If the local government of Corbetta, Italy, has been moving a little slower lately, it’s only because the mayor is a little bit distracted by Ariana Grande potentially teasing her eighth album — and can we blame him?
In a recent TikTok posted to the politician’s official account, Mayor Marco Ballarini checks his phone, then abruptly stands up in shock after presumably seeing the news that the pop star seems to have been hinting at new music. He then reaches for his office phone to spread the news and reaches into his wallet for a photograph of Grande at the 2018 Billboard Women in Music Awards, kissing his hand and then tapping the picture.
“ARIANA?!? AG8?!” reads text over the clip.
“Is she about to release her eighth album?!” he also captioned the video in Italian before adding in English, “arianators we’re alive?!? [sobbing emoji]”
Ballarini is one of many Arianators getting hyped for the possibility of Grande’s eighth album coming soon. With just a couple of months left to go before she hits the road in support of her 2024 Billboard 200-topper, Eternal Sunshine, the Wicked actress changed the outgoing message of her official “Brighter Days” hotline (934-33-ERASE) to say, “We just wanted to say thank you all so much to all of our loyal customers for making this last year together something we’ll never want to forget.”
“Our staff here at Brighter Days are so looking forward to continuing our mission of bringing happiness and healing to as many as we can this summer in person,” Grande’s voice continues in the playback. “We’re counting down the 8s — oops! I mean, the days. We’ll see you this summer, and remember, there are always brighter days ahead.”
If Grande is indeed teasing new music, fans have even more cause for excitement than usual. In the past year-plus, the vocalist has stressed that she isn’t planning to drop another album any time soon. “I love [my fans] so much, but sometimes I want to ask, ‘Do you think there’s another version of me out there who had time to write an album?’” she told Variety in January. (The publication had also quoted her as saying “nothing is coming before May,” but Grande commented later, “i never said ‘but soon enough’ or mentioned any months ! … i would need an extra brain and four more arms.”)
The Grammy winner has also emphasized that she plans on concentrating her focus on acting projects rather than dropping albums. But if things have changed, listeners will be holding their breath in the lead-up to the Eternal Sunshine trek, which kicks off June 6 and runs through Sept. 1.
Check out the TikTok from Corbetta’s mayor below.
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