Ariana Grande Says Next Studio Release Is 'If First Wives Club Were An Album'

Earlier this week, Ariana Grande was crowned Billboard's Woman of the Year with a generous, intimate cover story as well as a banquet of striking photographs. In it, she opened up as much as she may about her upcoming fifth album — yes, the one apparently due to drop only several months soon after this year's fantastic Sweetener — that's officially called Thank U, Next. (Its vibe, she mentioned, is "feminine energy and champagne and music and laughter and crying.") Nevertheless that was only the beginning.

Thursday night (December 6), Grande took the stage at Billboard's Ladies in Music 2018 to officially accept the honor immediately after performing the album's title track. And following a thread she first presented in November once she debuted it on Ellen, the singer gave even more specifics on what to expect. "I feel like we made if The First Wives Club were an album," she mentioned onstage, adding it was "some of the most enjoyable times of my life in the studio."

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=jOnPCM3iGLI

After a loving (and genuinely hilarious) intro by soul legend Patti LaBelle, Grande alternately got very real and punctured the more serious moments with light ribs at her own expense. "I find it interesting that this has been one of the primary years of my career and the worst of my life," she said, before admitting that while people may visualize her success as a sign that she has her shit with each other, she decidedly doesn't. Although she's trying.

It was a joyful and cathartic expression of sentiments, in line with the tenor of the complete evening. Some laughs, some tears, along with a lot of celebrating the endless drive and work of females in the music industry. Here are the highlights.

Kacey Musgraves Keeps On Giving Butterflies

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=6uCUHF5rIqs

additionally to strumming out a pared-down "Butterflies" efficiency accompanied by banjo and cello — one that replaced the groove of the album version with a gentle breeze of nation strings — Musgraves stayed on theme. Females are fuckin' awesome," she mentioned, accepting the Innovator honor. "The female perspective is so crucial ... Right now at age 30, I'm more connected to my femininity than ever and I'm really overjoyed of it." As numerous year-end lists point out, her album Golden Hour is being (rightfully) celebrated as one of the year's best — fitting for an album that kicks off with a tender rumination she dreamed up on an acid trip.

Janelle Monae And Tierra Whack Have A Moment

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=pd8JSeRoF7E

Though she didn't perform, Monae stepped up to accept the Trailblazer honor, immediately recognizing "so several cool ass girls in the room. Before she went much further, Monae also stopped to also thank Whack, the young rapper and artist in back of the concise, whimsical Whack World album, for blazing a trail of her own. "The way you're innovating now is so inspiring to me," Monae mentioned. "Keep going. Go further than where I'm taking it." Both artists saw their complete visions take shape in 2018: Monae with Dirty Computer (which debuted alongside a fancy "emotion picture") and Whack with a series of short, interconnected visuals that brought her album to life. Looks like the admiration is mutual.

Hayley Kiyoko Closes Out #20GayTeen On A High Note

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=qtLek2Ish1I

In a nice nod, 2018 breakout star Kiyoko accepted the Rising Star honor soon after a nice introduction from Lauren Jauregui — the same pop singer who also unveiled her very own "Expectations" in October. And then, the realness: "My mom informed me that you're only a rising star once," Kiyoko mentioned, "and then soon after that, you're old news." She was decided to prepare her moment count, though, with a charged-up rendition of "Curious" alongside two backup dancers. As soon as it was time for her speech, she choked back tears, saying it was her first time obtaining an award on a stage. By the end, she had the crowd laughing with a passing say of flirting with Ariana. Onward to 2019!

Tituss Burgess Makes The structure Crumble

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=t12HT6y0Lc0

Cyndi Lauper acquired the night's Icon award and gave a wonderful stream-of-consciousness speech celebrating the females secretaries who helped get her song "True Colors" played as soon as male executives weren't sold on it. Right before, though, it was up to the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star to set the stage and the mood and, well, I'm just gonna leave this right here. Prepare the tissues.

SZA Breaks The Rules

https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=5Bmnft0DeP0

Though plagued by persistent vocal problems this year, the Ctrl singer sounded confident as ever on the mic accepting the Rule Breaker award. The perfect part was once she thanked her family member, specifically her grandma, who came out to be able to see her do her thing in the music industry for the initial time ever. "I lied and instructed her I was in school for furious long," she mentioned. "I'm not in school!" SZA also shouted out each person who was patient with her, including fans and behind-the-scenes players like TDE's Top Dawg. And then, because circles routinely come back to their origin, SZA ended with her own Tierra Whack shout-out: "You're the most interesting person I ever known." Tierra Whack for Woman of the Year, 2019 edition?