- Ariana Grande opened up about her career plan for the next 10 years.
- While she said she’s “always going to do pop stuff,” she plans to focus more on her acting career.
- Navigating a career shift can be intimidating, but asking the right questions can help.
Ariana Grande returned to her acting roots as Glinda in “Wicked” —and plans to continue on that path.
“I’m going to say something so scary, it’s going to scare the absolute shit out of my fans and everyone,” she said on Wednesday’s episode of Bowen Yang and Matt Roger’s podcast, “Las Culturistas.”
“I’m always going to make music, I’m always going to go onstage, I’m always going to do pop stuff, I pinky promise,” the “We Can’t Be Friends” singer added.
However, Grande said that she doesn’t see herself producing pop music at the same rate as she did in the past decade for the next 10 years.
“I think I love acting, I love musical theater. I think reconnecting with this part of myself who started in musical theater and who loves comedy — it heals me to do that,” she said.
Grande started her career on Broadway at the age of 15. She rose to prominence for her role as Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon’s “Victorious” and “Sam & Cat,” and has released seven studio albums since 2013.
Still, acting “feeds” her in a different way than songwriting does, she said, adding that being a singer means “constantly reliving that one thing that you wrote the song about.”
She added that she would love to continue acting. “I think that I would love to, in whatever makes sense or whatever roles that we see fit or where I could really do a good job or honor the material,” she said. “I think it’s a lot better for me.”
In an interview with celebrity reporter Justin Hill on Sunday at the premiere of “Wicked” in Sydney, Grande explained why she used her birth name, Ariana Grande-Butera, in the “Wicked” credits.
Calling it her “little girl name,” Grande said, “That was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old, and it felt like a really lovely way of honoring that. It felt really full circle, and it just felt like something I wanted to do.”
A representative for Grande did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
Navigating a career shift
If you’re thinking of making a career shift, it’s important to take a step back and think about what inspired your current job in the first place, Rochelle Davidson, coauthor of “Work Freely: Love Your Job. Love Your Life,” previously told BI.
“Are you trying to move away from something, or are you wanting to move toward something else? Running away from your current gig, without having a clear picture of what you do want, may have you making decisions that don’t ultimately serve you,” she said.
Lexi Reese, a former Google executive who has made multiple career switches, previously told BI that she asked herself three questions whenever she considered a career move: what she loved, what she was good at, and where she saw a big need.
Career shifts are an internal journey, she added. “That internal voice that says, ‘OK, I’ve done what I needed to do in this space and I feel like it’s time for me to grow and do something different.”
Career shifts don’t have to be dramatic, either; Changing roles within an organization might also help you land a more fitting role.
Dan Shapero, LinkedIn’s current Chief Operating Officer, previously told BI that he realized he needed to make a meaningful job change to achieve his career goals.
He left his sales position to develop the skills necessary to lead LinkedIn’s product team. He gave himself two years to make the transition.
If you’re planning your next career move, “It’s important not to spend every minute asking yourself whether you’ve made the right decision,” he said.
