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Ariana Grande opens up about Manchester bombing: 'It's still very painful'

2:55
Ariana Grande back in Manchester ahead of her charity concert
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images, FILE
ByAndrea Dresdale
May 18, 2018, 2:38 PM

Ariana Grande couldn't hold back her tears when reflecting on her Manchester, England, concert that became the target for a terrorist bombing, killing 22 people.

“There are so many people who have suffered such loss and pain," Grande, 24, told Time magazine, sobbing. "The processing part is going to take forever.”

Police believe 23-year-old suicide bomber Salman Abedi planned the May 22 attack with several others, targeting Manchester Arena, one of Europe's largest. More than 100 others were also injured that day.

Ariana Grande performs during the "March for Our Lives" rally in support of gun control in Washington, D.C., March 24, 2018.
Andrew Harnik/AP, file

The "No Tears Left to Cry" singer told the magazine she doesn't really want to discuss the attack because she doesn't want to "give it that much power...something so negative. It’s the absolute worst of humanity."

"That’s why I did my best to react the way I did," Grande said. "The last thing I would ever want is for my fans to see something like that happen and think it won. Music is supposed to be the safest thing in the world. I think that’s why it’s still so heavy on my heart every single day.”

"I wish there was more that I could fix," she added. "You think with time it’ll become easier to talk about. Or you’ll make peace with it. But every day I wait for that peace to come and it’s still very painful.”

Ariana Grande, left and Vera Wang attend The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala, May 7, 2018, in New York.
Evan Agostini/Invision via AP, file

But that doesn't mean Grande has let the incident negatively affect her music. Her single, "No Tears Left to Cry," is joyful because "when I started to take care of myself more, then came balance, and freedom, and joy,” she told the magazine.

She went on, “We’ve messed with the idea of not being able to find the ground again because I feel like I’m finally landing back on my feet now.”

Related Topics

  • Manchester

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