Ariana Grande

2008–2013: Career beginnings and Nickelodeon

When she first arrived in Los Angeles, California, to meet with her managers, she expressed a desire to record an R&B album: "I was like, 'I want to make an R&B album,' They were like 'Um, that's a helluva goal! Who is going to buy a 14-year-old's R&B album?!'"[5] In 2008, Grande was cast as cheerleader Charlotte in the Broadway musical 13.[15][16]

Grande was cast in the Nickelodeon television show Victorious along with 13 co-star Elizabeth Gillies in 2009.[17] In the sitcom, set at a performing arts high school, she played the "adorably dimwitted" Cat Valentine.[6][17] She had to dye her hair red every other week for the role, which damaged it.[18] The show premiered in March 2010 to the second-largest audience for a live-action series in Nickelodeon, with 5.7 million viewers.[19][20] The role helped propel Grande to teen idol status, but she was more interested in a music career, saying that acting is "fun, but music has always been first and foremost with me."[21]

After the first season of Victorious wrapped, Grande wanted to focus on her music career and began working on her debut album in August 2010.[22] The second season premiered in April 2011 to 6.2 million viewers, becoming the show's highest-rated episode.[23] In May 2011, Grande appeared in Greyson Chance's video for the song "Unfriend You" from his album Hold On 'til the Night (2011), portraying his ex-girlfriend. She made her first musical appearance on the track "Give It Up" from the Victorious soundtrack in August 2011. While filming Victorious, Grande made several recordings of herself singing covers of songs by Adele, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, and uploaded them to YouTube.[24] A friend of Monte Lipman, chief executive officer (CEO) of Republic Records, came across one of the videos. Impressed by her vocals, he sent the links to Lipman, who signed her to a recording contract.[5] Grande voiced the title role in the English dub of the Spanish-language animated film Snowflake, the White Gorilla in November 2011.[25][26] From 2011 to 2013, she was cast in the role of fairy Princess Diaspro in the Nickelodeon revival of Winx Club.[27]

In December 2011, Grande released her first single, "Put Your Hearts Up", which was recorded for a potential teen-oriented pop album that was never issued. She later disowned the track for its bubblegum pop sound, saying she had no interest in recording music of that genre.[2] The song was later certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[28] On a second soundtrack, Victorious 2.0, released on June 5, 2012, as an extended play, she supplied vocals as part of the show's cast for the song "5 Fingaz to the Face".[29] The third and final soundtrack, Victorious 3.0, was released on November 6, 2012, which featured a duet by Grande and Victoria Justice titled "L.A. Boyz", with an accompanying music video being released shortly after.[30] In December 2012, Grande collaborated on the single version of "Popular Song", a duet with British singer and songwriter Mika.[31]

After four seasons, Victorious was not renewed,[32] with the finale airing in February 2013. Grande starred as Snow White in the pantomime-style musical theatre production A Snow White Christmas with Charlene Tilton and Neil Patrick Harris at the Pasadena Playhouse.[33] She played Amanda Benson in Swindle, a 2013 Nickelodeon film adaptation of the children's book of the same name.[26][34] Meanwhile, Nickelodeon created Sam & Cat, an iCarly and Victorious spin-off starring Jennette McCurdy and Grande.[35] Grande and McCurdy reprised their roles as Cat Valentine and Sam Puckett on the buddy sitcom, which paired the characters as roommates who form an after-school babysitting business.[36]

2013–2015: Yours Truly and My Everything

Grande released her debut album, Yours Truly, on August 30, 2013.[37] A pop and R&B record influenced by 1950s doo-wop, Yours Truly debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, with 138,000 copies sold in its first week.[38][39][40] Yours Truly also debuted in the top ten in several other countries, including Australia,[41] the UK,[42] Ireland,[43] and the Netherlands.[44] Its lead single, "The Way", featuring Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller, debuted at number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100,[45] eventually peaking at number nine for two weeks.[46] Grande was later sued by Minder Music for copying the line "What we gotta do right here is go back, back in time" from the 1972 song "Troglodyte (Cave Man)" by The Jimmy Castor Bunch.[47] The album's second single, "Baby I", was released in July.[48] Its third single, "Right There", featuring Detroit rapper Big Sean, was released in August 2013.[49] They respectively peaked at number 21 and 84 on the Billboard Hot 100.[50]

Grande recorded the duet "Almost Is Never Enough" with Nathan Sykes of The Wanted, which was released as a promotional single in August 2013. She also joined Justin Bieber on his Believe Tour for three shows and kicked off her own headlining mini-tour, The Listening Sessions.[51] At the 2013 American Music Awards, she won the award for New Artist of the Year.[52][53] She released a four-song Christmas EP, Christmas Kisses in December 2013.[54] Grande received the Breakthrough Artist of the Year award from the Music Business Association, recognizing her achievements throughout 2013.[55] By January 2014, Grande had begun recording her second studio album, with singer-songwriter Ryan Tedder and record producers Benny Blanco and Max Martin.[56] The same month, she earned the Favorite Breakout Artist award at the People's Choice Awards 2014.[55] In March 2014, Grande sang at the White House concert, "Women of Soul: In Performance at the White House".[57] The following month, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama invited Grande again to perform at the White House for the Easter Egg Roll event.[58]

Grande released her second studio album My Everything on August 25, 2014; it debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 169,000 copies and received generally positive reviews.[59][60] She explored EDM, dance-pop, and electro genres on the album.[61] Its lead single, "Problem" featuring Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100,[62] and became Grande's first number-one on the UK and New Zealand singles charts.[63][64] Selling 438,000 digital copies in its opening week, it achieved the highest first-week sales numbers of 2014[65] and made Grande the youngest woman, at 20 years old, to debut with over 400,000 downloads at the time.[66] "Problem" became 2014's eighth-best-selling digital single globally, with over 9 million copies sold, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).[67] The album's second single, "Break Free", featuring German musician and producer Zedd,[68] was released on July 3 and reached number four in the United States.[69] She performed the song as the opening of the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, and won Best Pop Video for "Problem".[70] Grande and Nicki Minaj provided guest vocals on "Bang Bang", the lead single from Jessie J's album Sweet Talker,[71] which peaked at number one in the UK and at number three in the US.[69] The song was added to the deluxe version of My Everything, serving as the third single from the album.[72] It was certified diamond by the RIAA in May 2024, for selling over 10 million units in the US; it marked the first all-female collaboration to achieve the certification.[73] With the singles "Problem", "Break Free", and "Bang Bang", Grande became the second female artist in chart history, joining Adele, with three top-ten singles simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist.[69]

Grande was the musical performer on Saturday Night Live, with Chris Pratt as the host on September 27, 2014.[74] That same month, the fourth single from My Everything, "Love Me Harder", featuring Canadian recording artist the Weeknd, was released and peaked at number seven in the United States.[75] In November 2014, Grande was featured in Major Lazer's song "All My Love" from the soundtrack album for the film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014).[76] Later that month, Grande released the Christmas song "Santa Tell Me" as a single from the reissue of her first Christmas EP, Christmas Kisses (2014).[77] The track became a modern Christmas standard, significantly rising in popularity on streaming services during the holiday season every year.[78] A decade after its release, it reached number five on the Hot 100 issue dated January 4, 2025—being the first Christmas song released in the 21st century to appear in the chart's top-five region.[79][80] The following month, she appeared on Nicki Minaj's third album The Pinkprint, with the song "Get on Your Knees". She later released the fifth and the final single from My Everything, "One Last Time", which peaked at number 13 in the US.[81]

In February 2015, Grande embarked on her first worldwide concert tour, The Honeymoon Tour, to further promote My Everything, with shows in North America, Europe, Asia and South America.[82] Grande was featured on Cashmere Cat's song "Adore", which was released in March 2015.[83] In the spring, she signed an exclusive publishing contract with the Universal Music Publishing Group, covering her entire music catalog.[84] Grande also filmed an episode for the Fox Broadcasting Company reality TV series Knock Knock Live (2015),[85] but the show was canceled before her episode aired.[86] She also guest-starred on several episodes of the Fox comedy-horror television series Scream Queens as Sonya Herfmann/Chanel #2 from September to November 2015.[87] She recorded the duet "E Più Ti Penso" with Italian recording artist Andrea Bocelli, which was released in October 2015 as the lead single from Bocelli's album Cinema (2015),[88] and covered the song "Zero to Hero", originally from the animated film Hercules (1997), for the compilation album We Love Disney (2015).[89] Grande also released her second Christmas EP, Christmas & Chill in December 2015.[90]

2015–2018: Dangerous Woman and Sweetener

Grande began recording songs for her third studio album, Dangerous Woman, originally titled Moonlight, in 2015.[91] In October of that year, she released the single "Focus", initially intended as the lead single from the album; the song debuted at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.[92] The next month American singer Who Is Fancy released the single "Boys Like You", which features Ariana Grande and Meghan Trainor.[93] She was featured in the remix version of "Over and Over Again", a song by English singer Nathan Sykes from his solo debut studio album Unfinished Business, which was released in January 2016.[94] In March 2016, Grande released "Dangerous Woman" as the lead single from the retitled album of the same name.[95][96] The single debuted at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first artist to have the lead single from each of their first three albums debut in the top ten.[97] The same month, Grande appeared as host and musical guest of Saturday Night Live, where she performed "Dangerous Woman" and debuted the promotional single "Be Alright",[98] which charted at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100.[99] Grande garnered positive reviews for her appearance on the show, including praise for her impressions of various singers,[100][101] some of which she had done on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[102]

Grande released Dangerous Woman on May 20, 2016, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200.[103] It also debuted at number two in Japan,[104] and at number one in several other markets, including Australia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and the UK.[105][106] Mark Savage, writing for BBC News, called the album "a mature, confident record".[6] In August, Grande released a third single from the album, "Side to Side", featuring rapper Nicki Minaj, her eighth top ten entry on the Hot 100, which peaked at number four on that chart.[107] Dangerous Woman was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and the title track for Best Pop Solo Performance.[108]

Aside from music, Grande played Penny Pingleton in the NBC television broadcast Hairspray Live!, which aired in December 2016.[109] Grande recorded the title track of the soundtrack for the 2017 live-action remake of Disney's 1991 animated film Beauty and the Beast. The recording was released as a duet with American singer John Legend in February 2017.[110] The same month, Grande embarked on her third concert tour, the Dangerous Woman Tour, to promote the album.[111]

On May 22, 2017, her concert at Manchester Arena was the target of a suicide bombing. An Islamic extremist, motivated by Muslim casualties from US intervention in the Syrian Civil War, detonated a shrapnel-laden homemade bomb as people were leaving the arena. The Manchester Arena bombing, which occurred at the City Room, caused 22 deaths and injured over a thousand more. Grande suspended the remainder of the tour and held a televised benefit concert, One Love Manchester, on June 4,[112] helping to raise $23 million to aid the bombing's victims and affected families.[113] The concert featured performances from Grande, as well as Liam Gallagher, Robbie Williams, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and other artists.[114] To recognize her efforts, the Manchester City Council named Grande the first honorary citizen of Manchester[115][113] and, later in the year, she was reported to have declined an honorary UK damehood. The tour resumed on June 7 in Paris and ended in September 2017.[116][117]

In August 2017, Grande appeared in an Apple Music Carpool Karaoke episode, singing musical theatre songs with American entertainer Seth MacFarlane.[118] In December 2017, Billboard magazine named her "Female Artist of the Year".[119]

Grande began working on songs for her fourth studio album, Sweetener with Pharrell Williams in 2016.[120] Grande released "No Tears Left to Cry" as the lead single from Sweetener in April 2018,[121] with the song debuting at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, making Grande the only artist to have debuted the lead single of her first four albums in the top ten of the Hot 100.[122][123] In June 2018, she was featured in "Bed", the second single from Nicki Minaj's fourth studio album Queen.[124] The same month, she was featured on Troye Sivan's single "Dance to This" from his sophomore album Bloom. The second single, "God Is a Woman",[125][126] peaked at number 8 on the Hot 100 and became Grande's tenth top ten single in the US.[127] Released in August 2018,[128] Sweetener debuted at number one on the Billboard 200[129] and received acclaim from critics.[130] She simultaneously charted nine songs from the album on the Hot 100, along with a collaboration, making her the fourth female artist to reach the ten-song mark.[127] Grande gave four concerts to promote the album, billed as The Sweetener Sessions, in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and London between August 20 and September 4, 2018.[131] In October 2018, Grande participated in the NBC broadcast, A Very Wicked Halloween, singing "The Wizard and I" from the musical Wicked.[132] The following month, the BBC aired a one-hour special, Ariana Grande at the BBC, featuring interviews and performances.[133][134]

2018–2019: Thank U, Next

In November 2018, Grande released the single "Thank U, Next" and announced her fifth studio album of the same name.[135][136] The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Grande's first chart-topping single in the United States, spending seven non-consecutive weeks atop.[137][138] Since then, it has been certified eight-times platinum in the United States;[139] the song's music video broke records for most-watched music video on YouTube within 24 hours of release[140] and fastest Vevo video to reach 100 million views on YouTube, at the time.[141] On Spotify, it became the fastest song to reach 100 million streams (11 days) and most-streamed song by a female artist in a 24-hour period, with 9.6 million streams, before being surpassed by her own "7 Rings" (nearly 15 million streams).[142] "Thank U, Next" was the most-streamed song by a woman globally on Apple Music in 2019.[143]

Grande released, in collaboration with YouTube, a four-part docuseries titled Ariana Grande: Dangerous Woman Diaries. It shows behind the scenes and concert footage from Grande's Dangerous Woman Tour, including moments from the One Love Manchester concert, and follows her professional life during the tour and the making of Sweetener. The series debuted on November 29, 2018.[144] By the end of the year, she became the most-streamed female artist on Spotify,[145] and was named Billboard 's Woman of the Year. In January 2019, it was announced that Grande would be headlining the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival,[146] where she became the youngest and the fourth female artist ever to headline the festival.[147] Grande brought a number of guest artists to perform with her, including NSYNC, P. Diddy, Nicki Minaj, and Justin Bieber. Her set received critical acclaim.[148][149]

Grande's second single from Thank U, Next, "7 Rings", was released on January 18, 2019, and debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 issue dated February 2, becoming her second single in a row (and overall) to top the charts.[150] It made Grande the third female artist with multiple number-one debuts after Mariah Carey (3) and Britney Spears (2) and fifth artist overall after Justin Bieber and Drake.[151] Spending eight non-consecutive weeks at the summit, it became Grande's most successful song on the chart[152] and was certified diamond in the US.[153] "7 Rings" became 2019's fifth-best-selling song globally, and one of the best-selling digital singles worldwide.[154] Thank U, Next was released on February 8, 2019, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 while receiving acclaim from critics.[155] The album garnered Grande's largest sales week of all time in the United States (360,000 album-equivalent units).[156] Her fourth number-one album, and second in less than six months, it marked the shortest gap between number-one albums for a woman at the time. Thank U, Next broke records for the largest streaming week for a pop album and for a female album in the US, with 307 million on-demand streams.[156] At the time, it was the only non-hip hop title among the twenty largest US album streaming weeks, at number eight.[156] The album also achieved the largest streaming week by a female artist in Canada and the United Kingdom.[157][158] In June 2020, Thank U, Next was certified double platinum by the RIAA.[159]

Grande became the first solo artist to occupy the top three spots on the Billboard Hot 100 with "7 Rings" at number one, her third single "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" debuting at number two, and her lead single "Thank U, Next" rose to number three, and the overall second artist to do so since the Beatles did in 1964 when they occupied the top five spots.[160] In the United Kingdom, Grande became the second female solo artist to simultaneously hold the number one and two spots and the first musical artist to replace herself at number one, twice consecutively.[161] With eleven Thank U, Next tracks appearing within the top 40 region on the Hot 100, Grande broke the record for the most simultaneous top 40 entries by a female artist.[162]

In February 2019, it was reported Grande would not attend the Grammy Awards after she had a disagreement with producers over a potential performance at the ceremony.[163] Grande ended up earning her first Grammy, for Best Pop Vocal Album, for Sweetener.[164] The same month, Grande won a Brit Award for International Female Solo Artist.[165] She also embarked on her third headlining tour, the Sweetener World Tour, to promote both Sweetener and Thank U, Next, which began on March 18,[166] and concluded on December 22, 2019.[167] Spanning 97 shows through North America and Europe, it grossed US$146.6 million with over 1.3 million tickets sold, marking Grande's highest-grossing and biggest tour to date.[168] A live album of the tour's setlist, titled K Bye for Now (SWT Live), was released on December 23.[169] Grande was nominated for 9 awards at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, including Top Artist. She would win two awards for Billboard Chart Achievement and Top Female Artist on May 1, 2019.[170] Grande performed at the event via a pre-recorded performance from her Sweetener World Tour.[171]

Grande co-executive produced the soundtrack to the film Charlie's Angels, which was released on November 1, 2019; she co-wrote and performed various songs for the record.[172] The soundtrack was met with lukewarm reception.[173][174] A collaboration with Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey, titled "Don't Call Me Angel", was released as the lead single on September 13.[175] Pitchfork wrote that the pop stars "meet at a lower creative common denominator than they've enjoyed lately".[176] The track was nominated for Best Original Song at the 24th Satellite Awards.[177] In August 2019, she released the single "Boyfriend" with pop duo Social House;[178] it debuted at number eight on the Hot 100,[179] and became the first song by a woman to top the Rolling Stone Top 100 chart.[180] Grande co-wrote singer Normani's debut solo single "Motivation", which was released on August 16, 2019.[181] Grande won three awards at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, including the Artist of the Year award. She was nominated for 12 awards in total, including Video of the Year for "Thank U, Next".[182]

Grande was featured on the remix of American singer and rapper Lizzo's song "Good as Hell", which was released on October 25, 2019.[183] By the end of the year, Billboard named Grande the most accomplished female artist to debut in the 2010s, while NME named her one of the defining music artists of the decade. She also became the most-streamed female artist of the decade on music streaming service Spotify.[184][185] Also, Forbes ranked her amongst the highest-paid celebrities in 2019, placing at number 62 on the list,[186] while Billboard ranked her as 2019's highest-paid solo musician.[187] According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Thank U, Next was the eighth-best-selling album of 2019 globally, having sold over one million copies worldwide.[188] It also ranked as the second-best-performing album on the Billboard 200 year-end chart of 2019.[189]

2020–2023: Positions

In January 2020, Grande received multiple nominations at the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards, including Female Artist of the Year.[190] At the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, Grande performed a medley of "Imagine", "My Favorite Things", "7 Rings", and "Thank U, Next".[191] Her performance was ranked by various publications among the best of the ceremony.[192] Grande received the third-most nominations (5), including her first nods for Album of the Year (Thank U, Next) and Record of the Year ("7 Rings").[193] She was named by Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter as one of the biggest snubs of the ceremony.[194][195] Grande and Justin Bieber released a collaboration song titled "Stuck with U" on May 8, 2020; net proceeds from the sales of the song were donated to the First Responders Children's Foundation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.[196] The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Grande's third chart-topping single. Alongside Bieber, both artists tied Mariah Carey and Drake for the most songs to debut at number one on the Hot 100; Grande became the first artist to have her first three number ones debut at the top, following "Thank U, Next" and "7 Rings".[197]

Grande appeared on Lady Gaga's "Rain on Me", the second single from Gaga's sixth studio album Chromatica.[198] The song also debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Grande's fourth number-one single and helping her break the record for the most number-one debuts on that chart.[199] It won the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.[200] In 2020, Grande became the highest-earning woman in music on Forbes's 2020 Celebrity 100 list, placing 17th overall with $72 million.[201] At the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, she was nominated for nine awards for both "Stuck with U" (with Bieber) and "Rain on Me" (with Gaga). For the latter, Grande received her third consecutive nomination for Video of the Year. She won four awards, including Song of the Year for "Rain on Me".[202][203]

Grande's sixth studio album, Positions, was released on October 30, 2020.[204] It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 174,000 units, becoming Grande's fifth number-one album.[205] Her third chart-topping album in two years and three months, it marked the fastest accumulation of three number-oe albums by a woman at that time.[205] Following its vinyl LPs release in April 2021, Positions achieved the largest vinyl sales week (32,000) by a female artist since MRC Data's inauguration in 1991, at that time.[206] The eponymous lead single was released on October 23.[207] It debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Grande's fifth chart-topping single and breaking numerous records. Grande became the first artist to have five number-one debuts on the Hot 100 and the first to have their first five number-ones debut at the top. "Positions" became her third number-one single in 2020 following "Stuck with U" and "Rain on Me", making Grande the first artist since Drake to have three number-one singles in a single calendar year and the first female artist to do so since Rihanna and Katy Perry in 2010.[208] It topped the Pop Airplay chart for seven weeks, surpassing "7 Rings" (six weeks) as Grande's longest-running number-one on the chart.[209]

Alongside the release of Positions, the track "34+35" served as the second single off the album. Debuting at number eight, it became Grande's 18th top-ten single.[210] Grande released a "34+35" remix featuring American rappers Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion on January 15, 2021. The remix helped the song reach a new peak at number two, the highest-charting song credited to three or more female soloists on the Hot 100 since Christina Aguilera, Mýa, Pink and Lil' Kim's "Lady Marmalade" in 2001.[211] The remix was one of five bonus tracks included on the deluxe edition of Positions, released on February 19, 2021.[212] On the Pop Airplay chart issue dated February 13, "34+35" replaced Grande's own "Positions" at number one, making her the first artist to replace herself at the summit as the only act credited on both tracks.[209] On the following chart issue, Grande occupied the top two of the chart with "34+35" and "Positions", becoming the first artist to simultaneously occupy the top two with two solo tracks.[209][213] "34+35" remained at number one for three consecutive weeks;[214] it also topped the Rhythmic airplay chart, marking Grande's third leader.[215] In March, the song "POV" was sent to radio as the album's third single. The song reached number 27 on the Hot 100 and the top ten on mainstream radio, making Grande the first artist to have three concurrent songs in the top ten on Pop Airplay; it later peaked at number three.[216]

Grande was named the most-played artist on iHeartRadio's stations in 2021, reaching 2.6 billion in audience.[217] Positions ranked at number eight on the 2021 year-end Billboard 200 chart.[218] On November 13, 2020, Grande made a surprise appearance on the Adult Swim Festival, performing music artist Thundercat's song "Them Changes" alongside him, which Grande had previously covered.[219] Grande and Jennifer Hudson also featured on a remix of Mariah Carey's 2010 Christmas song "Oh Santa!". The song was released on December 4, 2020, as part of Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special.[220] Grande released the concert film for her Sweetener World Tour, Excuse Me, I Love You, on December 21, 2020, exclusively on Netflix.[221]

In April 2021, Grande was featured on a remix of the Weeknd's "Save Your Tears".[222] The remix reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Hot 100, becoming both artists' sixth number-one single on both charts.[223] It also topped the Billboard Global 200, marking Grande's second number-one single on the chart; it made her the first woman to earn multiple leaders on the chart.[224] She joined Paul McCartney as the only artists to earn three number-one duets on the Hot 100.[225] With 69 weeks, the remix is among longest-charting songs on the Hot 100, and Grande's longest-charting song in the United States.[226] It ranked as the second best-performing song of the year on the Billboard year-end Hot 100, Global 200, and Global Excl. US charts of 2021.[227][228][229] Grande and the Weeknd performed "Save Your Tears" together at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards.[230]

In June 2021, Grande featured on the song "I Don't Do Drugs" from Doja Cat's third studio album Planet Her.[231] Her contribution as a songwriter and featured artist on the song earned Grande a nomination for Album of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. In September 2021, she joined as a coach of the twenty-first season of The Voice; Grande became the highest-paid coach in the show's history, earning a reported $25 million for that season.[232] The season concluded in December 2021; Grande did not return for the next season.[233] Later in December, she appeared in Adam McKay's film Don't Look Up, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, and Meryl Streep. With streams of more than 152 million hours in a week, it broke the record for the biggest viewership week in Netflix history, at the time.[234] To promote the film, Grande released the song "Just Look Up", in collaboration with rapper Kid Cudi, on December 3, 2021.[235] At the 27th Critics' Choice Awards, Grande received nominations in the categories Best Song and Best Acting Ensemble, as a part of the cast.[236] She also received a nomination at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.[237]

On February 24, 2023, following months-long renewed interest in and virality of the Weeknd's 2016 song "Die for You", a remix of the song with Grande was released. It marked their fourth collaboration.[238] The remix topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming both artists' seventh number-one hit. Grande became the artist with the most number-one duets (four) on the chart, surpassing McCartney.[239] According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), it was the fourth best-selling song of 2023 globally.[240] On August 25, 2023, Grande released a reissue of her debut studio album, Yours Truly (Tenth Anniversary Edition).[241][242] On December 9, 2023, Grande and Jennifer Hudson made a surprise appearance onstage to sing the "Oh Santa!" remix at Mariah Carey's show at the Madison Square Garden, of her Merry Christmas One and All! tour.[243]

2024–present: Eternal Sunshine, Wicked, and focus on acting

Grande's seventh studio album, titled Eternal Sunshine, was released on March 8, 2024. It was preceded by its lead single, "Yes, And?", released on January 12.[244] The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100,[245] topped the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. US charts for two weeks,[246] and was followed by a remix featuring Mariah Carey on February 16.[247] The second single, "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)", was released in tandem with the album.[248] Grande's first album in over three years,[249] Eternal Sunshine marked her first major foray into dance and house music.[250][251] Met with universal acclaim, critics dubbed it one of her most mature and sophisticated records yet.[252] Both the album and its second single debuted atop the Billboard 200 and the Hot 100 respectively,[253] achieving Grande's third-largest sales week (227,000 units) and making her the woman with the most Hot 100 number-one debuts (7).[254] Elsewhere, the album debuted at number one in thirteen countries, including Australia,[255] Canada,[256] and the UK.[257] With Eternal Sunshine and Thank U, Next, Grande became the first woman to have two albums produce multiple number-one single debuts in the US.[253] It also marked her first instance of reaching the top of both the Billboard Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts.[258] Topping the Pop Airplay chart for two weeks,[259] "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" marked Grande's tenth number-one.[260]

On May 6, 2024, Grande performed at the Met Gala and was joined on stage by Cynthia Erivo to close out her performance.[261] "The Boy Is Mine", which reached the top 20 on the Hot 100,[262] was issued as the third Eternal Sunshine single in June;[263] a remix featuring Brandy and Monica followed later that month.[264] On August 22, 2024, Grande released a reissue of her second studio album, My Everything, for the tenth anniversary of the record.[265] Two extended editions of Eternal Sunshine containing the pre-released single remixes, guest vocals from Troye Sivan, and live versions of several tracks, were surprise released in March and October 2024.[266][267] Grande appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on March 9, 2024, to promote Eternal Sunshine.[268] She featured on the remix to "Sympathy Is a Knife" on Charli XCX's remix album Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat, released on October 11, 2024.[269] On the Las Culturistas podcast, Grande acknowledged that she would likely scale back her pop music output compared to earlier in her career, shifting her focus more towards acting.[270] Eternal Sunshine was ranked as 2024's thirteenth-best-selling and ninth-most-streamed album globally by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).[271]

At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, Grande was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album (Eternal Sunshine), Best Pop Duo/Group Performance ("The Boy Is Mine" remix), and Best Dance Pop Recording ("Yes, And?").[272] Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead, a reissue of Eternal Sunshine, was released on March 28, 2025.[273] Grande starred as the protagonist Peaches in the accompanying short film Brighter Days Ahead, which she directed and wrote with Christian Breslauer; it was released on the same day. Her directorial debut,[274] the short film won the Video of the Year award at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.[275] With the release of the reissue, Eternal Sunshine became Grande's longest-running number one album in the US (three weeks).[276] Aided by Brighter Days Ahead, the album returned to the top of the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand, over a year after its release.[277] The bonus track "Twilight Zone" was released as the reissue's lead single in April 2025, reaching the top ten on the Billboard Global 200 and the UK singles chart.[278][279] Later that month, Grande featured on Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra's jazz album Still Blooming for a rendition of the song "I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)".[280] She and Mariah Carey joined Barbra Streisand on "One Heart, One Voice" for Streisand's album The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two, released on June 27, 2025.[281] Whilst describing the three as "the holy trinity of glorious sound", Melissa Ruggieri of USA Today called the track an "otherwise generic ballad [that] showcases a trio steeped in restraint".[282]

Grande starred as Galinda Upland alongside Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp in the two-part film adaptation of the fantasy musical Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu.[283] She was cast in November 2021 after auditioning five times for the role.[284] She was credited with her birth name Ariana Grande-Butera, which was her name when she first saw the stage musical at age ten.[285] Grande reported that she began taking acting and singing lessons months before she auditioned for the role of Glinda because she wanted to be cast "so badly".[286] The first part, Wicked, was theatrically released in November 2024,[287] followed by the second part, Wicked: For Good, in November 2025.[288] Critically acclaimed, Wicked was regarded amongst the best musical films of the 21st century and declared a pop culture phenomenon by various media.[289][290] For Good was met with lukewarm reviews and less enthusiasm than its predecessor.[291] Both parts were listed among the top ten films of 2024 and 2025 by the American Film Institute.[292] The two parts grossed $759 million and $539 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing and third-highest-grossing musical adaptation films of all time, respectively.[293] Grande's performance and comedic timing received praise from critics;[294] she was nominated for supporting actress categories at the 97th Academy Awards, the 82nd and 83rd Golden Globe Awards, the 30th and 31st Critics' Choice Awards, the 31st and 32nd Actor Awards, and the 78th British Academy Film Awards.[295]

The films' soundtracks were co-billed to Grande, who performed several songs from the musical and an original track titled "The Girl in the Bubble", written by Stephen Schwartz for the Wicked: For Good soundtrack.[296] Both albums received positive reviews and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 139,000 and 122,000 units, tying for the highest debut for a soundtrack to a stage-to-film adaptation.[297][298] Grande and her co-star Erivo's rendition of "Defying Gravity" won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.[299] To promote the Wicked films, Grande hosted Saturday Night Live on October 12, 2024 and December 20, 2025.[300][301] Her 2024 episode drew the show's highest ratings since May 2021, at the time, and became its most-watched episode on Peacock and across social media;[302] the 2025 episode was that year and season 51's highest-rated and SNL's most-watched holiday episode since 2020.[303] She and Erivo opened the 97th Academy Awards with a medley of "Over the Rainbow", "Home", and "Defying Gravity".[304] In November 2025, Grande appeared in the special Wicked: One Wonderful Night, performing music from the Wicked films alongside the cast;[305] a live album of the special was released in tandem with the broadcast.[306]

She will embark on the Eternal Sunshine Tour, her first concert tour since 2019, with 41 shows across North America and England, between June and September 2026.[307][308] Grande's upcoming film projects include Focker-in-Law (2026)[309] and an animated film adaptation of Dr. Seuss's 1990 book Oh, the Places You'll Go! (2028).[310] She will star in the thirteenth season of the horror anthology series American Horror Story, slated for release in September 2026.[311] In the summer of 2027, Grande will make her London stage debut opposite her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey in Marianne Elliott's Barbican Theatre production of Sunday in the Park with George.[312]

Musical style

Grande's music is generally pop and R&B with elements of EDM, hip hop,[313][314] and trap,[315] the latter first appearing prominently on her Christmas & Chill extended play. While consistently maintaining pop and R&B tones, she has increasingly incorporated trap into her music as her career has progressed,[316] thanks to her work with record producer Tommy Brown.[317] She has collaborated with Brown on every album thus far and stated that "one of the things I love most about working with Tommy is that none of the beats he plays me ever sound the same."[318] Grande learned how to sound engineer and produce her own vocals because she "love[s] being hands on" with every project, revealing that rapper Mac Miller first taught her how to use the digital audio workstation Pro Tools.[319] Collaborator Justin Tranter remarked that he felt inspired seeing how involved Grande is in creating her music "from the writing to the vision to the storytelling and to even engineering and comping her own vocals."[320] She has co-written songs addressing a wide variety of themes, such as love, sex, wealth, breakups, independence, empowerment, self-love and moving on from the past.[321]

Grande's debut album Yours Truly was complimented for recreating the R&B "vibe and feel of the 90s" with the help of songwriter and producer Babyface.[322] Her follow-up record, My Everything, explored EDM and electropop genres.[323] Grande expanded the pop and R&B sound on her third album, Dangerous Woman, which was praised by the Los Angeles Times for integrating elements of different styles, such as reggae-pop ("Side to Side"), dance-pop ("Be Alright"), and guitar-trap fusion ("Sometimes").[324] Trap-pop was more heavily featured on her fourth and fifth studio albums, Sweetener and Thank U, Next.[316] Elias Leight of Rolling Stone opined that Grande "set her sights on conquering trap, savage basslines and jittery swarms of drum programming" and "embrace[d] the sound of hard-bitten Southern hip-hop" on Sweetener, exploring funk music with themes of love and prosperity.[325] Craig Jenkins of Vulture noted that she embraced trap and hip hop with undertones of R&B on Thank U, Next,[326] with lyrics about breakups, empowerment, and self-love. Her sixth album, Positions, further emphasized the R&B and trap-pop sound of its two predecessors, with lyrics discussing sex and romance.[327][328]

Influences

Grande grew up listening mainly to urban pop and 1990s music.[329] She credited Gloria Estefan with inspiring her to pursue a music career after Estefan saw and complimented Grande's performance on a cruise ship when she was eight years old.[330] Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston are her primary vocal influences: "I love Mariah Carey. She is literally my favorite human being on the planet. And of course Whitney [Houston] as well. As far as vocal influences go, Whitney and Mariah pretty much cover it."[331] Grande was also influenced vocally by Destiny's Child, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, and Madonna.[332][333] She reflected on her childhood by posting videos of herself singing songs from Dion's 1997 album Let's Talk About Love on her social media.[334] Grande credits Madonna with "pav[ing] the way for me and also every other female artist" and admitted to being "obsessed with her entire discography".[335][336]

Musically, Grande admires India Arie because her "music makes me feel like everything is going to be okay", loves Brandy Norwood's songs because "her riffs are incredibly on point", and praised Imogen Heap's "intricate" song structure. Heap in particular Grande has said is her favorite musician, songwriter, and producer of all time.[337][338] Grande also named Judy Garland as a childhood influence, admiring her ability to tell "a story when she sings".[339] Ahead of the release of her debut album, Grande says its sound was inspired by Heap, Carey, Fergie, and Houston.[340] Music producer and collaborator Savan Kotecha stated that he and Grande were influenced by Lauryn Hill when creating her fourth album Sweetener and its lead single "No Tears Left to Cry".[341] Kotecha told Variety, "we were listening to Lauryn Hill about chord changes and why we stick to four chords all the time".[342]

Grande expressed admiration for rappers' unconventional music release strategy. She told Billboard, "My dream has always been to be—obviously not a rapper, but, like, to put out music in the way that a rapper does. I feel like there are certain standards that pop women are held to that men aren't ... It's just like, 'Bruh, I just want to ... drop [music] the way these boys do."[343] It inspired her to release "Thank U, Next" without any prior announcement, which The Ringer called "more of a Drake move than an Ariana Grande move".[344]

Voice

Grande has been described as a soprano,[345][346][347] possessing a four-octave vocal range[6][348] and a whistle register.[349] With the release of Yours Truly, critics compared Grande's wide vocal range and music to those of Mariah Carey.[350][351] Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of Billboard wrote that both Carey and Grande have "the talent to let their vocals do the talking ... that's not where the similarities end. ... Grande is subverting it with cute, comfortable, and on-trend dresses with a feminine slant."[352]

Mark Savage of BBC News named Grande "one of pop's most intriguing and gifted singers" and complimented her "unrivalled vocal control".[6] In The New York Times, Jon Pareles noted that Grande's voice "can be silky, breathy or cutting, swooping through long melismas or jabbing out short R&B phrases; it's always supple and airborne, never forced."[353] Composer and playwright Jason Robert Brown wrote in a 2016 Time magazine article, "[N]o matter how much you are underestimated ... you are going to open your mouth and that unbelievable sound is going to come out. That [...] instrument [...] allows you to shut down every objection and every obstacle."[354]

Grande's enunciation has drawn some criticism,[355] particularly on her earlier recordings.[356][357][358] Grande herself has acknowledged this on multiple occasions, admitting in 2015 that pronunciation was something she hoped to improve.[359] However, several critics noted a marked improvement on Eternal Sunshine,[358][360] with some attributing the clearer diction to her extensive vocal training for Wicked.[361][362]

Products and endorsements

In November 2015, she released a limited edition handbag in collaboration with Coach.[552] In January 2016, she launched a makeup collection with MAC Cosmetics, donating 100% of proceeds to the MAC AIDS Fund.[553] In February 2016, Grande launched a fashion line with Lipsy London.[554] Later that year, she teamed up with Brookstone, using the concept art of artist Wenqing Yan, to design cat ear headphones.[555] In 2017, Grande collaborated with Square Enix to create a character based on herself for the mobile game Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. Grande was a limited-time unlockable character as part of the Dangerous Woman Tour event, which also included an orchestral remix of Grande's song "Touch It"; the character, Dangerous Ariana, is a magical support character who uses music-based attacks.[556][557] In September 2017, she became a brand ambassador for Reebok.[558]

In August 2018, she partnered with American Express for The Sweetener Sessions, a partnership which continued through the Sweetener World Tour in 2019, alongside T-Mobile. In March 2019, she partnered with Starbucks for the launch of the Cloud Macchiato beverage.[559] In May 2019, Grande was announced as the face of Givenchy's fall-winter campaign.[560] The campaign began in July and generated $25.13 million in media impact value.[561] In July 2024, she became the brand ambassador of Swarovski; Grande's first appearance as the face was in the house's holiday campaign in October 2024.[562][563] Grande collaborated with the company's global creative director Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert on two capsule collections, released in January 2025 and March 2026.[564][565] Beats, Samsung, Fiat, Reebok, and Guess products have been featured in Grande's music videos.[566] She has appeared in commercials for Macy's, T-Mobile, and Apple, as well as for her own fragrances.[567] Since 2019, Grande has been among the ten highest-paid individuals on Instagram. As of 2025, Grande earns $2 million per sponsored Instagram post.[568][569]

Fragrances

Grande has released eighteen fragrances with Luxe Brands. She launched her debut fragrance, Ari by Ariana Grande, in 2015. In the wake of its success, she launched her third fragrance, Sweet Like Candy, in 2016.[570] Her fifth fragrance, Moonlight, was released in 2017, followed by Cloud (2018), Thank U, Next (2019), R.E.M. (2020), and God Is a Woman (2021), which was later expanded to an Ulta-exclusive body care line in 2022.[571] She then released the duo fragrance collection Mod Vanilla and Mod Blush (2022).[572] It was followed by the collection Lovenotes (2024), which consisted of four region-exclusive fragrances.[573]

The next fragrance was Cherry Blossom (2025), released as a R.E.M. Beauty product via Ulta.[574] The range also includes the limited editions Frankie (2016), Sweet Like Candy Limited Edition (2017), Thank U, Next 2.0, Cloud Intense (both 2021), and Cloud Pink (2023). The fragrances won the FiFi Award multiple times, most recently with R.E.M. in 2021. In 2022, it was reported that Cloud was the best-selling fragrance at Ulta, selling one bottle every eleven seconds.[575] As of 2024, the scents are developed and manufactured in collaboration with Robertet Group and International Flavors & Fragrances.[576] Grande's fragrance line is the most-searched celebrity offering, with over 4.4 million searches across Google and social media platforms per year, as of 2023.[577] Since its launch in 2015, the franchise has made over $1 billion in retail sales globally.[578]

R.E.M. Beauty

In November 2021, Grande launched her makeup line R.E.M. Beauty, which is distributed at Ulta Beauty as of March 2022.[579][580] The original line featured 12 core products for lips and eyes, and the range has since been expanded with additional skincare and makeup products.[579][581] Forbes reported in 2022 that R.E.M. Beauty was one of the brands boosting Ulta's driving gross margin due to strong consumer demand.[582] In May, the line won "Best New Brand" at the Allure Best of Beauty Awards.[583] In February 2023, the brand was launched in 81 Sephora stores and 13 online sites, including across Europe.[584]

Politics

In November 2019, Grande endorsed Bernie Sanders's second presidential bid.[594] She endorsed Joe Biden for the 2020 presidential election,[595] and Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election.[596]

In June 2025, amid ICE enforcement operations in Los Angeles, Grande wrote on Instagram that she was "deeply upset about these violent deportations" and that "LA simply wouldn't exist without immigrants", sharing ACLU resources on immigrant rights.[597] In January 2026, Grande promoted a nationwide protest against ICE on her Instagram Story, urging followers to participate in the "ICE Out Nationwide Shutdown" on January 30.[598] At the 83rd Golden Globe Awards on January 11, 2026, Grande wore an "ICE Out" pin on her Vivienne Westwood dress, part of a coordinated campaign in response to the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.[599][600]

Relationships

Grande's personal relationships have been widely scrutinized by the public.[601] Some of her former lovers were mentioned by name in the song "Thank U, Next".[602] She dated her 13 co-star Graham Phillips for three years.[603][604][605] From August 2012 to August 2014, Grande was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Australian YouTuber Jai Brooks.[606] She briefly dated English singer Nathan Sykes during their separation, and then dated rapper Big Sean for eight months.[607] Grande was in a year-long relationship with Ricky Alvarez, who was one of her backup dancers on the Honeymoon Tour.[608][609]

After recording "The Way" in 2012, Grande began dating rapper Mac Miller in 2016.[610][611] She was prominently featured on his fourth album The Divine Feminine (2016), including on its third single "My Favorite Part".[612][613] By May 2018, their relationship had ended and Grande entered a whirlwind romance with comedian Pete Davidson.[614] They got engaged in June, after a few weeks of dating, while a song titled after and inspired by Davidson was featured on Sweetener.[615] That September, Miller died from an accidental drug overdose; Grande expressed grief over his death on social media and called him her "dearest friend".[616] She and Davidson called off their engagement and ended their relationship the following month.[617]

Grande began dating real estate agent Dalton Gomez in January 2020.[618] Their relationship, while mostly private, was made public in May 2020, in the music video of her and Justin Bieber's charity single "Stuck with U".[619] Grande announced their engagement on December 20, 2020, after 11 months of dating.[620] On May 15, 2021, they married in a private ceremony at her home in Montecito, California.[621] Her wedding pictures became the second-most-liked Instagram post and most-liked Instagram post featuring pictures of people at the time, with over 25 million likes.[622][623] Grande and Gomez separated on February 20, 2023, and simultaneously filed for divorce that September due to "irreconcilable differences".[624] They agreed on a divorce settlement in October, which was finalized in March 2024.[625][626] As of July 2023, Grande is in a relationship with her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater.[627]

Musical theater

Tours

Headlining

• The Listening Sessions (2013)
• The Honeymoon Tour (2015)
• Dangerous Woman Tour (2017)
• Sweetener World Tour (2019)
• The Eternal Sunshine Tour (2026)

Promotional

• The Sweetener Sessions (2018)

Opening act

• Justin Bieber – Believe Tour (2013)