After years of sporting her signature high ponytail, Ariana Grande just let her hair down for the cover of British Vogue.
The “Dangerous Woman” singer shared the new cover image (and a few others from the issue) on Instagram Monday morning, and she looks almost unrecognizable.
Have a look for yourself:
Of course, we’ve seen Grande with her hair down before, but only for brief spurts, most notably in her early days of Nickelodeon fame, then later during her “Problem” era and again for a period in 2017. More recently we saw a glimpse of change in the video for her latest single, “No Tears Left to Cry,” in which Grande’s platinum locks were styled in a simple low ponytail.
Grande has spoken candidly about her hair (and hair damage from constant dyeing during her time on “Sam & Cat”). In 2014, after she was facing criticism about always wearing the same hairstyle, she wrote on Instagram:
“As annoying as it is for y’all to have to look at the same hairstyle all the time, it’s all that works for now (and I’m comfortable for the first time in years). And trust me, it’s even more difficult for me to have to wait forever for my natural hair to grow back and to have to wear more fake hair than every drag queen on earth combined. So PLEASE gimme a break about the hair (or just don’t look at me lol). IT’S JUST HAIR AFTER ALL.”
The singer loves her ponytails, though. She even raved about the hairstyle in a separate interview with Byrdie in 2016.
“It’s how I’ve always liked my hair,” she said. “I never expected it to become such a thing. This is what makes me comfortable, and I feel like there’s a thousand different ways to do a ponytail. A million!”
“It brings me so much joy, honestly,” she continued. “Every time I put my hair up, it’s like a surprise. Like, I forget how much I love it, and then I tie it back and I’m like, ‘I love this look! Ooh, girl!’ Every time I tie it up is like the first time. It’s like true love.”
There’s nothing wrong with a signature hairstyle (shoutout to Anna Wintour!), and Grande has clearly found hers. But she’s tried a few variations through the years. Check out all the eras of the pop star’s hair below:
