Ariana Grande-Butera (, born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Boca Raton, Florida, Grande began her career at age 15 in the 2008 Broadway musical 13. She rose to fame for her role as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series Victorious (2010–2013) and Sam & Cat (2013–2014). She subsequently signed with Republic Records in 2011 after the label's executives discovered YouTube videos of her covering songs. Her 1950s doo-wop-influenced pop and R&B debut album, Yours Truly (2013), topped the US Billboard 200 chart, while its lead single, "The Way", charted in the top ten of the US Billboard Hot 100. Upon release, critics compared Grande to Mariah Carey for her wide vocal range and whistle register.
Grande maintained her pop and R&B sound on her second and third studio albums, My Everything (2014), and Dangerous Woman (2016), with the former exploring EDM and producing the UK number-one singles "Problem", and "Bang Bang", and the latter becoming her first of four consecutive number-one albums in the UK Singles Chart. Her personal struggles influenced her trap-infused fourth and fifth studio albums, Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019), which were both critical and commercial successes. The former won Grande a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, while the latter broke the record for the largest streaming week for a pop album, and was nominated for the Album of the Year. The singles "Thank U, Next", "7 Rings", and "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored"
made Grande the first solo artist to hold the top three spots on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously, and the first woman to succeed herself at the top of the UK. In 2020, her collaborations "Stuck with U" with Justin Bieber and "Rain on Me" with Lady Gaga helped her break the record for most number-one debuts on the Hot 100. Grande's R&B-influenced sixth studio album, Positions (2020), and its title track, debuted at number-one in the UK and US.
She has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including one Grammy Award, one Brit Award, two Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, nine MTV Video Music Awards, and eight Guinness World Records. Grande also holds several Billboard Hot 100 chart records; among the above, she is also the only artist to have five number-one debuts, to have their first five number one singles debut at the top spot, to have three number one-debuts in one calendar year, and to have all lead singles from each of her first six studio albums debut in the top ten. Grande's first five full-length albums have been certified platinum by the RIAA. Having amassed billions of streams thus far, Grande is the most streamed female artist on Spotify and Apple Music, and is currently the most followed solo female artist on Spotify, and YouTube. She has been included on Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world (2016 and 2019) and on Forbes Celebrity 100 (2019 and 2020), while Billboard has honored her as Woman of the Year (2018), the greatest pop star of 2019, and the most accomplished female artist to debut in the 2010s. Aside from music, Grande is known for her fashion, and signature ponytail hairdo. Since 2019, Grande is the most followed woman on Instagram.
