Ariana Grande

Armed with a mesmerizing, nimble soprano—and a vocal register often likened to those of Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera—Ariana Grande began her career as a child star on Broadway and Nickelodeon before transforming into a pop and R&B powerhouse. Born in Florida in 1993, Grande has crafted one of pop’s most distinctive personas, equal parts playful, vulnerable, and brazenly confident. And over the course of several albums and scores of hit singles—from 2013’s R&B crooner “The Way” (featuring Mac Miller) and continuing through to an EDM collab with Zedd (“Break Free”), slinky retro-soul (“Dangerous Woman”), and diva trap-pop (“7 rings”)—she’s solidified herself as one of her generation’s most dynamic superstars. An LGBTQ+ advocate and outspoken feminist, she has long used her platform to confront misogyny, sexism, homophobia, and bullying, spreading a message of love over all. Her Max Martin-produced smash “no tears left to cry,” an escapist dance-floor triumph released a year after a deadly terrorist attack at one of her concerts in 2017, and its subsequent album, Sweetener, sent a message of hope and healing. Grande’s pop vision since, though, has focused inward. After the devastating loss of ex-boyfriend Mac Miller in 2018, she re-emerged with 2019’s therapeutic thank u, next, its title track sending off ex-lovers with a gentle kiss on the cheek. The following year’s pandemic-written Positions highlighted Grande’s vocals and her desire to be content in love, while on her lush, autofictional 2024 album, eternal sunshine, she glided with a coy smile and a heavenly whistle through the emotions of a woman betrayed, perceived, and adored. Following her blockbuster return to the screen in 2024’s Wicked, which earned her an Oscar nomination, she returned with her 2026 album petal. And with each chapter, Grande proves that her greatest strength has always been her instinct for reinvention.