Ariana Grande Signals Potential shift Away From Music Amid ‘Wicked‘ Success
London - Ariana Grande’s star continues to rise with the blockbuster success of Wicked: Part One, but the singer-actress has hinted at a possible departure from music, revealing her upcoming tour might potentially be her last “for a long, long, long, long time.” The news comes as the film dominates pop culture, driving unprecedented ticket sales and merchandise tie-ins.
The film is selling at more than twice the rate of the first film, according to Vue, with Odeon reporting over 250,000 presale tickets as of Wednesday – nearly double the sales for the first Wicked installment. The film’s impact extends beyond the box office, with promotional events like a yellow-brick road installation on London’s brick Lane featuring lyrics from the song “For Good,” and product collaborations including Robinsons ”Amazafying” Elphaba-green squash. Even Dancing With the stars launched a “Wicked Night” segment featuring the film’s choreographer. Grande herself has even suggested the possibility of a third film adapted from the musical, stating, “There’s always a farewell tour.”
Grande disclosed to Amy Poehler that her upcoming tour – her first in seven years, promoting her 2024 album Eternal Sunshine – will likely be her last for an extended period.This announcement follows a clear trajectory away from pop music, coinciding with her critically acclaimed performance in Wicked: For good, for which she is being tipped for an Oscar nomination.
Beyond Wicked, Grande is set to star alongside Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller in focker-in-Law, a sequel to Meet the Fockers, scheduled for release next November. She has also cultivated new hobbies, including birdwatching through the Merlin app, which she described as “fabulous,” and expressed a desire to study entomology. “I wish I were a person who, like, had endless entomology knowledge,” she told Poehler. “I could look at a bug and be like, ‘Ah, Lepidoptera pieridae.'”
