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Ariana Grande Debuts New Character in Teaser for ‘Petal’ Visual Ahead of Album: ‘Hello, I’m Pepper’
Ariana Grande has revealed a new alter ego named Pepper in a teaser for a visual accompanying her forthcoming album Petal, due for release on Friday 31 July. The retro-styled, black-and-white clip shows Grande, as Pepper, attending an audition and being brushed off by a receptionist, though the teaser does not reveal what the audition is for. It follows the pattern set by her previous album Eternal Sunshine, for which she created a similar character-driven cinematic universe.
The teaser, posted on Tuesday 28 July, notes it was "shot entirely on VistaVision", a widescreen format associated with 1950s films, suggesting a music video or short film is imminent. For Eternal Sunshine, which topped the Billboard 200 for three weeks after its 2024 release, Grande played a character called Peaches across several music videos and a short film, referencing the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. So far only one Petal track has surfaced, "Hate That I Made You Love Me", which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and features nightly on her ongoing Eternal Sunshine Tour, currently between stops in Boston and Montreal.
In short
- Ariana Grande unveils new character Pepper ahead of Petal album
- Teaser shows a black-and-white audition scene, shot on VistaVision
- Petal album and accompanying visual arrive Friday, 31 July
Explained simply
Ariana Grande is one of the world's biggest pop musicians. She is releasing a new album called Petal on Friday 31 July and is promoting it by creating fictional characters and coordinated music videos, rather than releasing individual songs in the traditional way.
For her previous album Eternal Sunshine, released in 2024, Grande created a character called Peaches and made multiple music videos and a short film around that character. The album was commercially successful and her fans responded enthusiastically to this approach. She is now doing the same for Petal, introducing a new character named Pepper in a retro-styled teaser video.
This approach has become part of Grande's recent releases and gives her fans a story to follow alongside the music. Her audience clearly enjoys this creative way of presenting her work, as shown by Eternal Sunshine's success.