victorious, alongside her extremely successful music career with 7 studio albums under her belt.

The singer-songwriter and actress has been quite open about the challenges she has faced over the last decade. From the Manchester bombings to the unfortunate passing of partner Mac Miller, being scrutinised by the media and constant body shaming, Grande has really been put through the ringer.

 

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Ariana had stayed relatively out of the media for the last few years however, she threw herself into the public eye this year with the release of her seventh studio album Eternal Sunshine, and the press tour and premiere of Wicked.

Eternal Sunshine, containing thirteen new songs, was released on March 8 of 2024 and debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard 200 charts. The album, made clear by the title, makes significant reference to the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind starring Jim Carey and Kate Winslet.

Grande took so much inspiration from the movie that the music video for ‘we can’t be friends (wait for your love)’ was a rendition of ESOTSM from the stars personal experience. Fast forward to this years’ Golden Globe awards, we see a photo captured of Grande and Winslet smiling and embracing in a hug, an Eternal Sunshine crossover!

Throughout the album Grande discussed many different topics such as her personal growth due to her Saturn return, saying no to hate on her body and her love life but most prevalently her relationship with her ex-husband. Ariana brings us on an beautiful ride of self-discovery and acceptance. We see her grow and become unapologetically herself throughout this album. Eternal Sunshine was the first solo music Grande had released since Positions in 2020.

 

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During an interview with Zac Sang Grande discussed that throughout this break from music she took time to focus on healing and changing negative patterns she used to follow, “My relationship to music changed and healed a lot through taking space from it.”

During this interval, Ariana got the chance of a lifetime to fulfil her lifelong dream of playing the role of Glinda. Grande has been open about wanting a role in Wicked as far back as 2011 on Twitter. She was also on Zach Sang’s show in 2019 discussing how Wicked has always been her goal and wildest dream, so we can tell how much this performance matters to Ariana!

The Blockbuster movie has been nominated for a total of 63 awards ranging from the Golden Globes to the Tony awards and Grammys and has made $634.4 million worldwide since its premiere on the 22nd of November. Aside from accolades, Grande has expressed how she feels the movie helped her through her journey of healing.

 

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Throughout filming Ariana made new connections with members of the cast and crew such as her co-star Cynthia Erivo and her now boyfriend Ethan Slater. As well as her new found friendships, in an interview with Zach Sang Grande explained how her life changed with Glinda, and that she learned more from the character than she had anticipated, “I think I learned so much from Glinda and through Glinda, kind of healed a lot of parts of myself alongside and through her.”

We’ve seen so many new and beautiful sides to Ariana over the past year. Her new album, press tours, multiple premieres, interviews and appearances at award shows has given her a new audience and has proved she is much more than just a pop star but is an all-round icon in the creative industry.

Seeing her pull herself out of dark times and heal from her past to become this person who is visibly excited about her craft again has been amazing to witness and we can’t wait to see what’s next for her!

Words by Emma Gleeson