2024 is looking Wicked for Ariana Grande. The pop star has teased a brand new album, sharing a carousel of pictures on social media that hinted that she had been back in the recording studio.
"See you next year!" the post was captioned, and the first picture was a collage of Polaroids of Ariana and friends, although she aso tagged her record label, Republic Records, director Christian Breslauer (who has directed music videos for Doja Cat and SZA) and music producer Ilya Salmanzadeh, who Ariana worked with for tracks including 'Breathin' and 'Problem'.
A video saw Ariana's mom dancing in an office, and a screengrab of a Facetime call saw Ariana and a friend smiling – "the two moods of the album", text on the picture read – while another saw Ariana crying.
Ariana also reshared posts by fan accounts who had received new makeup products from her beauty line R.E.M, as well as a handwritten note that also read, "see you next year!"
"We (as in the universe) are screaming so loud," commented one fan account which received thousands of likes, while another dan added: "2024 about to be one for the books."
Ari's brother Frankie commented: "It’s official. 2024 is my favorite year of all time," as Rachel Zegler commented with a string of heart emojis.
The coming 12 months are booked and busy for the 30-year-old as not only will her new music seemingly drop, but she is also appearing in the highly anticipated adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked. Ariana will star as good witch Galinda in Jon M. Chu’s film alongside Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba as well as Bowen Yang, Jonathan Bailey and Michelle Yeoh.
The first part of the two-part film is set for release in November 2024.
Ethan Slater will also appear as Boq, a young man mocked by Glinda during their time together at Shiz University.
Ethan, 31, and Ariana fell in love during filming, although they have yet to publicly confirm their romance. The acclaimed theater actor is currently playing the Historian, Prince Herbert, and others in the revival of Spamalot, and Ariana had been pictured attending a performance in support.
Over Christmas the two were spotted together for a rare date night with friends; Ariana appeared to be wearing a black mini blazer dress, with fur trimmings, paired with a black beanie, sheer tights and black pumps. Ethan wore black chinos and sneakers, and kept warm in a hoodie and beige baseball cap.
Ariana finalized her divorce from Dalton Gomez, 27, in mid-2023. They fell in love over the pandemic and enjoyed an intimate wedding at their Montecito home in May 2021. Ariana and Dalton, a real estate agent, had kept a notoriously low profile.