Ariana Grande’s game-changing album, Thank U, Next, turned out to be her emotional lifeline. Chatting on The Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards Chatter podcast, the pop powerhouse opened up about how this project became her saving grace during rough patches. The album dropped in February 2019, hot on the heels of Sweetener, which had come out in August 2018.
Talking to host Scott Feinberg, Grande got real about the album’s impact, telling him “I think I needed it,” as Billboard reported.
“I was doing so much therapy, and I was dealing with PTSD and all different kinds of grief and depression and anxiety,” she shared. “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.”
The timing couldn’t have been more challenging for Ariana. Her former boyfriend Mac Miller’s devastating death in September 2018 came shortly after Sweetener hit the shelves. She was already wrestling with PTSD from the horrific Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017, which claimed 22 lives. Adding to her struggles, she and then-fiancé Pete Davidson split up in October 2018.
“[Thank U, Next] poured out with urgency, and it was made with urgency,” she confided to Feinberg. “It was a means of survival. The label understood that, 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.”
The album proved to be a massive hit, ruling the Billboard 200 for two weeks straight, with its title track dominating the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks. Grande later brought both Thank U, Next and Sweetener to life during her epic Sweetener World Tour in 2019.
