Ariana Grande-Butera (; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Boca Raton, Florida, Grande began her career in the 2008 Broadway musical 13 and rose to prominence for her role as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series Victorious (2010–2013), and in its spin-off, Sam & Cat (2013–2014). After she grew interested in pursuing a music career, Grande recorded songs for the soundtrack of Victorious, and signed with Republic Records in 2011 after the label's executives discovered videos of her covering songs that she uploaded onto YouTube. She released her debut album, Yours Truly (2013). A 1950s doo-wop-influenced pop and R&B album, it debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and spawned her first US Billboard Hot 100 top-ten single, "The Way".
Grande's second studio album, My Everything (2014), continued the pop-R&B sound of its predecessor and incorporated EDM elements. It topped the Billboard 200 and featured four US top-ten singles: "Problem", "Break Free", "Bang Bang", and "Love Me Harder", the most of any artist that year. Grande's third studio album, Dangerous Woman (2016) became her first of three consecutive number-one albums in the UK, and included the top-five single "Side to Side". Grande began experimenting with trap on her next albums, Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019), while maintaining her characteristic pop-R&B tones. Both debuted at number one in several countries and were acclaimed by music critics. The former won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and spawned the international top-three single "No Tears Left to Cry", while the latter was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards and broke several streaming records upon release. With the release of the singles "Thank U, Next", "7 Rings" and "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored", Grande became the first solo artist to hold the top three spots on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously and the first female artist to succeed herself at number one on the UK Singles Chart. Additionally, she is the only artist to have the lead singles from each of their first five studio albums debut within the top ten in the US.
Grande has received various accolades, including one Grammy Award, one Brit Award, two Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, and eight Guinness World Records. All five of Grande's full-length albums have been certified Platinum or higher by the RIAA. As one of the leading streaming pioneers in the world, she has amassed over 50 billion streams on platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music. She is the most followed female on the former two, while being the most listened to female on the latter two. An influential figure on social media, she is an outspoken feminist and supporter for LGBT rights. In February 2019, she became the most followed woman on Instagram. Forbes ranked her amongst the highest-paid celebrities in 2019, while Time named Grande as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016 and 2019. Billboard recognized her as the "Woman of the Year" in 2018, and declared her the most accomplished female artist to debut in the 2010s.
