Arianators, it’s time. After more than two years, Ariana Grande has started teasing her musical return, and on Wednesday, the singer shared photos of herself in the studio with the caption, “See you next year.”
Among the images was one of songwriter and producer Ilya — who worked on “Problem,” “God Is a Woman,” and “No Tears Left to Cry” — in the studio. She also shared a video of her mother Joan dancing in a muted video to what was ostensibly her new music, as well as a selfie in front of a producer booth.
The singer also surprised some of her fans with a package that included a red REM Beauty lipstick with a postcard — that fans assume is the single cover art — that sees a closeup of Grande’s lips with deep-red lipstick.
Over the past few years, Grande has largely been focused on the film adaptation of Wicked, which is set to hit theaters Thanksgiving 2024. Amidst production, some of her co-stars have apparently been lucky enough to hear some of her new music.
After the singer shared a muted video of her in the studio, Cynthia Erivo commented, “No one is ready.” During a Twitch stream, Bowen Yang said there were “several bops” on the new album. “Everyone is going to be gagged,” he said.
In a post in early December, Grande shared several slides of herself working on new music as A-list artists left comments sharing their excitement for the new music era on the way. “FINALLY,” wrote Selena Gomez. “UN MUTE PLS,” commented Billie Eilish. “Oh this bout to eat,” wrote SZA. “She’s HOME!!!” added Victoria Monét.
The singer also shared a selfie with Max Martin from the rooftop of Jungle City Studios in New York City with Page Six reporting that the pop producer is working on the upcoming project in late October.
Grande’s last musical release was 2020’s Positions, with a deluxe edition of that record arriving the following year. Thank U, Next dropped in 2019 and Sweetener was released in 2018. This year, Grande reissued her fan-favorite LP Yours Truly in honor of its tenth anniversary.
There seems to be a theme surrounding the Number 7 going on with Grande’s teases for her seventh album. She shared seven pictures and videos on Dec. 7 teasing the new music, posted another video from the studio on Dec. 17, and the new “See you next year” post arrived on Dec. 27. We’ll be on the lookout on Jan. 7 to see what’s next.