Ariana Grande to do things on her own terms now

Ariana Grande

Tired of the highly structured process a lot of pop stars—female artists, especially—follow when promoting new material, Ariana Grande said she would love to follow the lead of the likes of Beyoncé and Drake, and do surprise album releases someday.

“My dream has always been to put out music the way rappers do. I feel like there are certain standards pop women are held to that men aren’t,” the singer, who hinted at releasing a new studio album next year while on tour, told Billboard in a recent interview.

“We have to do a teaser before the single, then do the single, then wait to do the pre-order. Radio has to impact before the video, and we have to do a discount on this day, and all the sh*t,” Ariana explained, adding that she simply wants to sing and connect with her fans “the way these boys do.”

“Why do they get to make records like that and I don’t?” wondered Ariana, who recently snatched her first Billboard Hot 100 hit with “Thank U, Next.” “If I want to tour two albums at once, I’m going to tour two albums at once … Or if I want to drop an album while I’m on tour, I’ll do that, too.”

From now on, Ariana said she wants to do things on her own terms, and not just follow what people around her tell her. “I don’t want to conform to the pop star agenda … I want to be able to do what is authentic and honest and natural. It’s the only way that I’ve been able to survive,” she said.—ALLAN POLICARPIO