Cynthia Erivo Teases Second Album With Help From Ariana Grande

In a new cover story for Vanity Fair, Tony award winner and Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter and Wicked star Cynthia Erivo has revealed that she is recording new music. This will be her first new album since her debut recording Ch. 1 Vs. 1 in 2021.

"The last time I made an album, we were in the pandemic, so we were basically doing it over Zoom,” Erivo said to Vanity Fair. “I was trying to put something together that had to come from me—and I was with the wrong people.”

She credits her friend and Wicked co-star Ariana Grande for providing her with the tools and space to cultivate a more honest direction for her latest music, which more closely aligns with her own vision of what she hoped to make. Grande also helped with production on some of the album's songs which Erivo says are "voice-focused."

"...As someone who’s found it really hard to navigate the music industry, just watching her manage it at the same time as doing this project was really inspiring," Erivo explained of Grande. The release date for the album has not yet been announced.

Erivo made her Broadway debut reprising her starring role as 'Celie' in the critically acclaimed revival of "The Color Purple." She first played the role in 2013 at London's Menier Chocolate Factory and her performance on Broadway earned her several awards, including the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical. Erivo is also a two-time Academy Award nominee for her leading performance and original song for the film Harriet. She will next be seen as Elphaba in the highly-anticipated Wicked movie.