United News of Bangladesh

Ariana Grande is showing a quieter side on her latest album “Petal,” stepping away from the powerful vocal performances that have long defined her music. Her eighth studio album and first full-length release since the end of her “Wicked” run and 2024’s “Eternal Sunshine,” “Petal” features 12 tracks that see the pop star taking a more inward and controlled approach. The change is clear from the lead single “Hate That I Made You Love Me.” With its smooth hook and understated vocals, the song offers an early glimpse of the album’s new direction. It became Grande’s 10th No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Rather than relying on her trademark vocal power, Grande delivers the song in a softer style, allowing the bubbling synths and gentle pop arrangement to take center stage. The track was produced with Ilya Salmanzadeh, who has worked with Grande since 2018’s “Sweetener,” and Swedish hitmaker Max Martin. For an artist famous for effortlessly hitting big notes, the restrained performance feels almost like an experiment. But it works, giving the song an easy, relaxed quality. That sense of effortlessness runs through much of “Petal.” On “Oh Well,” upbeat production contrasts with lyrics that deliver a clear message of moving on from a troubled relationship. “Petal” also offers a range of musical textures, though most of them are cooler and more laid-back than what listeners may expect from Grande. The album occasionally comes close to sounding carefree, but it still maintains the charm associated with her music. The record carries a moody R&B feel, with some of its smoothness reminiscent of SZA. “Freak” feels more like a dream—or perhaps a nightmare—with hazy layers of vocals creating an intimate and slightly mysterious atmosphere. Grande largely avoids the elaborate vocal runs and huge vocal moments that have become her trademark. Instead, she embraces a more controlled style. While the change shows artistic growth, some longtime fans may wonder whether the subtle approach will keep them fully engaged. The album becomes more energetic in its final third. Grande brings back some of her more dynamic style on “Like I Do,” particularly over its heavy bass, while “Never Get Over Me” builds slowly around the line, “The grass is way greener / Since I been beneath ya.” “Bad Thing (Bunny Hop)” is one of the album’s strongest moments. It captures the excitement of a new crush through dreamy guitars, a driving beat and playful lyrics. Grande’s distinctive way of shaping her words adds to the song’s appeal. The album closes with “Nowhere, Nobody,” which combines a retro-style vocal melody with vocoder effects. In promotional material for “Petal,” Grande described the album as something “full of life and growing through the cracks” of something difficult and challenging. That idea fits the record to some extent. Its 12 songs find moments of happiness beneath atmospheric production and subdued melodies. More importantly, “Petal” shows what happens when one of pop’s most powerful vocalists deliberately chooses to hold back. Rather than trying to prove what her voice can do, Grande seems more interested in exploring what it can say when she turns down the volume.

Pop star and actress Ariana Grande has officially launched the Brighter Days Ahead Foundation, bringing her years of private charitable giving under one public initiative focused on LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive health, immigrant rights and mental health. The foundation, launched in May, builds on Grande's long history of supporting these causes through donations and fundraising efforts. In the past, she quietly donated to England's Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, gave concert proceeds to nonprofit organisations, funded a holiday gift drive for transgender youth and launched a $3 million fundraising campaign for transgender young people in 2022. According to Grande's philanthropic adviser Shauna Nep, the foundation comes at a time when financial support for many of these causes is declining while political and social opposition is increasing. This summer, Grande is using her Eternal Sunshine Tour to raise awareness and funds for the foundation. At each concert, national and local nonprofit organisations are featured on arena screens before the show, while fans who donate are entered into a sweepstakes to win a trip to her final tour performance in London. Tour proceeds will eventually be shared among local nonprofit groups, although grants announced so far have been funded directly by Grande herself, a foundation spokesperson said. Like many entertainers before her, Grande is turning her public influence into organised philanthropy. Experts say social media now gives celebrities greater ability to promote charitable causes directly to millions of followers, making fundraising and advocacy more effective than in previous generations. One of the organisations supported by the foundation is Trans Lifeline, a crisis hotline for transgender people. The nonprofit has received $125,000 from Grande, including emergency funding last year and an additional grant when the foundation launched. The funding helped restart a microgrant programme that distributed $100,000 directly to transgender people across the United States through grassroots organisations. It also supported improved benefits for the group's crisis hotline workers. Trans Lifeline Executive Director Dante Alviar Horton said celebrity backing has increased the organisation's visibility and helped attract more public support. Grande had reportedly resisted creating a formal foundation for years because she did not want her charitable work to be viewed as image-building. However, Nep said a structured foundation would allow her to support nonprofit organisations more strategically and work with other funding partners. The Brighter Days Ahead Foundation operates as a fiscally sponsored project of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a long-established public charity that helps celebrities create charitable initiatives. Its largest funding programme, Protect and Defend, supports organisations working on legal and policy issues affecting transgender youth, immigrants and reproductive rights. Many of the grassroots groups receiving grants have limited access to government or institutional funding. Grande has publicly supported these issues for years. In 2019, she donated about $250,000 in concert proceeds to Planned Parenthood after several US states introduced abortion restrictions. She has also spoken openly about living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression, voiced support for LGBTQ+ communities and criticised the Trump administration's immigration policies. Experts say her approach follows the example of celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Elton John, who established major charitable foundations after becoming deeply involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Anne Aslett, CEO of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, said successful celebrity philanthropy requires more than public support for a cause. While artists often bring empathy and public attention, she said, lasting impact depends on having a strong organisational structure behind their charitable work.

Fasten your seatbelts, fashion fans! With some of Hollywood's most fashion-forward stars up for awards this year, it's going to be an eventful season. And the Golden Globes gets it all started, with stars (and their stylists) marking their territory at one of Hollywood's splashiest events. Big this year: lots of sparkle and shine. Here are some of the looks catching attention Sunday at the Golden Globes: Ariana Grande: From Glinda pink to Hepburn yellow She didn't wear pink, the favored color of Glinda the Good. But “Wicked” star Grande evoked another Ozian color — yellow (of the yellow brick road, of course) in Givenchy haute couture. The gown was in pale silk with a hand-beaded bodice, a vintage 1966 gown from what the designer calls the Audrey Hepburn era of Givenchy. She wore a Swarovski choker and white opera gloves. Mikey Madison: New movie star, new fashion star Few red-carpet arrivals were more anticipated than that of Mikey Madison, the breakout “Anora” star who's been making waves in the fashion world, too, this season. Madison wore a shiny gold, strapless column gown from Bottega Veneta that emphasized her much-discussed fashion transformation into classic movie-star glamour. Cate Blanchett: Glistening in gold Actor Blanchett looked like an awards statue come to life in a glistening gold gown with a ruched top by Louis Vuitton — one that she also wore at the Cannes Film Festival. New gold stones were added to the gown, designed by Nicholas Ghesquière, to freshen the look. Nicole Kidman: Sparkling in silver Where Blanchett glistened in gold, Kidman sparkled in silver, in a daring, one-shoulder backless Balenciaga gown. The “Babygirl” star polished off the look with a chic, voluminous half-ponytail. Ali Wong: Fiery in red Actor-comedian Wong wasn’t easy to miss on the carpet: She wore a cascading gown of bright fire-engine red tulle. The grand Balenciaga number was accessorized with a satin belt and glamorous black spandex opera gloves, almost up to the shoulder. Hania Aamir describes India and Pakistan as ‘distant cousins’ Zoë Kravitz: Old-school glamour, a pink bow The “Don’t Blink Twice” director went traditional with a black velvet Saint Laurent gown featuring a plunging neckline, with a sweet pastel pink silk bow around her waist. She was a favorite of Kevin Hyunh, InStyle’s fashion director, who said he loved how she “channeled old-school Hollywood glamour.” Timothée Chalamet: No wool beanie here Globes host Nikki Glaser zeroed right in on Chalamet, one of the hottest stars in Hollywood, in her monologue, telling him: “You have the most gorgeous eyelashes on your upper lip.” As for the clothes on his body, Chalamet went more traditional than other recent trips to the carpet, wearing a sleek Tom Ford black suit with embellished jacket, a white shirt and a blue scarf tossed around his neck (or was it a tie?) No wool beanie like in the Dylan-inspired look he wore to the New York premiere of his film, “A Complete Unknown.” Kerry Washington: Opera gloves are a thing Those opera gloves are really a thing this year: Also wearing them was actor Washington, who sported a neon pink silk taffeta gown, also from Balenciaga, with a train – the combo providing “a bit of edgy glamour, Hyunh said. Armeen Musa and Ghaashphoring Choir boycott tobacco sponsorships Tyler James Williams: Schooling the masses in fashion Williams, of “Abbott Elementary,” is never safe or boring on the carpet. On Sunday he sported a gray pinstripe suit with cropped, double-breasted jacket with dramatic shoulder pads and a bare chest peeking out, over loose trousers. Quinta Brunson: Sequins to spare WIlliams’ colleague, “Abbott Elementary” creator and star Quinta Bronson, looked sleek in a heavily embellished custom Roberto Cavalli gown. Hyunh called the color, chocolate brown, “the color of the season.” Glen Powell: A (fashion) hitman in Armani Powell eschewed the tie and instead channeled casual glamour in an open-necked brown shirt and black velvet jacket, by Giorgio Armani.