Ariana Grande: 'eternal sunshine', Wicked & Tour | Apple Music

where is the magic in life for you in

art in human Connection in the people I

love in laughter and creating something

you're proud of um there's so much today

I'll

say definitely I'll focus it on the art

there's so much magic in

[Music]

art

it's so good to see you in person I know

look at this place this is like I don't

know this is a this is some kind of

magic dream skate overlooking New York

did you ever think you'd spend as much

time in New York when you were a kid I

love I mean being so close to theater

when I used to come visit with my mom

when I was little and my best friend

Aaron we would see as many shows as we

could every weekend we would go go to

dinner in a show or a matina and then

dinner in a show and it was just the

best I mean New York energy is so

different you know they great memories

as well going to spend time with your

parents at an age where you get to kind

of enjoy that before your identity takes

over and your becomes yours it's kind of

theirs yeah what's one of your favorite

memories about the time you spent with

your mom before you decided to go out on

your own and and ended up here does her

support even from such a young age I

would she would fly me in from bokeh to

audition for Broadway shows and you know

I believed in it so she supported me and

she never pushed me she always was just

kind of very supportive and it's really

happening right now I mean that must be

extra specially sweet for you to have

done so much work and completed this you

know ERA with Wicked to be able to kind

of trace it back to that moment CU I'm

sure she's super proud of of everything

that you've achieved and the music is a

big part of that but for her to know

that those trips to New York and those

those trips to Broadway and those Maes

kind of LED you back to that place in a

strange way it's nice it's strange but

also not it feels so full circle It

Feels Like Home it feels like pieces of

the puzzle that have always been there

finding their way back again and just a

nice balance of everything it's it's

beautiful I hope you love it I'm excited

yeah I can't wait to see it I was

excited to know you were taking part in

doing it and it kind of leads us to this

era for you as as the artist that we

know or we knew I feel like this album

is a whole new step forward creatively

for you not just in terms of writing and

producing the music and and the

performance on it is incredible but I

get it like I get the concept like I get

it thank you and when I first listened

to the album I I did that thing where I

I started to attribute all of these

words and songs and ideas to the person

and then I was like wait a minute

there's space and freedom to write

within a concept to push it even further

is that kind of part of what motivated

you to want to do it in a more

conceptual way yeah I think so I mean

that's very protective and observant and

caring of you to say I think there's

such a

freedom within art in general because

you really can pull from anywhere you

can pull from your truth you can pull

from a concept you can pull from a film

from a story you're telling from a story

about a relationship that a friend told

you from you know art is really it can

come from anywhere yeah finding a home

in Eternal

Sunshine was a

lovely a a lovely costume to wear I

think for this project because when we

hear songs now I think you know we jump

on the timelines and we we start

attributing all of these things and then

they don't become songs anymore they

become lines and headlines and lyrics

and words and they stop being yeah and

they stop being songs and I it's almost

become kind of treacherous I think to

tell the truth music because it stops

being about the music so quickly I think

it depends where you look though I

really do think that yes that is there

and that kind of

noise has always been there in certain

ways and different ways and I think now

with social media it's definitely more

present or more available also I do

think that there are so many more people

that are just able to listen to the

music and take what they need from it

what they need to hear what they need to

heal you know what resonates with them I

think there are more people that are

able to do that than the other or maybe

that's me being Eternal Sunshine

ignorance is BL no you're not being

idealistic at all the access is is far

greater but you sit it beautifully there

as long as we take what we need from it

right cuz it's no longer mine really

it's for you so right if I send it to a

friend and they have their own

experience with it or they take from it

a new meaning that I didn't even

consider when writing it that's you know

the beauty of it it's not really mine

anymore that's why I that's when it

clicked for me and I was listening to it

and I thought okay you know it starts

with a question and it ends with an

answer yes right the question is how do

I know if I'm in the right relationship

if I found the right person and it ends

with the most timeless piece of advice

that anyone with any wisdom will give

you which is don't forget about the

little things when did you realize that

the album had that start that question

but you also had the answer at the end

honestly I I didn't realize it until I

found the voice note I knew ordinary

things was the end of the album I was

like this is the last song but I

wonder how I can put that button on it

and have it land emotionally the way

that I feel it can and how can I answer

the question I always record my Nona

when I'm with her because you never know

what she's going to say and she's the

most hilarious person in the world and

um I had this like 30 minute voice note

of her and her friend Shirley talking

and um it was just right smack in the

middle of it and I said oh my God that's

the answer what did you hear with in

your laughter after cuz your laughter is

the last thing you hear on the record

yeah and I wondered what that laugh

means to you listening to it now well my

own laugh means to I don't know yeah I I

don't know I mean I think it's a little

bit of wow our our loved ones our

friends and our family have the ability

to instantly just sort of soothe and

calm and simplify things that are so

complicated and heavy at times like they

just have that instant ability sometimes

how much did kind of stepping away from

the sort of day-to-day or or project to

project type routine of of releasing a

record and I know you didn't necessarily

to positions the way you had done in the

past but still it felt like you were

moving with regularity and getting to

focus on on Wicked did it did it kind of

help break it break the spell a little

bit in terms of how you wanted to come

back and start a record

yeah it definitely did I mean I tried to

put music as far from my brain as

humanly possible while I was making

while I was working on Wicked because I

think in order to fully give myself to

Glenda I needed to really really really

really put that in a box in a big way

everything from the way I sing to the

way I speak the way I everything kind of

had to be different for a long time so

that I could be fully present in it it

also really allowed for coming back to

it to feel so much more special and so

much more um enjoyable yeah I learned a

lot

about

H I don't know I I I had a very

interesting relationship to music before

I left for Wicked I think that the time

away was really healing and I love I

love it's so interesting because I came

came back and I've loved every minute of

making this album the videos rehearsing

putting the roll out together doing the

photos Sho doing like you know every

single part of it more than ever before

in my life I've been able to be so much

more present and enjoy it and savor it

this time in a way that I don't think I

was able to before must have felt almost

like you were working in secret which I

don't think you it must be hard to feel

that way when your last arm was hugely

successful you came off a tour and

everyone's still dialed into your

frequency what were those days like when

you're working on your own because I

know that you obviously worked with Max

Mar with il which is great but I'm also

really interested in that time you spent

just on your own just figuring out what

the songs meant to you and how you were

going to construct them and produce them

um well it was very vulnerable I mean

you know I had this amazing trip in

September that was just me and Max and

we started these Little Seedling ideas

and we had a collection of Beats that we

liked and we wanted to EXP span upon and

he left me with like a big folder I

would come in and try things

and FaceTime when I was done and be like

what do you think is it fine I don't

know and um you know it was a very

vulnerable but really fun experience I

don't know it was really special and

then of course Max came back and we had

so much fun and Ilia joined as well and

shintaro was sending Beats from afar too

so that's kind of how

it started I think the first two things

that I wrote were end of the world and

Eternal Sunshine so those are both

sharos as well so and you knew the

concept of that moment Eternal Sunshine

came out because that was ultimately

where it was going to let it was going

to add up to to the idea I actually

don't remember when it like clicked to

me that that was what was happening but

yeah end of the world is such an

interesting way to start the record and

I think like when when is the world not

coming to an end I mean at least that's

how it feels for everybody I'm sure I

mean it's like we sure make a real habit

of taking a look at even the good things

in our life and looking just past them

at what could possibly go wrong you know

do you catastrophize things as much as

anybody else you know when it comes to

life I try not to catastrophize I try to

stay present I think that's a lot of our

work as human beings is to not live in

the past or in the future but to try and

just be right here and focus on the

present but of course there's that

hovering dread of what could happen I

think anxiety is just the byproduct of

being alive I actually think it's not

something that you get Afflicted with I

think it's something you learn to live

with and or acknowledge you have to

learn to live you have to learn what

tools work for you and how to befriend

it how to shine a light on all your

little monsters and see them and look at

them and say okay I see you how can we

live together how can we survive

together how can we get through what we

need to get through and work on this

together you know do you still meditate

I do every day what's the what's the

trick what's the secret because I there

isn't I mean there really isn't struggle

it's one of the only things I can do

everything else but that I just are you

judging your performance are you saying

okay my mind is jumping around I'm not

doing a good job myself at the I'm

serious that's what most people say to

me they're like okay I don't think I'm

good at it I'm like well doing it at all

is good at it I mean you really can't

judge yourself that's a that's a good

place toide just doing it is great as

David G would say it's all a part of the

meditation so if a phone rings if a dog

barks yeah it was meant to happen it's a

part of the meditation how do you apply

it to your to your Creative Energy like

do you when you're in a creative space

sometimes do songs come from that

experience I guess is my question H I

don't think so I think I think taking

care of your brain as much as possible

is always productive I think it

definitely helped me more with acting

than it I can see it being present when

I'm doing music but I think it helps

everything that's always like daunting

is when you have been rehearsing

something for months and months and

months and then you have that one scene

that one day you know and it's like oh

today is the day that has to be there so

you can't get in your own way and how do

you judge yourself differently if you

judge yourself at all from that position

or at least approach it from a point of

view of like trying of self-awareness

because with music at the end of the day

it's a very personal expression from

within but but on set I'd imagine if

you're looking back at a take or or or

the rushes it must be hard not to look

at yourself differently at least judge

your performance differently and maybe

be harder on yourself in that sense I

try to not really do much of that uh

with acting or with Wicked in particular

because I I mean I loved to see stuff

because it was exciting to take a peek

every now and then and see whatever but

I just didn't want to be too aware or

conscious of you know I just kind of

wanted to be living in there in her and

not aware of what that looks like yeah

totally and you have to trust the

director and Trust the people on set to

so they go what they need right yeah

totally I think it's could be a little

distracting was there a song that when

you were working on this album that kind

of presented itself with no delay and no

obstruction whatsoever and it just fell

fell out of the magic space for you

something really beautiful about this

writing process was

that if it was taking too long or if it

became

too mathematic or if it became

too we drilling this pre chorus to get

the right thing we kind of would bounce

around or try a different idea or come

back to it and whatever and just do

Melody passes until it just fell out so

I kind of do feel like everything fell

into place that way with this album just

sort of organically and um cuz it was

fast right you did it quickly it was

fast but it wasn't too fast I it was

like 3 and a half months I don't know

how people leave the studio I mean I can

imagine it's just such a rewarding place

to be that to actually execute on

something must be one of the hardest

things like how they let like let

letting it go yeah like I thought that

must be where the emotion was coming

from I saw some of the videos of you

playing it for people and I could see

how you were just trying to hold it

together but is that really I'm a cancer

it's all it's all very emotional yeah I

I can imagine that that that was kind of

part of what was going through will you

tell me what was going through your mind

when you f started to play it to people

and the emotion caught you off guard I

think I've been doing this a long time

with the same team from Republic records

and I love them all so much you know how

many times I've called Monty and Wendy

and Joe and Avery and to he and Roo and

Donna to hear a record to hear a song

it's been this is my seventh time it's

just a long time to be doing this and I

think this is the first time that I have

felt truly

present for it and able to enjoy it the

way that we were talking about before

um so that was emotional you know it was

just

like a beautiful thing to see these fa

of people that I love and have worked

with and survived so much with for so

long and this is like our first time

that we've done this that it's felt this

way for me and also that I've been able

to give my all to it this way even to do

like interviews and stuff I don't really

do that kind of stuff but I'm like

excited to does that make sense I'm

excited I'm like proud and grateful and

I feel like oh my goodness what a gift

to be able to make this art and for so

long I think I

was in

um hiding from it hiding from my success

or from what comes with

it and it was really impacting my

ability to be able to love what I do for

a long time oh my God I don't want to

get choked up but but but but um but

yeah it was really making me resentful I

think for a little bit of time and I

don't feel that anymore and I feel like

I'm able to let go of that and enjoy it

and um I feel really proud and grateful

for that sorry to like go there but it

feels very different I think that's why

I was so choked up even just playing

them the the songs cuz I was like waa

this feels so different this time what

was really hard for us as fans was to

see this thing that you were giving to

us as a gift to your point feel like it

was soundtracking these tough T times

and I I wouldn't have I wouldn't have

blamed you if you hadn't made a record

for a long time I think between like

that the

unpredictability

of what we were just discussing versus

also like the game of it all was

something that when I started making

music when I was young I didn't

really expect that or sign up for that

like I just loved music I didn't know it

had to be a game I didn't know people

were going to try to to pit me against

people I love I didn't know that you

know it was going

to do such strange things and I think I

was very young and processing all of

that I kind of married that to music in

my head for a while I was like oh well I

can't continue doing that I was talking

to someone else who's made an album

which is deeply rooted in in um love

lost uh very recently and I made the

observation that it even though the

album goes through all of these

different experiences of losing someone

that you care about it actually still

was a love album to me

because you know this feels very much

like that yeah it does to me there's not

to me it doesn't just have to be an

everlasting love story mm love is

complicated showcasing um both sides of

it is kind of what I tried my very best

to balance in the music is you know this

feeling can be true and this feeling can

also be true

simultaneously and I think that's

something

that we can ignore sometimes you know

what what really helps you face it down

as Saturn's return I remember mine super

well yeah I do and um it's a unique

experience because it's almost a

mathematically perfect equation but is

unique to everybody else it's like one

of those things that is a planetary

alignment that really should put us all

in some grid but it's not like that it's

super individual and it applies itself

like magic to everyone's life so Ari

what was your sat's return like oh my

gosh H my Saturn return what was it like

it was um it was pretty chill nothing

changed pretty uneventful seriously

pretty

uneventful nothing yeah I can't think of

a thing that changed my life you don't

have to go into specifics but from a

personal level how did you grow in all

seriousness I think I kind

of

learned that I wasn't really listening

to myself in a lot of in a lot of areas

where I I could have been it's like my

my nervous system was screaming at me to

make certain changes for a long time but

I think I I I was kind of a person who

wasn't listening I don't know I just

made I tried to listen to it more it's

an interesting time in your life because

it applies itself to every aspect and I

think we make a lot of it about

relationships and a lot of it about self

but no it's about it's so much about

your relationship to yourself yeah

that's mainly what I mean yeah like for

me I was like oh I'm not listening to

myself I need to start listening to

my why am I doing this you know it's not

protective to ignore these feelings it's

actually counterproductive it's actually

more harmful to not Supernatural as a

song um I love it's it's one of those

moments that to me kind of comes out and

and is an immediate comforting and very

moment but I love the sentiment of

Supernatural and the idea of what it

means um what is most magic about life

to you where is the magic in life for

you in art in human Connection in the

people I love in laughter and creating

something you're proud of um there's so

much today I'll

say definitely I'll focus it on the art

there's so much magic in art do you

remind yourself more often than not

throughout the day to appreciate where

you where you stand absolutely I think

the only possible way to survive is with

gratitude is to stay rooted in gratitude

and sort of be thankful every day for

everything it's so easily taken away and

it's so easy to get wrapped up in

negativity or what you know challenges

are here in the day it's time to get

into this kind of concept a little more

because for me at least because I love

the film and I recognize now that there

was a thread from the movie not just on

a literal sense but just the feeling of

the movie that goes through the record

um what prompted you to to link this

album to the film if it is that literal

I think it the movie is so beloved

because so many people can relate to

knowing that something isn't right but

loving so much and wanting to stay and

wanting to figure it out and that cycle

that can happen in the film I think

that's why the film is so belov it it's

because so many people can relate to it

and I think it kind of fell into place

that these songs had little tidbits of

that theme do you remember the first

time you watched it by it I was really

young I'm a massive I'm a massive Jim

Carrey fan I don't know if you know this

but my first screen name was Jim Carrey

fan

42 so so I was definitely very young uh

it's always been a favorite of mine

what's it been like meeting him

thrilling he is even better you know how

sometimes you get nervous to meet your

people because you never know how

they're going to be and it's very scary

he couldn't be

better I love him so much more after

meeting him and um working with him on

kidding What's maxm like I just I just

want to made him he is he's like the

biggest mystery the most successful pop

producer he just turned into an absolute

child it my favorite thing what's not

smart like no he's the best person in

the world I think who he is is who he is

as a human being and the fact that like

his success and all that he's done

hasn't at all inflated his ego or his

humanness like he's just the coolest guy

ever he's so nice he's kind to every

single person he encounters and he's

nurturing in the studio like he how does

he get the truth like how does he get

those performances in that truth out and

yet make it feel like it's my life he's

very thoughtful when it comes to things

like that cuz usually I'll go too far

like I'll still way I'll be way too you

know I'll I I like to write like no

one's ever going to hear it ever and

then sometimes I want want to dilate

back or change things or redo things and

um he's got such an amazing ability to

ride that balance and know what people

need to hear and what I need to say too

like he'll stand up for me he'll be like

no you deserve to say that he also know

that like hey you can say that in a way

that's not going to distract people from

the song 100% or he'll be like this is

more aligned with the Ari you know what

I mean it's he he's amazing um but we've

we had some an amazing and therapeutic

time together we walk to work together

every day um you did yeah we'd walk in

the Highline it was so fun long days too

yeah and then we'd like have a glass of

wine and sit there and listen to what we

did and like laugh and it was just the

best can you disappear here can you walk

the Highline and just disappear

literally anywhere in New York it's so

funny it's really funny I just walk

around if I have like a little Beanie or

hat and I just I love it I need it like

and that's what I loved about London so

much was I got to do that every single

weekend and it's nice to just be able to

explore and roam around and it's New

York everyone lives in New York everyone

used to seeing people in New York I

think about true story and and what I

love about that song is how playful it

is and how it leans into the into the

idea of like what is real and what's not

like you called a true story but I

actually don't not sure if it is it's an

untrue story based on all untrue events

exactly it sets up the boy's mind

obviously it's kind of like okay I'll

play the bad girl now here's your Bad

Girl Anthem that's why they're

in that order on the track list the boy

is mine I mean the original is a classic

yes I love that song I've always like

wanted to reimagine that song in some

kind of way why on this album where did