Ariana Grande

American singer, songwriter, and actress Ariana Grande, recognized for her four-octave vocal range and signature style, has established herself as a defining pop figure of her era while accumulating numerous awards and chart milestones. She surfaced at the start of the 2010s via the successful track "The Way," positioning her to echo the paths of her primary inspirations, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, thanks largely to her commanding vocal delivery. Her first project, Yours Truly, highlighted her roots in '90s R&B through Babyface's production choices, yet she soon blended hip-hop and EDM elements into her evolving style. The 2014 chart-topping collaboration "Problem" with Iggy Azalea marked an early sign of this shift, a progression further solidified by subsequent successes like "Bang Bang" and "Love Me Harder." Grande sustained her momentum through 2016's Dangerous Woman before reaching a peak with 2018's Sweetener and its rapid follow-up, Thank U, Next, whose namesake single held the top spot on the U.S. singles chart for seven weeks. "7 Rings," the album's elaborate second release, soon matched that accomplishment, as did "Positions," the lead track from her 2020 R&B-focused project of the same title. Following a four-year gap without new material—a notable stretch after her intense output around the turn of the decade—Grande reemerged with Eternal Sunshine, captured amid her work on the screen adaptation of Broadway's Wicked.

Born in Boca Raton, Florida, in 1993 to graphic designer Edward Butera and Joan Grande, who serves as CEO of Hose-McCann Communications, Grande started performing and acting young through local stage productions. At age 15 in 2008 she secured the part of Charlotte in the Broadway staging of 13, earning strong notices and a National Youth Theatre Association Award. After appearing in the 2010 Desmond Child-penned musical Cuba Libre, she took on the role of Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon series Victorious, which ran through 2012 before her character transitioned into the spin-off Sam & Cat alongside Jennette McCurdy from iCarly.

While occupied with television work, Grande also advanced her music pursuits, performing regularly at sports events and with orchestras and contributing to the Victorious soundtrack. She issued the 2011 single "Put Your Hearts Up" during attempts at a youth-focused pop record, though she later rejected it for its childish tone. Greater ease came with her 2013 track "The Way" featuring Mac Miller, which pointed toward a more grown-up approach and resonated with listeners by reaching the U.S. Top Ten and achieving triple-platinum status. That release launched her 2013 debut, Yours Truly, which also included successful cuts "Baby I" and "Right There."

Late that year she put out the holiday EP Christmas Kisses, yet her main focus stayed on her sophomore effort, My Everything. Led by the single "Problem," which included Iggy Azalea—the prominent figure of summer 2014—and climbed to number two on the U.S. charts while earning double-platinum certification, the album drew from an array of producers such as Max Martin, Shellback, Ryan Tedder, and Benny Blanco. It arrived at the close of August 2014 and topped charts worldwide. Follow-up releases featured input from Zedd on "Break Free," Jessie J and Nicki Minaj on "Bang Bang," and the Weeknd on "Love Me Harder." At one stage in 2014 three of her songs occupied the Billboard Top Ten simultaneously, a distinction previously reached only by Adele. With the fifth single "One Last Time" charting in early 2015, My Everything had moved nearly 600,000 units.

As that album's promotional period closed, Grande made a guest appearance on Ryan Murphy's stylized horror series Scream Queens and prepared another seasonal collection, Christmas & Chill. In October 2015 she dropped "Focus," which entered the Hot 100 at number seven and received platinum status the next January. That February she revealed plans for her third album, Dangerous Woman, and issued its title track as a single in March; it peaked at number eight, making her the first performer to see the opening single from each of her initial three albums enter the Top Ten. Including contributions from Macy Gray, Future, and Nicki Minaj, the project surfaced in May 2016 and debuted at number two before attaining platinum certification, supported by three Top Ten singles and a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album. Grande opened 2017 by joining John Legend on "Beauty and the Beast," the theme for Disney's live-action take on the 1991 animated film, then embarked on her Dangerous Woman Tour across North America and Europe through the first half of the year.

Tragedy occurred on May 22, 2017, when a suicide bomber targeted Grande's concert at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. She returned to the stage on June 4 with the star-filled charity event One Love Manchester to support those affected, after which she continued the tour until its conclusion in Hong Kong that September.

In April 2018 Grande launched promotion for her fourth album, Sweetener, with the single "No Tears Left to Cry," which entered the Hot 100 at number three, followed later that year by "God Is a Woman." Sweetener debuted at number one in both the U.S. and U.K. upon its August release.

Three months afterward she issued the standalone single "Thank U, Next," which rapidly gained online traction, ascended to number one globally, and was joined there by her next release, "7 Rings." Both appeared on the full-length Thank U, Next, issued in February 2019; her fourth U.S. chart-topper also led rankings in more than a dozen nations, aided by the third single "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored." Within months of that album's arrival, Grande issued several joint tracks including "Monopoly" with Victoria Monet, "Boyfriend" with Social House, and the Charlie's Angels reboot theme "Don't Call Me Angel" alongside Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey. To close the year she earned five Grammy nominations: Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Thank U, Next, Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for "7 Rings," and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Boyfriend." She concluded this busy stretch with k bye for now, a live album drawn from stops on her 2019 Sweetener World Tour.

Grande scored Billboard number-one duets in early 2020, beginning with "Stuck with U" alongside Justin Bieber and followed by "Rain on Me" with Lady Gaga, before unveiling her subsequent album, Positions, via its title track. That single reached the summit just ahead of the October 30 release, marking her fifth Billboard 200 leader. "34+35" maintained her high placement on the singles chart and received a boost from a 2021 remix featuring Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion. Later that year she partnered with the Weeknd on a remix of his track "Save Your Tears," yielding another shared chart-topper; they repeated the outcome two years later with a remix of "Die for You" from his Starboy album.

Around this period Grande also returned to acting, joining the 2021 ensemble satire Don't Look Up and recording "Just Look Up" with Kid Cudi for the film. She was selected to portray Glinda in the cinematic version of Wicked, which entered production in 2022. In 2023 she marked ten years since her debut with the Yours Truly (Tenth Anniversary Edition) reissue.

The next year she began her following album cycle through the chart-topping, '90s-club-styled "yes, and?" and its remix with Mariah Carey. That track introduced her seventh studio album overall, Eternal Sunshine, released in March 2024. A thematic exploration of divorce and emerging romance, the set incorporated production from Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh while balancing energetic empowerment tracks with introspective moments. It also generated the Hot 100 singles "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" and "The Boy Is Mine," topped the Billboard 200, and secured three Grammy nominations including Best Pop Vocal Album.