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Ariana Grande is saying “yes, and?” to life. After months of statements indicating that she was taking a hiatus from music to focus on acting, Grande appears to be teasing a new album ahead of her Eternal Sunshine tour this summer. On Wednesday, Grande posted a carousel of her in the stu. Cans? On. Board? Mixing. Tools? Pro. TMZ is claiming to have sources promising AG8 this summer. Billboard, on the other hand, cites a new outgoing message on the Brighter Days hotline: “Our staff here at Brighter Days are so looking forward to continuing our mission of bringing happiness and healing to as many as we can this summer in person,” she says. “We’re counting down the 8s — oops! I mean, the days.”
These teases run counter to the messaging Grande has been putting out since last year about not doing another album anytime soon. On Good Hang, Grande told Amy Poehler the Eternal Sunshine tour would be the last she did for a “long, long, long, long time.” But it’s possible her “last hurrah” is just for touring, not releasing music. “I spent so much time only doing pop music, but I grew up as a girl who loved musical theater and comedy,” she told Poehler. “I think the thing that will be best for my soul and also my art, and for what I’m giving myself to, is if I’m chasing things that sort of feel just very right in the moment, even if it’s spontaneous.” AG8 could be a spontaneous thing? In January of this year, she told Variety that she’d had no time to record an album. “Nothing is coming before May. I love them so much,” she said of the Arianators, “but sometimes I want to ask, ‘Do you think there’s another version of me out there who had time to write an album?’ Not yet — but soon enough.”
