Pop singer and international superstar Ariana Grande has acquired a loyal fan base following her every move, including her ordinary life before her climb to fame.
Prior to her rise to stardom, Ariana Grande lived a simple life, although she always had a passion for singing. While growing up in her Florida home, she would perform in musicals at local theaters to acquire stage experience before starring in top Broadway play 13 at the age of 15 put her on the map to success.
It is easy to explain Grande’s rise to success when looking at her life growing up.
Early Life
Born in 1993 to CEO Joan Grande and graphic design business owner Edward Butera in Boca Raton, Florida, Grande identifies as Italian American.
Ariana Grande began performing musical theater as a young child, with her first traceable role being the star in Fort Lauderdale Children Theatre’s rendition of Annie.
During her time at Fort Lauderdale, she also participated in the plays Beauty and the Beast and The Wizard of Oz.
When she was 8, Grande began singing for a variety of groups and orchestras, including Symphonic Orchestras, even performing at a karaoke lounge on a cruise ship.
Her first television debut was a short performance of USA’s national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” for the Florida Panthers.
While pursuing her dream, she attended Pine Crest School in Florida before transferring to North Broward Preparatory School.
At the age of 15, in 2008, she landed a supporting role in Broadway musical 13 and moved to New York where she would have a greater opportunity to pursue her musical career.
Later on, she traveled to Los Angeles, California, to meet with managers to record a potential album. The “Thank You, Next” singer was always interested in making R&B music, as she recalls in a Billboard interview.
“I remember when I first came to L.A. to meet with my managers, I was like, ‘I want to make an R&B album,’ ” she was quoted saying. “They were like” — she drops her voice a few registers –” ‘Um, that’s a helluva goal! Who is going to buy a 14-year-old’s R&B album?!'”
Her stage experience combined with her history of performance in theatre and singing contributed to her landing the role of Cat Valentine on hit Nickelodeon show Victorious.
After singing on the album for Victorious in 2011, Grande was noticed by producers and in 2013, she released her debut record album Yours Truly.
Rise to Stardom
The teenage sitcom Victorious was wildly successful, and put Grande on the map for future career endeavors. Victorious won Favorite TV Show in the 2012 Teen Choice Awards.
Despite her success as a teen idol in Victorious, Grande was quoted saying, “acting is fun, but music has always been first for me.”
Staying true to her word, Ariana would record Youtube videos of her singing covers of various famous songs throughout 2011 while simultaneously working on her first album.
She first recorded a pop single Put Your Hearts Up in 2011, but expressed a dislike for it later in her career, opting not to put it on an album as she said she was not interested in making music of that genre.
In 2013, Grande released her first album Yours Truly which skyrocketed to number one on the US Billboards 200 albums chart.
At the 40th People’s Choice Awards, she won Favorite Breakout Artist of the Year, and in the same year she sang in a performance at the White House.
Her second studio album My Everything was released in 2014, and also reached the top of the Billboard 200.
From then on, Grande’s career was full-fledged and she released several albums and chart-toppers, collaborating with famous musicians such as Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, and Iggy Azalea.