Ariana Grande Releasing New Album August 25, Will Showcase Her Artistic Growth

Ariana Grande doesn’t want to be known as the bubblegum pop star anymore, and says her new album will show just how much she’s grown.

The singer announced this weekend the release date for her second album, My Everything.

Grande had said previously that the album will showcase her transformation as an artist. In an interview with at Boca Raton magazine, Ariana said the record will especially reflect how much her music has matured since her last effort, Yours Truly.

“I think it shows my progression as an artist and as a person.. It’s a little more grown-up, while still remaining authentic to me as a person,” she said. “I’m very excited for people to hear it.”

The star of Sam & Cat said she was surprised by the success of her full-time fling into music.

“When my first single went to number one, it was crazy,” she said. “I never thought that would happen. To see people embrace me as an artist was the coolest thing in the world. That’s when I realized, ‘Hey, there might be something to this music thing that works out for me.’ ”

But Ariana Grande said she wanted her follow-up effort to be even better, and was determined to put in whatever work it would take.

“I’m a workaholic, and a perfectionist,” she said. “It was a very exciting thing for me to all of a sudden have this new mission, to make something as special as ‘Yours Truly,’and to put my time and effort into something new and something I want to make just as good, if not better.”

Grande has been talking lately about her growth as an artist, so critics are excited to see what her upcoming album has to offer. Though she made a name through television acting, Ariana has made it clear that her transition to focus on singing will be permanent.

“I hate acting. It’s fun, but music has always been first and foremost with me,” she told Rolling Stone magazine.

Ariana Grande has also made it clear she wasn’t terribly fond of some of earlier singing, when the studio exerted strict control over her work and who it would be aimed for. Ariana said the song “Put Your Hearts Up” was a creative low point.

“It was geared toward kids and felt so inauthentic and fake. That was the worst moment of my life. For the video, they gave me a bad spray tan and put me in a princess dress and had me frolic around the street. The whole thing was straight out of hell. I still have nightmares about it, and I made them hide it on my Vevo page,” she explained.

Ariana Grande now has a chance to make her stamp as an artist with her second album, My Everything, which will be out August 25.