Ariana Grande

Who is Ariana Grande?

Ariana Grande is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She was born on June 26 1993 in Florida. She began singing on cruise ships, at sports games and with orchestras in her home state. Her acting career began in 2008 with a role in the Broadway musical 13. From 2010-2013 she acted in the Nickelodeon teen sitcom Victorious, and from 2013-2014 she reprised her role as Cat Valentine in its spinoff Sam & Cat. She has since had roles in Family Guy, Scream Queens and Hairspray Live! 

Grande first released music on the soundtrack for Victorious in 2011, after which she signed a deal with Republic Records. Her debut album ‘Yours Truly’ was released on August 30, 2013, and was recorded with a host of producers including her and Justin Bieber’s manager Scott “Scooter” Braun, Harmony Samuels and Leon Thomas III. Grande has said the album was inspired by artists like Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera and Whitney Houston. It reached Number Seven in the Official Albums Chart in the UK, while it entered the US Billboard 200 at Number One.

The singer released her second album ‘My Everything’ on August 25 2014. The album sold 169,000 copies in the first week and charted at the top of the Billboard 200. Cashmere Cat, Benny Blanco and Zedd contributed production to the record, amongst others. She has also collaborated with Chris Brown on his single ‘Don’t Be Gone Too Long’ and Nicki Minaj and Jessie J on the song, ‘Bang Bang’.

In 2015, Ariana wrote a celebrated essay that tackled sexism in the media, in which she said that she was “tired of living in a world where women are mostly referred to as a man’s past, present or future”. In December 2015 she released a festive EP called ‘Christmas & Chill’. Grande’s talent for impressions became widely known after notable performances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2015 and on Saturday Night Live in 2016.

In May 2016, Grande released her third studio album, ‘Dangerous Woman’. The album reached Number One in the UK, where it is certified Gold, and Number Two in the USA, where it is certified Platinum. A number of its tracks were produced in part by Swedish super-producer Max Martin. The eponymous lead single reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, while follow-up single ‘Into You’ reached number 13. ‘Side to Side’, featuring Nicki Minaj, reached Number Four in both the UK and the USA. Grande and John Legend teamed up to record a new version of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ for the 2017 Disney film.

Grande has more than 43 million Twitter followers and has been nominated for four Grammy Awards.