After eight years of her first single “The Way” featuring Mac Miller, released on March 25, 2013, Ariana Grande has become the epitome of pop music of the last decade. Shedding her peppy Nickelodeon Cat Valentine role, Grande has stepped into her thigh-high boots and gathers attention from everyone as the vocalist of our generation.
Grande did not step into this role overnight, though. Grande has experimented with different styles, whether through her music or clothing, to best express herself and reflect on her experiences. Each era has without a doubt been iconic for fans all over the world.
Starting her career at only 15 years old in the Broadway musical “13”, Grande then moved on to star as Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon’s “Victorious” when she was 16. Her character, Cat Valentine, was a fan-favorite and went on to have her own show “Sam & Cat”, alongside iCarly’s Jennette McCurdy. Playing the super sweet red-headed character for four years as a teen, Grande felt as though she had to hide behind her Nickelodeon image. She went on to release her first single, “Put Your Hearts Up” in 2011, which Graned later disowned because of its inauthenticity and tween sound. In an interview with Zach Sang, Grande explained that the single and music video, which was her with her red hair dancing around in a hot pink dress, was not her style, and instead, a very much Cat Valentine-esque single.
With her now brown hair in her famous half-up, half-down do, wearing super high heels and girly skirts, Grande was entering a new era. On September 3, 2013, Grande released her debut album, which took inspiration from urban pop from the late 1990s. Having been able to let go of her false persona to who she truly was, Grande named the album “Yours Truly”, signing it as she would a love letter.
In a time of her sky-high ponytail and cat ears around one year later, Grande released her sophomore album, “My Everything”, on August 25, 2014, where she experimented with new sounds. Having some of the biggest hits of 2014 including “Bang Bang (featuring Nicki Minaj and Jessie J)”, “Problem (featuring Iggy Azalea)”, and “Break Free (featuring Zedd)”, Grande was becoming a dominant player in the world of music. She played with different styles from 90s R&B in “Problem” to EDM in “Break Free” and to slower sentimental songs such as Harry Styles’ penned, “Just A Little Bit of Your Heart”.
An even greater force came when “Dangerous Woman” released on May 20, 2016. Grande traded in her cat ears for bunny ears, perhaps symbolic of the no longer present Cat Valentine character. With the album cover featuring her latex bunny mask, signature ponytail, and her first Parental Advisory label, the music itself showed Grande’s more sensual and mature side. In a live chat before releasing her album, Graned explained her different route to this new music saying, “To me, a dangerous woman is someone who’s not afraid to take a stand, be herself, and to be honest.”
During the European leg of the “Dangerous Woman” tour on May 22, 2017, tragedy struck in the Manchester Arena. While the show was ending, a suicide bomber set off an explosion, killing more than 22 people, and wounding 59. With a young fanbase, children were among those affected. Mourning the lives of those loved ones, Grande set up a benefit concert in Manchester, the One Love Manchester concert on June 4, 2017, raising millions of dollars for those affected.
In a way to brighten up the darker event of the previous year, Grande released “Sweetener”, her fourth album, on August 17, 2018. Her album cover hints at the positivity of her lyrics, with it being her first album cover in color. In addition, Grande debuted her silver hair in this era, in contrast to her usual darker brown ponytail. “Sweetener” was a beautiful response to dealing with her trauma and for Grande to show how music heals her and others. In a sound taking you to a dreamlike state, Grande showcased her lower register, instead of her previous sound of showing off the crazy tricks her voice can pull off in her more radio/pop songs. “Sweetener” was about caring less about her range and more about the lyrical content and showing a sweeter and more mature side of her. As happens in life, Grande seemed to be at the height of her happiness during this time, singing songs like “No Tears Left to Cry”, and naming a song after her then-fiance, Pete Davidson. Of course, things don’t usually go as we wish they did.
On September 7, 2018, singer Mac Miller passed away from an overdose. Miller and Grande had met years before when Grande was 19 and had become close friends, which then blossomed into a romantic relationship in 2016. They both appeared on each other’s songs and continuously showed their love for each other on social media. Though they broke up in May 2018, both remained on good terms with each other. Quickly after their breakup, though, Grande began dating Davidson, and in a flurry of news of this new relationship, Grande and Davidson got engaged in June of that same year. The news of Miller’s overdose 2 months later left his fans pointing fingers at her to blame, claiming she abandoned him for Davidson.
With the whirlwind of traumatic events Grande went through in a single year, from the Manchester bombing to her former love Miller passing away, to her calling off her engagement to Davidson, Grande was at her lowest point, grieving and traumatized. As a musician, Grande turned to songwriting to heal herself, and hence, “Thank U, Next” was created, her most personal and honest album. Working in an environment of a supportive group of friends who flew in to support her, Grande was able to pull herself out of the dark and take the best out of the horrible situations and turn it into one of her most successful albums to date.
The “thank u, next” single was dropped in a surprise on November 3, 2018; it quickly shot to fame because of Grande being completely honest, using real names of exes, and being grateful for lessons learned from failed relationships. In this powerful song, Grande gave women confidence everywhere to learn to love themselves. The music video for “thank u, next” alone racked up more than 55 million views in 24 hours, breaking YouTube records, and featuring celebrities ranging from the Kardashians to Jennifer Coolidge. The full album was then released on February 8, 2019, breaking even more records because of the powerful message behind it: Grande reminded fans to embrace their mistakes and what they learn from them.
Closing up with her latest album, “Positions”, released October 30, 2020, Grande shows how she now rather prefers releasing music on her own terms, without sticking to certain expectations. In contrast to her more pop-sounding music, Positions veers more towards R&B. While “Positions” might not have had as big of an impact as “Sweetener” & “Thank U, Next”, her lyrics and raw voice in “Positions” beautifully resonate with the process of healing and learning how to love again. “Positions” was the production of Grande’s new chapter of a healed version of herself and a way for her to make fans smile during the craziness of 2020.
With just eight years of Grande making music, she has become a key figure in music. She takes her life experiences and turns them into an escape for fans everywhere, giving us music for every occasion with over 100 songs in her discography. As Nicki Minaj says in the “Side to Side” collaboration, “Ariana runs pop. Don’t believe her? Go ahead and look up “Biggest pop star in the world”.