Ariana Grande has officially announced a forthcoming new album, set to be released this summer. On Tuesday, the 32-year-old pop star unveiled her album title, release date, and promotional images, after teasing a new project throughout the month.
Album Details and Pre-Order
'petal 7.31,' she captioned an Instagram post featuring an up-close black-and-white photo of herself smiling with her hair falling across her face. Taking to Instagram Stories, the singer-songwriter shared a pre-order link where fans can purchase a signed 'Petal translucent pearly white LP,' Petal CD, 'Petal cloudy gray girl LP,' and other variations. She also reposted an announcement from Apple Music, which was captioned: '@arianagrande returns. Pre-add the forthcoming album, petal, now on Apple Music.' Grande enlisted creative director Katia Temkin for the visuals, crediting her with handling the 'photos, font' and 'every detail of packaging design.'
Lead-Up and Previous Work
Leading up to the announcement, the Thank U, Next hitmaker had been hinting at a new creative era, sharing social media snaps from rehearsal and recording studios. Her last album was the 2024 release Eternal Sunshine, which included the defiant lead single Yes, And?. Since then, her career has been dominated by the two-part Wicked movie adaptation, which was met with critical acclaim.
Future Tour and Career Reflections
Last November, Grande shocked fans when she shared that her upcoming tour in support of Eternal Sunshine would be her last for the foreseeable future. She explained that her pop career had 'taken over' her life and she would be prioritizing other passions. The star insisted she would 'give it her all' during the tour, which she described as 'one last hurrah' before stepping back from international touring. Speaking on the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast, the actress said: 'I'm very excited to do this small tour. But I think it might not happen again for a long, long, long, long time. I'm going to give it my all, and it's going to be beautiful, and I'm so grateful. I think that's why I'm doing it. Because I'm like, one last hurrah. For now.'
Grande will kick off her first major tour in seven years in June, performing across the US and Canada before bringing the show to the O2 Arena in London for 10 nights. She told Poehler last year: 'I just am feeling a lot more connected to myself and my art since I started doing different things. I spent so much time only doing pop music, but I grew up as a girl who loved musical theatre and comedy, so I think the thing that will be best for my soul and for my art is chasing things that feel very right in the moment, even if it's spontaneous and something different.'
Upcoming Film Role
Following her stellar performance as Glinda in Jon M. Chu's Wicked, the multihyphenate will return to the silver screen in Focker-In-Law. The comedy is the next installment in the Meet the Parents franchise starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro. 'It's a role that I read the script [for] and I love it and it's funny and I love the cast and I'm so excited,' the entertainer gushed.
