Ariana Grande is back in a long ponytail. The 32-year-old singer shared a new Instagram photo from a dance studio ahead of the Eternal Sunshine tour, showing the style in a looser, lower version than the high look she has made famous.
Grande wrote, “i love this long (not high) pony @alyxliu sm and you.” Hairstylist Alyx Liu answered, “LOVE this long (not high) pony!!!!” and Grande replied, “gigglllliiiing.”
The photo lands after a run of hair changes that has kept Grande’s look in motion. She most recently showed off her natural curls in a March 4 beauty video, after returning to her natural brunette color following three years in Wicked character Glinda’s bright blonde tresses. Last October, she shared a mirror selfie of her fresh brown strands, a reset that marked a clear break from the character she had worn for the role.
Grande has talked about that shift before. On Jan. 13, during The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, she said Malcolm McCormack encouraged her to be herself and to embrace her brown hair, instead of staying tied to the Cat Valentine image that followed her from television to music.
That backdrop gives the new ponytail a little more weight than a simple style change. Grande has switched up her hairstyles throughout her career, and her high, tight ponytail remains one of her most recognizable looks. This version keeps the familiar silhouette but softens it, arriving just as she has announced Petal, her eighth studio album, due July 31. The tour prep, the album rollout and the return to a looser, longer pony all point the same way: Grande is still changing shape, but on her own terms.
What she is leaving behind is as telling as what she is wearing now. After three years of Glinda blonde, she is back to brown, back to curls when she wants them, and now back to a ponytail that nods to the old Ariana Grande without repeating it. The next public step is Petal on July 31, and the image she is pairing with it is clear enough already.
