Ariana Grande has been in the spotlight for more than half of her life. In an interview with YouTube personality Sally this week, the Wicked star got very candid about what that has felt like, specifically how it feels to constantly have strangers evaluating and judging her body. And, in a super honest moment, she had a simple message for people who do that.

“There’s a comfortability people have with commenting on that [my body] that I think is really dangerous. And I think it’s dangerous for all parties involved,” she said, as her Wicked co-star, Cynthia Erivo, held the singer’s hand and comforted her as she appeared on the verge of tears while answering a question about the struggle for women to live up to society’s exacting, often unreasonable, beauty standards

“I’ve been kind of doing this in front of the public and kind of been a specimen in a petri dish since I was 16 or 17, so I have heard it all,” Grande said. “I’ve heard every version of it… of what’s wrong with me. And then you fix it, and then it’s wrong for different reasons. But that’s everything from – even just the simplest thing – your appearance, you know?”

Grande, 31, said it’s hard to protect yourself from that noise and it’s uncomfortable no matter where you experience such pressures. “Even if you go to Thanksgiving dinner, and someone’s granny says, ‘Oh my God, you look skinnier! What happened?’ or ‘You look heavier! What happened?’” she said. “That is something that’s uncomfortable and horrible no matter where it’s happening… and I think in today’s society there’s a comfortability that we shouldn’t have, at all, commenting on other’s looks, appearance, what they think is going on behind the scenes, or health, or how they present themselves.”

Getting animated, Grande said those kinds of judgements about what women are wearing and how their bodies and faces look are “dangerous.” She counted herself lucky to have a good support system that allows her to “know and trust that I am beautiful… but I do know what the pressure of that noise feels like… I just don’t invite it in anymore. It’s not welcome. I have work to do. I have a life to live. I have friends to love on, I have so much love and it’s not invited.”

She added that however you have to block that noise out, whether it’s deleting a toxic social app or blocking trolls online, “you keep yourself safe. Because no one has the right to say s–t!”

The latter comment drew a clap from host Sally, as well as an “amen” seconded by Erivo. “Can you tell I needed that today?” Grande said with a smile as Erivo grabbed her arm and displayed yet another example of the way the two women have openly supported and big-upped each other during the exhaustive press tour in support of the hit movie musical which has already rolled up $372.9 million in ticket sales so far.

Grande has spoken before about fans’ concerns over her appearance, including in a TikTok video last year in which she had similar thoughts about people’s concerns about her body.

“I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies — no matter what. If you think you’re saying something good or well-intentioned, whatever it is. Healthy, unhealthy, big, small, this, that, sexy, not sexy, I don’t… We just shouldn’t. We should really work towards not doing that as much,” she said at the time.

“But I also just wanted to say one, there are many different kinds of beautiful,” she added. “There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful. I know personally for me, the body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body. I was on a lot of anti-depressants, and drinking on them and eating poorly, and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my ‘healthy.’ But that, in fact, wasn’t my healthy. I know I shouldn’t have to explain that, but I do feel like maybe having an openness and some sort of vulnerability here, something good might come from it.”

Check out Grande and Erivo’s interview with Sally below.

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The new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, doesn’t hit theaters until Christmas Day, but hype for the new movie has propelled a seven-year-old audiobook about the singer back onto the charts.

Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties was originally released in 2017, but the audiobook has returned to the top of Audible’s music charts on the heels of the upcoming film release.

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Written by music historian and journalist Elijah Wald (and narrated by Sean Runnette), Dylan Goes Electric follows the uproar that ensued after Dylan took the stage at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 backed by an electric band, rather than his usual acoustic setup. Kicking off his set with an amplified version of “Maggie’s Farm,” Dylan then roared into his rock and roll hit, “Like a Rolling Stone,” much to the chagrin of what the book describes as “folk purists and political activists who had hailed him as their acoustic prophet.”

Dylan Goles Electric traces the genesis of that performance and tracks the resulting fallout from the show, described as “a mix of shock, booing, and scattered cheers.” The singer did not return to the Newport Festival for 37 years after that night. Was Dylan indebted to the folk community for making him their star? Or did the artist have free reign to explore his musical independence and blaze a bold new path?

As Wald writes in the book, “It was the shot heard round the world – Dylan’s declaration of musical independence, the end of the folk revival, and the birth of rock as the voice of a generation – and one of the defining moments in 20th-century music.”

The publisher notes, meantime, write that “Wald explores the cultural, political, and historical context of this seminal event that embodies the transformative decade that was the sixties,” diving “deep into the folk revival, the rise of rock, and the tensions between traditional and groundbreaking music to provide new insights into Dylan’s artistic evolution.”

Dylan Goes Electric is available now on audiobook for $15 through Amazon. But you can listen to the book for just $0.99 as part of a new Audible deal, that gets you three months of access for just $3. Offer ends December 31 so we recommend signing up for the Audible promo while it’s still live. See full details here.

The Dylan Goes Electric audiobook has a run time of 11 hours and 56 minutes. The Timothee Chalamet-led A Complete Unknown, meantime, hits theaters December 25.

Taylor Swift has wrapped up an early Christmas gift for fans, reclaiming the No. 1 spot on the ARIA Albums Chart with The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.

The festive season begins in earnest as the chart’s Christmas edition sees Swift’s dominance coinciding with the return of holiday classics like Michael Bublé’s Christmas and Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas, adding a seasonal sparkle to the final stretch of 2024.

Swift’s album, buoyed by the release of vinyl and CD versions, jumps from No. 14 to reclaim its throne for a sixth non-consecutive week. This marks Swift’s 16th week at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart this year, thanks to the success of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Midnights, Lover, and The Tortured Poets Department.

Meanwhile, Michael Bublé’s Christmas makes its annual return, landing at No. 15, continuing its streak as a perennial festive favorite. First released in 2011, the album has spent a total of 15 weeks at No. 1 and remains a yuletide staple.

Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas also re-enters the chart at No. 100, with her holiday anthem “All I Want for Christmas Is You” making its yearly resurgence on the ARIA Singles Chart, re-entering at No. 7.

Rosé and Bruno Mars hold steady at the top of the ARIA Singles Chart with “APT,” which notches its fifth non-consecutive week at No. 1. The track continues its reign as Bruno Mars enjoys a record-breaking run on Spotify, where he became the platform’s most-streamed artist last month with over 126 million monthly listeners, surpassing The Weeknd’s previous record of 120.7 million.

Other holiday hits are also making their move. Wham!’s “Last Christmas” returns at No. 11, with additional classics from Brenda Lee, Ariana Grande, and Kelly Clarkson climbing the charts as the festive season heats up.

Juice WRLD makes a splash on the Albums Chart with The Party Never Ends, debuting at No. 17. The posthumous release features collaborations with The Kid LAROI, Fall Out Boy, Nicki Minaj, and Eminem, marking the rapper’s fourth Top 10 ARIA album since his untimely passing in 2019.

For the full list of chart-toppers, visit ARIA.com.au.

Smino released his fourth studio album Maybe in Nirvana on Friday (Dec. 6) via his independent label Zero Fatigue.

“I actually just said ‘maybe in nirvana’ in one of the songs — but honestly, it was an album I was being indecisive about putting out. And I was just like … when I’m in a place where I’m at peace with my mind, you know, I’d be able to put this album out,” he told Billboard in a recent interview, adding that he made the album in 2020, two years before he put out his last studio album Luv 4 Rent. “I was just being very honest and very blatant about my emotions. It was like single-era Smee, you know? So, I was having my little roster, talking about, you know, just being — basically, I was just wilding. The music still sounds grown though… a kid in a grown man body, that’s what it sounds like.”

The rapper also revealed that the intro of the 11-track project, “Dear Fren,” is his favorite because it’s “the most personal one. I wrote a letter to my grandma and to my little cousin, who both aren’t here anymore. They passed away,” Smino said. “But I think everybody’s favorite song is ‘Tequan.’ Because it’s tequila and wine, and that’s ‘Tequan.’”

Maybe in Nirvana arrives two years after Luv 4 Rent, which included collaborations with J. Cole (“90 Proof”), Doechii and Fatman Scoop (“Pro Freak”), Cruza (“Louphoria”), Kal Banx (“Matinee”), Lucky Daye and Phoelix (“Modennaminute”), Cory Henry and Ravyn Lenae (“Settle Down”), Lil Uzi Vert (“Pudgy”) and reggie (“Lee & Lovie”). The 15-song set reached No. 28 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 50 on the Billboard 200.

Listen to Maybe in Nirvana below.

It’s been nearly three years since Jane “Nightbirde” Marczewski, a fan-favorite contestant on season 16 of America’s Got Talent, died of cancer at age 31. However, her legacy lives on through her family, who have been releasing her powerful songs posthumously.

Her latest single, “Still Got Dreams,” arrived first thing Friday (Dec. 6) and features the Mzansi Youth Choir of South Africa, who got the Golden Buzzer on season 18 of AGT by paying tribute to Nightbirde with a cover of “It’s Okay” during their emotional 2023 audition.

The Geoff Duncan-produced track, which also serves as the title track from Nightbirde’s upcoming posthumous album, was written at a particularly devastating and difficult time of her life, as she dealt with a divorce and a cancer re-diagnosis with a very slight chance of survival. She was determined to fight in the compelling, hopeful lyrics, singing in the chorus: “I still’ve got some magic in me/ I can’t see it but I still believe/ The music stopped but I can still sing/ Pretty beat up but I still got dreams.”

The Mzansi Youth Choir adds to the heartwarming, inspiring nature of the track by singing in isiZulu, “We ngoma ngiyakholwa Kuwe usisibonelo,” which translates to, “I believe music is a wonderful gift.” 

“One of the ways Jane inspired the world was through her bravery in facing insurmountable odds,” the late star’s older brother, Mitch Marczewski Jr., shares with Billboard. “The message of ‘Still Got Dreams’ reinforces the fact that even though people may be beat up by their circumstances, they can still pursue their dreams. If there’s ever a time to remind people to pursue their dreams, it’s now.”

All proceeds from Nightbirde’s music, art, books, merchandise and licensing benefit the Nightbirde Foundation, which aims to uplift and support women battling breast cancer. “In addition to spreading hope, we distributed tens of thousands of dollars in grants to help women with breast cancer get the treatments they need to live fulfilling lives,” Mitch says. “The Nightbirde Foundation has been able to inspire women to dream.”

As for what he wants people to remember about his sister, Mitch says Nightbirde’s “faith in Jesus was the ultimate hope that enabled her to be the woman she was,” adding, “We are still amazed at her ability to hold joy and grief simultaneously, even when she was pretty beat up. We miss her dearly and wish she was here to continue to show the world her wit, wisdom, grit and faith.”

Listen to Nightbirde’s “Still Got Dreams,” featuring the Mzansi Youth Choir, below.