Ariana Grande's highly anticipated eighth studio album, Petal, is set to be released in July, and the 32-year-old pop star has revealed intriguing details about her new record. The album, according to Ariana, stems from a place she has been "too shy or polite to tap into before," and it's all about tackling the "monsters" in her head.
In an Instagram video, Ariana explained the concept behind Petal, stating, "Surprise! It's called Petal. It's basically about something that is full of life and growing through the cracks of something cold and hard and challenging." She further elaborated, "It's about breaking up with all different kinds of negative attachments, whether it's my own monsters in my own head, external voices, or things that no longer serve me."
Ariana described the album as "a little feral," saying it comes from a place where she has been "maybe too shy or polite to tap into before." She added, "This kind of just feels like, f*** it."
After releasing her last album, Eternal Sunshine, in March 2024, which featured hit singles such as "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)," "Yes, And?," and "The Boy Is Mine," Ariana is making a big comeback to music. She kicked off her Eternal Sunshine Tour in Oakland, California on June 6 and will release Petal on July 31.
In a conversation with Interview magazine last year, Ariana revealed that her time acting in the Wicked film franchise helped her heal her relationship with music and touring. She said, "I've just been taking baby steps towards healing my relationship to music and touring, and I think my time with Glinda and with acting really helped me build the strength to be able to do that... I think it just held some traumas for me before, and I feel those dissipating, and that is such an extraordinarily beautiful thing."
