ArianaĀ Grandeās public appearances and interviews have been limited since the Manchester terror attack that took place outside one of her shows in 2017 andĀ killed 23 people.
Appearing on the cover of TheĀ Fader‘s summer issue, ArianaĀ opened up aboutĀ the much-need time sheĀ took to recover following the attack. She traveledĀ back to her childhood home in Boca Raton, FL, andĀ attended therapy sessions, which she says has āhelped me deal with so much. I think itās great for everybody. Especially in this regard. Therapy is the best. It really is.ā
Despite taking time for herself, Ariana didnāt give upĀ entirely: she continued her Dangerous Woman tour after a short suspension, and also organized and put on the One Love Manchester benefit show with co-headliners Miley Cyrus, Coldplay, and more. Ariana famously closed the show with a stunning and tear-filled rendition of āOver the Rainbow,ā which she revealed was her grandfatherās favorite song. āHe would always tell me to sing it in my concerts,ā she said. āAnd I never did until that moment. When I was getting ready to do it, I was thinking about him and I felt his presence so heavily around me. He was the person I was closest to in my life.ā
She also used her experience to help those in similar situations, spending time with the Parkland shooting survivors in Los Angeles and talking to them about recovering from tragedy, according to TheĀ Fader.
Ariana is undeniably strong and kindhearted for doing all of these things for others while undergoing her own emotional trauma. She told TheĀ Fader that sheāll never entirely recover from Manchester.Ā “I guess I thought with time, and therapy, and writing, and pouring my heart out, and talking to my friends and family that it would be easier to talk about, but it’s still so hard to find the words,” she explained.Ā “When you’re so close to something so tragic and terrifying and opposite of what music concerts are supposed to be, it kind of leaves you without any ground beneath your feet.”
Still, Ariana is optimistic for the future. Her single āNo Tears Left to Cryā has been the subject of much praise, and sheās working with big names like Pharrell, Max Martin, and Nicki Minaj, who remains a close friend of hers.
Her next album, Sweetener, drops in August, and it looks like itāll be filled with vulnerable lyrics and the delectable pop perfection Ariana has been supplying us with since the start of her career. She tellsĀ TheĀ FaderĀ her experiences over the last couple of years, especially the Manchester attack, influenced her new sound.Ā āIāve always just been like a shiny, singing, 5-6-7-8, sexy-dance…sexy thing,ā she said. āBut now itās like, āOK, issa bopābut issa message. Issa bop but also has chunks of my soul in it. Here you go. Also, I cried 10 hundred times in the session writing it for you. Here is my bleeding heart, and here is a trap beat behind it.ā Thereās definitely some crying-on-the-dancefloor stuff on this one.ā
I canāt wait to hear the new album, and I am proud of Ariana for the growth she has achieved and the growth she will continue to do.
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