The star told fans at her Chicago show on Monday that "boundaries need to be set".

Ariana Grande has spoken for the first time since her publicist announced over the weekend that the singer would be "taking a step back from visibility" once her current tour ends next month. Grande returned to the stage on Monday evening in Chicago for another stop on her Eternal Sunshine Tour, telling fans, external: "The announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing. It is something that I had decided to plan... quietly, a long time ago." Speaking at the first of a three-night run at the city's United Center, Grande said: "I heard my fans were worried negativity was ruining things for me but... that could not be more than the opposite. Reading from some notes she said she had made as "she didn't want to get nervous and forget", Grande said the "decision was made from a thoughtful and empowered place." The singer told the crowd: "No matter what noises exist out there, nothing will ever be able to distort my reality, or be more real to me than this love that we share. "I love you, this is what I want always... the rest of that [stuff] is not mine to carry." The singer's mother Joan also posted her support for Grande on Instagram, commenting on her latest music video: "You are magnificent… and this video is incredible!! I love it and I love you more!!!" Grande, pictured at the Oscars in March, plays 10 nights in London before her current tour concludes