Ariana Grande has had one heck of a year, and now she will finish it off earning the title of Billboard magazine’s 2018 Woman of the Year.
“I guess there’s not much I’m afraid of anymore,” the 25-year-old singer shared with the Billboard magazine in a piece published Wednesday about everything she’s been through this year personally and career-wise.
“When life tries you with such serious s**t so many times, your priorities change,” she continued. “I don’t give a s**t. I just want to be happy and healthy — one day — and make music.” (RELATED: 24 Reasons To Wish Ariana Grande A Happy 24th Birthday [SLIDESHOW])
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Despite personal struggles — after losing her ex-boyfriend and dear friend Mac Miller due to an accidental overdose, and the end of her brief engagement to “Saturday Night Live” star Pete Davidson — her fourth album, “Sweetener,” became her third No. 1 album on Billboard 200. Her latest hit, “Thank U, Next,” has hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“My dream has always been to … to put out music in the way that a rapper does,” Grande explained. “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.”
“And if it doesn’t work out the way ‘Thank U, Next,’ did, that’s fine, too,” she added. “It is so exciting to see something be received well. That’s a beautiful thing. But it’s even more beautiful to be honest and just do something. ”
Grande continued, “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.”
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“I don’t want to do what people tell me to do. I don’t want to conform to the pop-star agenda,” the “Side to Side” singer shared. “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!”
“I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of the artist I can be, and I just want to keep growing and practicing and getting better,” she added. “I never want to get lazy.”
The “God Is a Woman” hitmaker has since tweeted the news to her millions of followers.
Billboard also posted a video interview with Grande, in which she shares old photos of herself and her family:
.@ArianaGrande takes a looks back at childhood photographs & shares advice for her younger self #WomenInMusic https://t.co/lVic2FmCOO pic.twitter.com/Ik8FAK0ez3
— billboard (@billboard) December 5, 2018