Ariana Grande wants to release music like a rapper.
The ‘thank u, next’ hitmaker was inspired by the world of hip-hop when it came to dropping her surprise single, and she explained it also comes from a desire to break down barriers in the wider industry.
Speaking to Billboard, she said: “My dream has always been to be — obviously not a rapper, but, like, to put out music in the way that a rapper does.
“I feel like there are certain standards that pop women are held to that men aren’t. We have to do the teaser before the single, then do the single, and wait to do the preorder, and radio has to impact before the video, and we have to do the discount on this day, and all this s**t.
“It’s just like, ‘Bruh, I just want to f***ing talk to my fans and sing and write music and drop it the way these boys do. Why do they get to make records like that and I don’t?’ So I do and I did and I am, and I will continue to.”
The 25-year-old star – who released ‘Sweetener’ earlier this year and is already promoting the follow-up – also opened up on her goals of turning tradition on its head by not sticking to a set schedule of announcing a record and releasing it before heading out on tour.
She added: “To drop a record on a Saturday night because you feel like it, and because your heart’s going to explode if you don’t — to take back your narrative… I don’t want to do what people tell me to do, I don’t want to conform to the pop star agenda. I want to do it on my own terms from now on. If I want to tour two albums at once, I’m going to tour two albums at once. If I want to drop a third album while I’m on tour [in 2019], I’ll do that too!”
