Ariana Grande has been a creative performer since she was a young child. Television shows on Nickelodeon, a handful of movies, Broadway shows, and now seven hit albums, she has truly done it all. Being in the spotlight for practically her entire life, Grande has been awarded a great deal of praise, but the same amount of criticism. Her music career was halted from starting production of her role as Glinda in the upcoming film “Wicked”. Fans speculated if the pause in songwriting was from a busy schedule or her falling victim to negative press about her relationships, her personal image, or past drama. The loss of Mac Miller, with whom she had a romantic relationship and friendship, or dealing with inappropriate harassment from Dan Schneider, a top producer from the Nickelodeon network are examples of traumas that would block any motivation to continue creativity. Extrinsic motivation to be more specific, which are motivating factors based on outside sources, peer approval, a high rating, etc. In the readings from week 7, Amabile notes that “The extrinsically motivated state is detrimental” … “In short, extrinsic motivators and extrinsic constraints in the social environment could alter the motivational state from intrinsic to extrinsic and thus, undermine creative behavior”. To overcome the extrinsic constraints on Grande’s creativity and career, she has leaned into the intrinsic motivators that remind her of why she loves songwriting and self-expression through music, and her passion to tell a story.
Eternal Sunshine, Grande’s newest album since 2020, is an inside look into her personal life. She writes about her previous failed marriage and a new relationship with Ethan Slater, her co-star in “Wicked”. She talks through the process of creating the album in an interview in which she opened up that “It all just kind of started pouring out, and after our first week together, I kept coming to the studio every day by myself, and it just kinda kept organically happening that way, so I just decided to react and listen to that”. A huge part of her creative process is independently working through the lyrics and music, tuning into what she felt was right. Grande fully immerses herself in her creative process, putting her mind in a vulnerable place to be transformed. She also admitted in that “I kind of healed a lot of parts of myself alongside and through [Glinda], and it actually helped me heal a lot of my own personal weird stuff that I had with my relationship to music and to being an artist,” she said. “It all happened absolutely how it was meant to be.”. Opening herself up to such change is the best way Grande can refocus on the intrinsic motivators that allow her to continue to create and heal. Rick Ruben in The Creative Act: A Way of Being puts it perfectly: “To the best of my ability, I’ve followed my intuition to make career turns, and been recommended against doing so every time. It helps to realize that it’s better to follow the universe than those around you. It isn’t popularity, money, or critical esteem. Success occurs in the privacy of the soul”. Ariana Grande’s new album is testimony to that, focusing on the intrinsic factors of why a creative loves what they create and producing the next hit album.
Amabile, T.M., Hennessy, B.A. & Grossman, B.S. (1986). Social influences on creativity: The effects of contracted-for reward. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 14-23
Tinoco, Armando. “Ariana Grande Says Hollywood Strikes Led Her to Create New Music & Release ‘Eternal Sunshine.’” Deadline, Deadline, 28 Feb. 2024, deadline.com/2024/02/ariana-grande-hollywood-strikes-eternal-sunshine-1235839258/.
Ariana Grande - Songs, Age & Facts, www.biography.com/musicians/ariana-grande. Accessed 11 Mar. 2024.
This was super interesting! The back and forth of intrinsic and extrinsic pulls definitely holds true for Ariana Grande and her creative process. In a lot of ways, extrinsic factors and trauma heavily influence her creative process, so she is definitely a good figure to discuss as she embodies the tension of these in a really tangible way.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this! I think it's always interesting to see how musicians describe their creative process. The quote you included where she describes the lyrics “pouring out" reminded me of some topics from class. Much like other artists, her music appears to come from a place within her. In class, we discussed this phenomenon where creativity exists internally within us and waits for the right moment to come out. It seems to me that this is what Grande is describing.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post is wonderfully timed with the drop of her new album. I recently watched the movie this album was centered around and it was really cool to see all the connections and things I missed wen first listening before I watched the movie. I think taking this blog post the motivational route was a good choice especially with all the criticism she is receiving.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting read! I did not know she was working on a new album, but her process behind the album was very interesting to learn about. By going into the studio everyday for weeks, she was able to capture her true feelings in the moment while her relationship continued to develop. I feel that brings a new perspective that allows the listener see her experiences and emotions regarding her relationship unfold throughout the album.
ReplyDelete-Thérèse Giannini
This was an interesting blog to read. It is so interesting, especially compared to other artists what she credits her inspiration and drive to. You highlight that this is how she released so many of her feelings surrounding this relationship and how she learned to understand them internally, while other artists use their art and music to leave their own minds and beings and live outside of that.
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