Ariana Grande Working on New Music in New York, Sources

Music

exclusive

TO Ian Mohr

Ariana Grande fans may be getting new music sooner than anyone expected, including the superstar singer herself.

Sources told Page Six exclusively that Grande wanted to focus all her energy on the highly anticipated film “Wicked” before heading back into the recording studio.

But we hear that—while filming was paused due to the SAG-AFTRA strike—Grande made the most of her unexpected free time by stopping by the studio to work on her seventh album.

Insiders say she’s been hard at work with producer Max Martin in New York to record the follow-up to her 2020 album “Positions.”

So far we hear that only the singer and the mega-producer were in the studio. The pair have often collaborated in the past on numerous hits such as “God Is a Woman.”

An insider said: “Her priority has been Glinda (her character in Wicked) for the last two years and she remains so as they haven’t finished the film yet.”

As for the release date for the new tunes, our source told us, “She doesn’t know when she wants to release” the album, “as she wants to be respectful of the release schedule of ‘Wicked,’ and initially didn’t want to do music at all until after the movies.”

On the other hand, the insider said, “She works quickly and instinctively steps in when she feels ready… so who knows?”

Fans have been feverishly speculating about when Grande will release her next studio album following the success of “Positions.” The album’s title track peaked at number one, expanding her reputation as the recording artist with the most number one debuts of anyone in history.

When paparazzi asked the Grammy-winning singer over the weekend the name of her new album, the singer joked, “Let me do it first!”

Variety previously reported that “Wicked” composer Stephen Schwartz confirmed the film had been shut down and was just 10 days away from filming when the strike began.

“Wicked” director Jon M. Chu previously posted on social media about the music project being put on hold due to the SAG-AFTRA strike: “We were just days away from finishing so we were SO close. It was very painful to stop all this, but we will be back!”

He added in support of the colorful “Wicked” cast: “We stand with you.”