Ariana Grande Confirms That She's Been Working On New Music & Yes, Please

Just in time for the holidays, Ariana Grande is working on new music — and she has the photos to prove it. It comes as a surprise considering she's been less active on Twitter and Instagram lately, which could be seen as an attempt to maintain some privacy after her turbulent year. As it turns out, though, she may have been hard at work without anyone knowing it. As People reports, a fan site posted what they believed to be an image of Grande working in the studio. Nothing gets past her, though. The singer took a screen grab of that picture and commented, “I’m pretty sure dis is very old or fake,” in her Instagram story. “If u wanted confirmation that I’ve been workin why didn’t you just ask?”

And then in response to the grainy fake photo posted to a fan site, the singer posted two pictures to her Instagram that tell the real story. It looks like Grande really is working on new music, and she's more involved than ever before. In the moody photos, fans can see her possibly in the editing bay. She has a high ponytail, of course, and some iced beverage next to her. The photos don't look staged; she appears to be deep in concentration on whatever she's adjusting on the monitors.

Of course, this isn't the first time that the singer has talked about her fourth album. Back in November 2016, she said via Snapchat:

"Oh yeah, and I’m almost done with an album... which is pretty crazy. I didn’t mean to make an album, and I don’t know if it’s done at all, but I just have a bunch of songs that I really like. I’ve just been working and creating and inspired."

And, in July 2017, Teen Vogue reported that Pharrell Williams was working with Grande on the album; the two artists previously did "Heatstroke" together and, when speaking about the upcoming fourth Grande album, Williams described it as "amazing." But the singer has dealt with a lot in the past year.

After the tragic bombing that took place during her June 4 concert in Manchester, U.K., Grande has rebounded. She visited injured fans in the hospital, organized a massive benefit concert in the same city, and returned to the stage without fear — at least on the surface. The singer has given so much back to her fans, including those directly hurt by the attack and those affected in its wake.

Eventually after Manchester, the singer finished her Dangerous Woman tour, continuing to play major arenas worldwide until the tour wrapped on September 21. The pictures she posted in her Instagram story are the first sign that's she's been working on new music since.

Despite the year she's had, Ariana Grande is still the goofball fans know and love. She dyed her iconic ponytail silver — not gray, but shimmery unicorn silver — and updated her special emojis to reflect it. The singer played around with Snapchat filters, showered off boyfriend Mac Miller on Instagram, and rocked a spectacular Zoolander costume for Halloween. Grande's able to continue working and living her life, which can't be easy but it is admirable. It's a message to fans, too: You can do this. You'll get through this. You can keep going.

While it's unclear what Grande's new album will be about, it wouldn't be too wild to guess it will incorporate references to the attack, the inspiring way celebrities came together afterwards, and the support she's received as she continued her tour. Her fans — Arianators, if you will — love her to pieces, and appreciate everything she's done before and since.