Ariana Grande Says Playing Glinda Helped Heal “Traumas” From Her Pop Career

Ariana Grande says her years playing Glinda in the film versions of Wicked have helped her recover from the “traumas” she associates with her pop career, describing the experience as a turning point in how she relates to music and touring. In a recent conversation with Nicole Kidman for Interview magazine, the singer explained that time spent acting allowed her to return to music with a different mindset as she prepares for her Eternal Sunshine world tour, her first in six years, due to start in 2026.

Grande said she has been “healing [her] relationship to music and touring” over the past few years, outlining a deliberate effort to separate the joy of creating songs from the pressures of fame. She spoke about “undoing” the habits and expectations that built up when her pop career accelerated and about mentally placing the more painful aspects of celebrity “in a box somewhere else” so she could keep working without sacrificing her love for the craft. She credited her time as Glinda and the discipline of acting with giving her the strength to take “baby steps” back toward performing live, adding that the work once held “some traumas” for her but that those feelings are starting to fade.

Those comments build on earlier interviews in which Grande revealed she had privately wondered if she would ever make albums again. She has said that working on Wicked in London unexpectedly reignited her creative drive, leading her to write and record Eternal Sunshine alongside filming. The project went on to earn strong reviews and a nomination for best pop vocal album at the Grammy Awards, reinforcing for her that music could feel meaningful again when approached on her own terms.

Grande has framed the upcoming tour as intentionally limited and more sustainable than previous globe-spanning schedules. The run, which begins in Oakland before visiting multiple North American cities and London, is described as a “small tour” she wants to give her full energy to, while acknowledging it could be her last major trek for a long time. She has linked that cautious approach to a broader effort to stay “more connected” to herself and to follow opportunities, including acting and musical theatre, that feel genuinely right in the moment.

Her reflections come after several years of intense public scrutiny, including online criticism of her appearance during the Wicked press campaign, where she has spoken emotionally about the impact of bullying and insisted that no one has the right to comment on another person’s body. Mental health advocates have pointed to her willingness to discuss trauma, adjustment and boundaries as part of a wider shift among high-profile performers toward frank conversations about the pressures of pop stardom, even as Grande repeatedly stresses her gratitude for the career that brought her there.