Ariana Grande is reportedly gearing up to return to her first love—music. The Grammy winner is doing so as she continues to navigate her complicated involvement in the forthcoming Wicked film adaptations, which are on a long pause…one which might not end for a while.

Sources revealed to the New York Post that Grande has been working on new music while in New York City. The article states that she was hoping not to record again until she’d finished the two Wicked movies, as she wanted those to be her priority. That changed when two strikes—one focusing on writers in Hollywood, which ended recently, and the other for actors, which is still ongoing—stopped the business dead in its tracks.

Over: Filming for the new Wicked film starring Ariana Grande will not continue despite union SAG-AFTRA reaching a tentative agreement for a new three-year deal with studios (Arianna pictured on set in April 2023)

The two strikes have kept many productions halted for months, and at the moment, there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight for actors. With such a lengthy break continuing for the foreseeable future, Wicked can’t finish filming. It makes sense, them, that Grande would want to take advantage of this newfound free time and do what she can to further her career.

According to the report, Grande is back in the studio with pop hitmaker Max Martin. The two worked together on several of her albums, and the pair have produced smash singles like “Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored,” “God is a Woman” and “No Tears Left to Cry,” among others.

Watch: Ariana Grande seen on set of 'Wicked' movie for first time - NZ Herald

Grande hasn’t released an album in three years, which is a long break for her. Her most recent collection of new material, Positions, became another No. 1 in 2020 when it arrived. The set also produced the chart-topping single of the same name. Since then, she has largely been busy rehearsing for and filming the two Wicked films.

For now, there is no timeline for Grande to release new music. She has reportedly just started working on the material, and she will likely not want to mix up her promotional plans, as she’ll need to do a lot of work when it comes to pushing Wicked. But, as stated, there’s no word on when the movie will be able to finish shooting, so when she can drop music is also up in the air at the moment.