Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande-Butera (/ˌɑːɹiˈɑːnə ˈɡɹɑːndeɪ bjʊˈtɛəɹə/), better known as Ariana Grande, born on 26 June 1993 in Boca Raton, Florida, is an American singer-songwriter, actress and music producer.

She began her career in 2007, at the age of 15, playing the role of Charlotte in the Broadway musical 13. She rose to fame playing the role of Cat Valentine in the sitcom Victorious, as well as reprising the same role in its spin-off Sam & Cat, becoming one of the faces of the Nickelodeon channel.

Although already active in music through various projects such as her TV series or her YouTube channel, she truly launched her music career in March 2013, releasing her debut single The Way, a duet with Mac Miller, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified double platinum by the RIAA. Her first album, Yours Truly, reached number one on the Billboard 200 and received positive reviews. She thus became the first artist to have a debut album top the charts since Kesha's album Animal, in January 2010. Her second album, My Everything, also reached number one on the Billboard 200, making her the first female artist to have had her first two albums debut at number one in succession since Susan Boyle. The lead single, Problem, a duet with Iggy Azalea, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the number one iTunes download in more than fifty countries. In 2016, with the release of her third album Dangerous Woman, she became the first artist in history to have had the lead single from each of her albums reach the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2013, she won the award for Best New Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards, then was named 'Artist of the Year' in 2016. In 2014, she was named 'Breakthrough Artist of the Year' by the Music Business Association and was nominated in the 'Best New Artist' category at the Billboard Music Awards. She also received her first Grammy Award nomination in 2015 for her album My Everything, followed by nominations in subsequent years for Dangerous Woman and Sweetener. The latter won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 61st ceremony, becoming the singer's first win at the Grammys.

In November 2018, once again, she topped the Billboard Hot 100 with her single Thank U, Next, which entered directly at number one, dethroning Maroon 5's Girls Like You.

She was named 'Woman of the Year' in 2018 by Billboard, an American weekly magazine specialising in the music industry and recognised internationally.

Her fifth album, Thank U, Next, allowed her to break several records, topping the sales charts just five minutes after its release and debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It also allowed her to match a historic record by placing three tracks from the album at number one, two and three on the Billboard Hot 100, a record she shares with the Beatles, who had placed five songs in the top five spots in 1964.

In 2024, she made her film debut playing the role of Glinda in the musical film Wicked, adapted from the musical of the same name, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 97th ceremony.