Ariana Grande, aka The Hardest Working Woman in Pop Music, dropped her last album, Sweetener, on August 17, 2018, roughly six months ago. So when can we expect a new album from Grande? The answer is any day now.
The singer, who released her latest single “7 Rings” last Friday, has encountered some controversy with New York rapper Princess Nokia implying that Grande had plagiarized her 2016 single, “Mine.” Meanwhile, Soulja Boy called Grande a a "thief," claiming she had lifted the chorus from his 2010 hit “Pretty Boy Swag.” Grande hasn’t directly addressed the accusations, but she did apologize to anyone she might have offended. Regardless of the charges, “7 Rings” has broken Spotify's record for most streams within the first 24 hours with nearly 15 million streams.
The single will be on Grande’s next album Thank You, Next, named after the single of the same name that the artist released on November 3, 2018. The song, which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, is Grande's first number one single in the United States. The song name drops Grande’s ex-boyfriends, including Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, Pete Davidson and the late Mac Miller.
The new album was likely the result of the turmoil that Grande endured after the release of her last album. She began working on Thank You, Next shortly after ending her engagement to Pete Davidson and the death of Mac Miller, themes she will undoubtedly explore on the new album. Grande confirmed as much when she told Billboard Magazine that although the album may sound upbeat, it is “actually a super-sad chapter," and “not particularly uplifting."
Unlike Sweetener, which featured artists such as Pharrell, Missy Elliott and Nicki Minaj, Thank You, Next will include no collaborations, further proof that the album will be much more personal.
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Grande, 25, will share the cover and track list on Friday when the album becomes available for preorder. She is also set to launch the Sweetener World Tour this year. The tour will support both Sweetener and Thank You, Next. In addition, Grande will headline Coachella, which is scheduled to take place between April 12 to 14 and April 19 to 21.
