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\n\tAriana Grande<\/a> has been open about the fact that portraying Glinda in the Wicked <\/em>films has been healing for her as an artist. But in a recent interview, the pop star \u2014 who was previously managed by Scooter Braun<\/a> \u2014 shared that signing with a new team of representatives has also played a big part in her falling back in love with making music.<\/p>\n \n\tIn a New York Times<\/a> <\/em>profile published Wednesday (Nov. 5), Grande was candid about feeling unhappy with her music career before she was cast in Wicked<\/em> a few years ago, noting that she once thought she\u2019d never go on tour again after her exhaustive 2019 Sweetener trek. \u201cThere was something broken about my relationship to pop music that was healed recently through the time away,\u201d she told the publication.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think it got away from me in a way I didn\u2019t expect,\u201d she continued. \u201cThere\u2019s a thing that comes along with your dreams coming true that feels dangerous at times \u2026 Nothing prepares you for what comes with it. Until quite recently, it was really hard for me to navigate and I think it stripped a lot of joy out of this for me.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tDespite her prior reservations, the Grammy winner is now gearing up to hit the road again in 2026 for a small tour supporting 2024 Billboard 200<\/a>-topper Eternal Sunshine<\/em>, which she dropped after previously thinking<\/a> that she\u2019d never make an album again. She\u2019s said before that recentering acting after primarily focusing on her pop-star duties was essential to her, but while speaking to NYT<\/em>, she also hinted that the people she used to work with discouraged her from pursuing a balance between her two passions.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBy the way, I have a different team now,\u201d she said on the subject. \u201cSaid with love, but that was a piece.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBillboard <\/em>has reached out to Braun\u2019s rep for comment.<\/p>\n \n\tThe interview comes more than two years after Grande parted ways<\/a> with SB Projects, where she had been managed by Braun on and off since 2013. The departure came at a time when several major clients were also announcing their splits from the music mogul, including Demi Lovato and J Balvin.<\/p>\n \n\tIn June 2024, <\/a>Braun revealed<\/a> <\/a>that he was retiring from music management altogether. At the time, he said that he would \u201ccontinue to root\u201d for all of the big names that had once been on his roster, which also included Justin Bieber and Tori Kelly. <\/p>\n \n\tThis past June, Braun echoed <\/a>those sentiments while guesting on The Diary of a CEO <\/em>podcast. \u201cTo see Justin move forward and succeed, to see Ariana with what\u2019s happened with Wicked<\/em> in this past year \u2026 Everybody that I\u2019ve ever had a chance to work with, to see them go on and do great things on their own, it\u2019s awesome,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n \n\tShortly after leaving SB Projects, Grande signed with Brandon Creed\u2019s company, Good World Management. A source told Billboard<\/em><\/a> <\/em>at the time, \u201cShe wants the focus to be her art and [Creed] puts her artistry and vision before anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tTwo years later, it seems as though Grande has been able to do just that with her new team behind her.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019ve never felt this connected to my art or inspired, and that\u2019s just been such a tremendous gift,\u201d she told NYT<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s like, oh, I don\u2019t actually have to take on those things that were projected onto me. I can focus on my art, and that can be a separate entity. But I had to give myself the permission to think that.\u201d<\/p>\n