When you’re an artist used to performing in front of tens of thousands of adoring fans and you then spend a few months locked down in your home, chances are you will have a lot on your mind.
That seems to be the case for Ariana Grande, who dialed in to Zane Lowe’s Apple Music show on Wednesday (May 13) to talk about soooo many things, from why she stopped doing these kinds of interviews, to her unreleased Doja Cat collab, late boyfriend Mac Miller‘s deep love of music and why she’s obsessed with Fiona Apple, Rihanna and Madonna.
Check out the nine best moment from the interview:
Her obsession with Doja Cat and the unreleased song they worked on
“I’m obsessed with her. I love her. I was able to work with her earlier this year on this song that I want to save for whenever it’s time again, to drop,” Grande revealed. “I love her personality. I love what she brings to the table musically. She’s just such a breath of fresh air. I think she’s brilliant and so talented. … We did this song together towards the end of last year and I love it so much. I remember when I first wrote it and sent it to her, she was in the shower and she was like, ‘B—h, I love this. I’m in the shower.’ And I was like, ‘Shower. You can call me back.'”
Doja Cat loved it so much she sent a video the next morning in which she twerked so hard her wig flew off and she had her whole verse locked in, according to Grande: “I was like, ‘Take as many bars as you want. Do it. If you’re inspired to say stuff, let’s go.’ And so she just goes off on it, and it’s so much fun, and I love it. It’s my favorite so far.”
Why she wanted to team up with Justin Bieber for “Stuck with U”
“We just wanted to make something fun that also helps and kind of makes people feel, I think less alone, I guess. Or just like be hopefully somewhat uplifting,” Grande told Lowe of the song, which benefits the First Responders Children’s Fund. “I think it’s also a really literally isolating time for people mentally, too. So just, we wanted to put music out because music is the thing that makes people feel good. It’s the thing that speaks most to people’s spirits and we just wanted to lift them.”
The first time she met Madonna
“I love Madonna. She’s the one. What do you really say about her? She’s the one? The first time I met her, I was just shaking,” Grande recalled. “And I was like, I studied and worshiped you. And I have, I don’t even know what to say. … And she was just like, ‘Thank you. And I love you.'”
“It’s just ridiculous that after everything she has accomplished and after reshaping pop music and setting the bar higher and higher, so many times in her career, I still feel like she just does it because she’s still hungry and still just loves it and still just feels she has more to say and more things to try,” added the singer. “And I think that’s why I love her so much as an artist because she’s done what she needs to do.”
Feeling creatively inspired at her new home, but not up for releasing anything new
“It’s a great time to create because you’re stuck with your thoughts and left in your head a little bit, so I think all creatives are extra inspired right now, maybe a little bit. But yeah, I didn’t have a home set up until quite recently, and that’s been so much fun, but also so bad for my sleep schedule and my eating schedule,” she shared. “I have to remember that there is life outside of making stuff and I have to leave the computer at some point.
“I think as far as creating goes, it feels really good. But I know that a lot of people don’t have that luxury and a lot of people whose jobs they can’t do it from home, so I feel guilty and blessed,” she added. “But also, I don’t really feel comfortable putting anything out right now, because it’s just like other than this, it’s a really tricky time for all of that.”
Asked if she’s working on a new album now, Grande said not really. “There’s nothing to tell,” she said. “I’m not putting one out. Talk to you when that’s, I mean, I’ve been making stuff. I’ve been making a lot of stuff, but that’s not where my head is at right now.”
She relates with kids who are missing out on their proms
“Believe it or not, I never went to prom. I don’t feel like I missed out, though, because I was working on Victorious at the time,” Grande recalled. “We were having a lot of fun and I felt like I did have a high-school experience with my castmates there, but it was just a little different. We had our school room and we had our tutor and we had each other. We even had an episode that was prom themed, so that felt prom-y except with the cut and the can we take that from the top? Like from that, you know what I mean? But yeah, that was my prom. That’s the closest I ever got to a prom, just so you know.”
Why she stopped doing interviews for a while
“I stopped doing interviews for a really long time because I felt like whenever I would get into a position where somebody would try to say something for clickbait or twist my words or blah, blah, blah, I would defend myself. And then, people would be like, ‘Oh, she’s a diva,'” she explained. ” I was like, ‘This doesn’t make any sense.’ Because I have an opinion about something that was an opinion artistically or if I am directing something, or if I have something to say regarding a choice that’s being made with my career or something, blah, blah, blah, it always was in the past manipulated and turned into this negative thing, whereas I don’t see that with men.
“It’s like when men express their opinions or defend themselves — or are directing something and making notes on something, they’re brilliant. And they’re genius at it. And yet, it’s just so not the same thing with women, which I hope we can work on fixing. And of course that’s not always the case. It’s not always that way. But it does make it kind of … It makes you want to quiet down a little bit. But I’m trying to also say, ‘f–k that.’ You know what I mean? I’m tired of seeing women’s silenced by it.”
Why “nothing mattered more” to Mac Miller than music
“I think that nothing mattered more to him than music, ever. And he was the kind of person who woke up and rolled into the studio, tumbled out of bed, into the studio next door. Nothing was more important,” she said. “Talk about losing track of time and forgetting to eat, remind yourself to take care of yourself and be a person. He was a person who gave literally every single second of his thought and time and life to his music. And I think that’s so evident in what he’s left us with, and just how many incredible and different bodies of work, everything from Blue Slide Park, Kids, to all the way through Divine Feminine, to Swimming, to Circles, to everything in between.
“It’s just such a beautiful gift I think that he kind of touched the world with,” she continued, “and I think the thing he’d want most is for us to just appreciate it and not forget about it.”
She can’t wait for the Rihanna album, but gets that the RiRi is sick of being asked about it
“I get it. I appreciate it. And I’m really glad that she’s putting in so much effort. It means a lot,” she said of the wait for new RihTunes. “I listened to Anti every day. I think it’s time I need it. You know what I mean? Sorry. She’s going to hate me for saying that, but I want it so bad. I get it. I appreciate it. Can you just post it and then just leave and then go back to work?
“And I’m buying the undies. I’m buying the makeup. I’m streaming Anti, I’m streaming Unapologetic. I’m streaming Loud. Every day I really am,” she added. “And I’m being patient and I’m supporting, but I just need you to hit send and just post it and just let us have it. You know what I mean? I’m so angry because I hate when people say this to me, but now that I’m saying it to her, it’s fine.”
She’s loving that Fiona Apple album, too
“That is gold to the Nth degree. I admire her so much. I love her heart, her voice, her music. I always have,” said Grande. “I grew up listening to Fiona because my cousin Lonnie was a big fan. And when I was really young, I think I was 9 or 10 or something, she played me the, I think, are we talking about ‘Fast As You Can’ or ‘Paper Bag?’ And I love the new album as well. The new album is incredible as well. How could you pay attention to something like that when the music is so good? I don’t understand.”
Check out the full interview below:
