Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande, born Ariana Grande-Butera on June 26, 1993, is an American actress and pop singer from Boca Raton, Florida. As a child, she appeared in many plays, but her breakthrough in R&B came when she was cast as a cheerleader in the Broadway musical 13, where she won a National Youth Theatre Association Award for her performance.

Shortly after, she secured a role in the popular Nickelodeon TV series, Victorious, which helped her become a teen idol with a character described as “very impressionable and easily swayed” yet “generally sweet.” It was during this time that she began to attract a fan base and released songs promoting the show, like “Put Your Hearts Up.”

Grande had to wait until August 2012 for the cancellation of Victorious before prioritizing her music career. She then released her debut album, Yours Truly, which took three years to create. Completed in June 2013, the album was released on August 19, 2013. It debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart in September 2013, with 138,000 copies sold in the first week, making Grande the first female artist since Ke$ha to reach the top charts with a debut album.

Ariana Grande launched her second studio album, My Everything, on August 25, 2014, which sold 166,000 copies in the first week, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. “The Honeymoon Tour” started in February 2015 to promote the album further.

On October 30, 2015, Grande released “Focus,” initially intended as the lead single for her third album but ultimately was replaced by the album’s title track. It appeared on the Japanese edition of the album. Her album Dangerous Woman was released on May 20, 2016, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart, with 129,000 copies sold in the first week, marking her first album not debuting at No. 1.

Ariana began her second tour, the “Dangerous Woman Tour,” on February 3, 2017, promoting the album. Her concert on May 22, 2017, at Manchester Arena was tragically disrupted by a terrorist bombing, resulting in 22 casualties and nearly 800 injuries. In response, Grande organized the One Love Manchester benefit concert in June 2017 to support victims and their families.

Over a year later, her fourth studio album, Sweetener, released on August 17, 2018, became her third No. 1 album and earned her first GRAMMY award for “Best Pop Vocal Album.”

On February 8, 2019, six months after Sweetener, she released her fifth studio album, thank u, next, featuring the Billboard No. 1 hits “7 Rings” and “thank u, next,” and the top five hit, “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored.” The album explored themes of female empowerment, self-doubt, trauma, failed relationships, and some braggadocio.

Later that year, Grande co-executive produced the Charlie’s Angels Official Soundtrack, released on November 1, 2019, featuring collaborations with Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey, Chaka Khan, among others.

On her Sweetener World Tour’s last day, December 22, 2019, Grande released her sixth album, k bye for now. This was her first live album, featuring live versions of the original tracks from Sweetener.

During the lockdown on May 8, 2020, she released “Stuck with U” in collaboration with Justin Bieber, aimed at funding assistance for children of frontline workers during the pandemic. The track reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming her third and Justin's sixth No. 1 single in the US. She was featured on “Rain on Me” with Lady Gaga, released on May 22, 2020, which became the most nominated song at the 2020 MTV VMAs with seven nominations.

Her single “positions” was released on October 23, 2020, from her sixth studio album of the same name released on October 30, 2020. The album featured collaborations with artists like Doja Cat, The Weeknd, and Ty Dolla $ign.

On January 12, 2024, Grande released “yes, and?”, her first solo single in four years. Shortly after, she announced her sixth studio album eternal sunshine, released on March 8, 2024. Initially, she had no plans to release an album until completing recording for the two parts of the upcoming movie Wicked, where she stars as Glinda. However, due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike halting its production, she returned to the US and started recording with Max Martin and ILYA.