Since 2014, Ariana Grande has released six albums and generally been a pop titan. As for her next ten years… well, it appears Grande might dial it back some on the music front.
On a new episode of Matt Rogers and SNL star Bowen Yang’s Las Culturistas podcast, Grande said:
“I am gonna say something so scary. It’s going to scare the absolute sh*t out of my fans and everyone, but I love them and they’ll deal and we’ll be here forever. I’m always going to make music, I’m always going to go on stage, I’m always going to do pop stuff, I pinky-promise. But, I don’t think doing it at the rate I’ve been doing it for the past ten years is where I see the next ten years.
I love acting, I love musical theater. I think reconnecting with this part of myself, who started in musical theater and who loves comedy […] it really does [feed me], in a different way than songwriting and writing about my own pain, because it’s just kind of like constantly re-living that one thing that you wrote the song about.”
Earlier this spring, Ariella shared her debut single, “Blindsided.” That song, featured on her first studio record, CryBaby, encapsulates the various key attributes of her music: soft folk guitars, gentle vocals, and warm banjo. Throughout the rest of the album, Ariella abides by this core template while branching out into other sonic terrains.
On “Cold,” her heavily AutoTuned voice conjures Bon Iver’s Vocoder experiments and Alex G’s recent, occasional flirtations with hyper-pop. “Hot Toddy – Interlude” gradually swells from a muted instrumental palette into a 6/8 percussive swing. Ariella’s voice may be relatively new, but it already sounds well-established.
Following the record’s release in October, Ariella sat down with Uproxx to talk about Alex G, her green thumb, Asheville, and more in our latest Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
Vulnerable, emotional, cowboy, earnest.
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
I’d want my music to be remembered for its emotional honesty and for helping people feel less alone during difficult times, like a diary that listeners can return to for comfort and healing.
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
Bon Iver was the first music I felt like I discovered on my own without my parents or my siblings as a kid. I was completely blown away by the use of production as composition and electronic elements in folk music. For Emma has stuck with me forever.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life and what was it?
The best meal I’ve ever eaten was at Amiga Amore, a family owned Mexican-Italian restaurant in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. I’d never had anything like it but there is nothing on the menu that won’t blow your mind.
Tell us about the best concert you’ve ever attended.
The best concert I’ve ever attended was Alex G at Prospect Park in Brooklyn in 2023. It was such a good crowd with a great energy. He played at sunset with great weather and it was just an amazing show.
What song never fails to make you emotional?
“In My Arms” by Alex G.
What’s the last thing you Googled?
“Bike for sale in Los Angeles”
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
This might be more cool than weird, but when we were in Nashville last March, we got to stay in a barn a little outside the city.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform and what’s the city you hope to perform in for the first time?
My favorite city I’ve ever played in was Asheville, NC, and the destruction the city has recently faced is absolutely heartbreaking to see. I am sending out love and prayers to all the folk out there who have been affected by Hurricane Helene. I hope the city and its communities receive the aid they need to rebuild and restore their home. I also hope to eventually get out to Montreal one day. I have never been to Canada, and Montreal seems like such a unique city.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
I would tell my 18-year-old self to trust the process, and that things happen the way they are supposed to.
What’s one of your hidden talents?
This year, I have been gardening quite a lot and I’d say I’ve developed a bit of a green thumb!
If you had a million dollars to donate to charity, what cause would you support and why?
If I had a million dollars I would use it to support having more free and accessible youth arts programs here in the United States. I believe music and the arts are extremely therapeutic and an essential part of child development– and accessible art programs are often underfunded and far and few between.
What are your thoughts about AI and the future of music?
AI in music makes me a bit uneasy because, while I understand it can offer a more affordable and accessible option for creating music, which benefits consumers, it also poses challenges for the people behind the scenes—like mastering engineers, session players, and musicians. When music is made without human involvement, it risks making it harder for those who rely on their craft to continue thriving in the industry.
You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location it would be held.
My dream lineup would be Wednesday, Big Thief, MJ Lenderman, Rilo Kiley, and Slow Pulp. And it would be in a lavender field in Santa Fe, NM.
Who’s your favorite person to follow on social media?
@bug_girl_69
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
I only have one tattoo and it was a tattoo my neighbor gave me for free. He was building a camper for the back of his truck and said if I helped him he’d give me a tattoo. I said I wanted a mustache on my finger. He thought I was kidding and made me ask him formally three times before he’d believe I was serious.
What is your pre-show ritual?
The day of the show I like to keep a clear head. I feel the most prepared when I can get at least an hour of relaxation in before the show. Whether that is a nap in the car on the road or at home, I like some moments of quiet before each show.
Who was your first celebrity crush?
My first celebrity crush was definitely Danny Phantom. Even though he is only a cartoon character, I remember thinking he was so cute!
You have a month off and the resources to take a dream vacation. Where are you going and who is coming with you?
My dream vacation would be going to Death Valley when the pools are filled with water. I would love to get all my friends together and stay in some sort of off-grid clay home.
What is your biggest fear?
Losing my ability to create music or express myself through sound. It’s such a huge part of how I process my emotions and I don’t know what I would do without it.
CryBaby is available now via Lauren Records. Find more information here.
For years, Addison Rae was a name that I recognized, but refused to learn why she was famous. I knew it had something to do with TikTok, but I, a millennial without an Instagram account, was content making that None Of My Business. My ignorance extended to her debut single, “Obsessed,” released in 2021 to scathing reviews. But then it was announced she was working with Charli XCX, and suddenly, I was forced to learn who Addison Rae is. I’m glad I did.
The first sign that I underestimated Rae was her 2023 EP, AR. The cover has her blowing a bubble with gum, an appropriate choice for the deep appreciation of bubblegum pop — and shiny electropop — in “I Got It Bad.” (One of the song’s producers is Rami Yacoub, who worked on “…Baby One More Time.”) “2 Die 4” features Charli XCX and wouldn’t sound out of place on Brat, while “Nothing On (But The Radio)” — originally intended for Lady Gaga — would have been blasting out of every radio in the 2000s. Instead, AR did well on Spotify, and Rae was beginning to win over the doubters.
Earlier this year, Rae appeared on Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch” remix (it’s good to be friends with Charli; she’s like Adam Sandler in that respect). She also released “Diet Pepsi,” her first song since signing with major label Columbia Records. Once again, I was skeptical, although this time for a different reason: Diet Coke > Diet Pepsi. But “Diet Pepsi,” the song, is a promising turning point for Rae. She isn’t as expressive a vocalist as Lana Del Rey, but there are breathy Lana-like inflections to “Diet Pepsi” (no references to how a certain part of her body tastes, however). But whereas LDR is interested in exploring a curdled Americana, Rae is here for a good time, possibly a long time. It seems silly to call a song about having sex in the backseat of a car “mature,” but “Diet Pepsi” is an artist demanding to be taken seriously.
It’s always interesting when an artist is asked to define their sound. What is “Addisoncore” to Addison Rae? It’s “lots of laughs, a good time, and openness.” In other words, it’s “Aquamarine.” The ethereal follow-up single to “Diet Pepsi” is gloriously unsubtle — “The world is my oyster / Baby, come touch the pearl” — but subtly isn’t what we’re here for. “Aquamarine” is hot girl music (complimentary). It’s the sound of smoking two cigarettes at once or a dance routine in a grungy alley in a glamorous city, just because it looks cool.
Maybe the best word to describe Rae is unapologetic. I think back to an interview she did with Interview where she was asked when she feels the hottest. “I definitely feel the hottest after a workout or when I have a tan,” she said. “When I have a tan, I feel hot and sexy and with no makeup. But I love the post-gym moment, like looking at my body naked after a workout, taking off my clothes, my hair’s wet. I have super flushed cheeks and I can tell my body just worked so hard for me. I feel like that’s when I feel the sexiest.”
Most people would feign humility here or make up something about how they feel hot when they’re reading a book with a cup of tea, or whatever. But not Addison Rae. She’s answering truthfully, confidently, unapologetically. As Charli XCX told Vogue, “She was like no one I’d ever met really. Not jaded. Not faking. Not uncomfortable. Not trying to be anything other than herself.” First with the AR EP and now in “Diet Pepsi” and “Aquamarine,” you can hear Rae’s conviction in herself extending to her increasingly dynamic music.
Addison Rae has won me over, and if you give her a chance, she’ll make a believer (or “Sunrae”) out of you, too.
Ariana Grande recently reminded the world how hilarious she can be with a terrific Saturday Night Live hosting appearance. On the show, she busted out a pair of great impressions, of Jennifer Coolidge and Celine Dion.
It turns out she had another impression in her bag that she didn’t bust out: Emma Watson as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies.
On a new episode of Las Culturistas — the podcast hosted by Matt Rogers and SNL favorite Bowen Yang — Yang asked Grande to do her Hermione impression. Grande responded with a pretty fantastic impersonation, putting on an exasperated voice and telling Harry about some predicament Ron Weasley finds himself in.
Grande has showed off her Harry Potter fandom on numerous occasions over the years. In a 2014 tweet, she wrote, “when in doubt…. reread the entire harry potter series.” In 2015, Draco Malfoy actor Tom Felton said he thought Grande would be a Gryffindor, and she responded on Twitter (now X), “pottermore said slytherin but i’ll take it.”
Then, in 2017, she responded to a JK Rowling tweet about a spider with a very inside-baseball reference. Grande also has multiple Harry Potter-inspired tattoos, including the word “Lumos” (a spell from the books) and “9 ¾,” a nod to the iconic Platform 9 ¾ where wizards can board the Hogwarts Express.
By some accounts, “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time. It’s about to get even more popular, 47 years after the singer’s death, thanks to V. The BTS member teamed up with the Crosby estate for “White Christmas (With V Of BTS),” a duet between V and Crosby of the eternal Christmas classic. It comes out on December 6 at midnight ET.
“I’m so grateful to have had the chance to be featured in a song with my all time favorite jazz artist, Bing Crosby,” V said in a statement. “I grew up listening to his song ‘It’s Been a Long, Long Time’ countless times a day, and I feel incredibly fortunate and honored to have sung along on ‘White Christmas’ with the voice of someone I consider an idol. Being a huge fan of his, I sang with the utmost sincerity and admiration for him, and I hope many people enjoy it as much as I enjoyed singing it. Lastly, I wish a lovely holiday season to everyone listening to the song.”
Crosby’s daughter Mary added, “As a family, we are thrilled to have V and Dad singing together on this ultimate Christmas song. Their voices blend beautifully, capturing the holiday spirit in the best possible way.” Meanwhile, his son, Harry, is “incredibly excited about V joining Dad for the duet of ‘White Christmas.’ We are happy that V will help share the joy of this timeless Christmas song.”
To find out more information on “White Christmas (With V Of BTS),” including how to pre-order vinyl and CD editions, head here.
It’s quite the space: Aside from multiple recording studios, the compound also features a basketball court, an arcade, a casino, an outdoor movie theater, a gaming space, a gym, a TV room, and other amenities. Cenat, understandably, was blown away by the variety and breadth of Snoop’s space.
Elsewhere on the stream, Snoop brandished an impressively large blunt, which left Cenat stunned (and making some phallic remarks) as Snoop said, “This motherf*cker right here is supersized. There’s a whole ounce in this motherf*cker.”
Aside from hanging out with Cenat, Snoop has been spending time promoting his upcoming Dr. Dre-produced album Missionary. Last week, he announced the project’s December 13 release date, doing so with a funny video starring two missionaries. Snoop also shared the cover art, which was inspired by a condom wrapper. He also unveiled the tracklist, which features 50 Cent, Eminem, Tom Petty, Jelly Roll, Dre, Sting, Jhené Aiko, BJ The Chicago Kid, and others.
On Stranger Things, today, November 6, is the day that Will Byers was abducted into the Upside Down. Forty-one years after that event, Netflix has announced some exciting news about the fifth and final season of the show.
Stranger Things season 5 is confirmed to premiere in 2025, as expected. The streaming service also released the titles of the final eight episodes, which will take place in 1987:
The full title of the episode “The Vanishing of…” wasn’t fully revealed in the announcement video, which you can watch here, but it’s a reference to the series premiere, “The Vanishing of Will Byers.” Who will vanish this time? The series finale is also a callback to the season 1 finale, “The Upside Down.”
“The end of this episode when we were reading it — just us reading it — about halfway through, people started crying,” star David Harbour recently shared about the final episode of Stranger Things. “Then about the last 20 minutes, it was just uncontrollably crying, waves of different people.” He added that it’s “the best episode they’ve ever done.”
It’s still unknown if every episode of Stranger Things season 5 will be released at once, or if the season will be split into two “volumes,” like in season 4.
Pharrell Williams wasn’t “happy” working at McDonald’s. McDonald’s wasn’t particularly pleased with him, either. The super-producer and subject of the Piece By Piece biopic recently recalled being fired by the fast food king.
“McDonald’s was my first and only job,” Williams told BBC Radio 2, according to Billboard. “I got fired three times. I was eating the chicken nuggets. The first two times it was just because I was lazy. The third was like, ‘What are you doing? You’re just sitting there eating nuggets?’”
Pharrell (who, in a full-circle twist, is a credited producer on a song based on McDonald’s iconic “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle) is in good company: Rachel McAdams was also canned by McDonald’s, although not for eating McNuggets.
“[I worked at McDonald’s] for a good three years. My sister and brother worked there. My sister was my manager,” the Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret actress told Glamour. “It was a great place to work, but I had a little bit of an OCD thing with hand washing and just didn’t have time. They were like, ‘Hey, the drive-through’s backing up. Stop washing your hands!’ I was not a great employee; I broke the orange juice machine one day.”
50 Cent is perhaps the biggest troll in hip-hop today, especially when it comes to Instagram. He frequently uses the platform to send jabs, but he insists that even though it may ruffle some feathers, it’s primarily all in good fun.
During a recent appearance on Hot 97, Ebro asked, “How much of what we see when you trolling people on Instagram is real dislike, and how much of it is just having fun because you like trolling?” 50 responded, “I’m preconditioned from behaviors that you guys have exercised in front of me. I’ve watched you. I’m doing by version of Ebro on my Instagram. That’s it, it just not politics, it’s a little more cultural. But look, none of that is really personal. It’s me just having fun.”
Meanwhile, 50 recently revealed he turned down a $3 million offer to perform at a rally for now-president-elect Donald Trump, saying, “I’m afraid about politics. You understand? I do not like no part about them… It’s because when you do get involved in it, no matter how you feel, some one passionately disagrees with you. That’s the formula for the confusion that sent Kanye to Japan. He said something about both of those things — and now he can only go to Japan.”
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