LOS ANGELES, Jan 31 — Ariana Grande knows how to spin a moment. 

When a fan reposted what looked like a botched image from her Vogue Japan photoshoot — a glam shot mysteriously giving her six fingers — the internet did what it does best: zoomed in, speculated wildly, and turned it into a micro-meme.

The fan demanded to know “who’s responsible for giving Ariana 6 fingers….” and Grande, clocking the chaos in real time, slid into the comments with a simple, iconic: “Holy shit.”

Then she went full Ari-humour, adding: “Oh my goodness how exciting! I’ve been saying I need some extra appendages so that I can start an album! Thankful for this.” 

Vogue Japan has since corrected the editing error on its site, but by then, the screenshot had already done the rounds.

But inside the cover story itself, Grande lets the glossy veneer fall away. 

She speaks with the kind of emotional clarity fans recognise instantly — the soft honesty she brings to songs like ghostin and imperfect for you now spilling into public reflection.

“I feel like there have been a lot of times when I've been doing my best work creatively, and yet my celebrity has been louder than the work,” she says in the profile, reportedly with tears in her eyes. 

She credits her mother, Joan Grande, for being the constant anchor in the noise: “My mom has always been here to set the record straight in my head and remind me of my worth as an artist and as a human being every time that noise has almost derailed me.”

And then there’s Marjorie — Nonna — who passed away at 99 in 2025. 

Ariana says she tries “to channel her strength always,” even carrying two of her grandmother’s lip balms with her so she has “a little bit of her with me.” 

The most striking shift, though, is how she describes this phase of her career — post-Wicked, deep into the Eternal Sunshine moment — as the first time she truly feels recognised for her craft.

“I feel like it's the first time in my career — between Wicked and Eternal Sunshine — when I really feel seen for my work and as an artist.”

She didn’t end up landing an Oscar nomination for Wicked: For Good — despite the internet’s loudest hopes — but she says she was moved just to be in the conversation. 

“Never in my life did I expect to be an Oscar-nominated actress. I just never thought I’d be seen that way by the industry that I love. I give my life to art every minute of every day,” she said.

Sharing that recognition with her mom, she adds, was “so extraordinary.”

For fans, the ‘six-finger’ glitch is already a throwaway meme. But the interview behind it? 

That lands differently — a reminder that beneath the vocals, the eyeliner and the extremes of fame, Ariana Grande is an artist desperate to be understood on her own terms… even if the internet occasionally gives her an extra hand.