ARIANA GRANDE
Pull up a chair… she’s dishing the dirt
Ariana Grande is dressed casually in an oversized slogan hoodie that reads ‘Harvey’ (given to her by her Hairspray
Live! co-star Harvey Fierstein), with her hair pulled into her trademark high ponytail. It’s a sunny afternoon in December at a studio in Beverly Hills where she has been secretly working on her fourth studio album for the past few months.
From the off, she is keen to make me feel welcome, offering popcorn and introducing me to her entourage. Also here is her former best friend, now boyfriend, the rapper Mac Miller, 25. “This is Malcolm,” she says coyly, her eyes lighting up. The pair confirmed they were dating last September.
Introductions done, Ariana kicks her team – and poor Malcolm – out of the room. It’s a rare moment of calm in the singer’s crazy schedule because Ariana is, of course, a bit of a big deal right now. And when we say big, we mean absolutely huge.
The fourth most followed person on Instagram (98 million followers and counting, thank you very much), Ariana started out in kids’ TV. Her first major role was aged 16 on Nickelodeon series Victorious. From there, a spin-off show, Sam & Cat, was created around her character. But the savvy Florida-born singer only ever intended her TV career to be a launch pad for her music.
And it paid off. In 2011, while working on Victorious, and singing Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey covers on YouTube in her spare time, she was signed by Republic Records. She released her first album, Yours
Truly, two years later, which went straight to number one – only the 15th time a debut by a female artist has done so (Beyoncé is also on that exclusive list). Her second offering hit the top of the charts, too, and then last year her single Dangerous Woman, from her third album of the same name, made her the first artist in Billboard Hot 100 history to have the lead single from each of her first three albums go straight into the top 10.
But Ariana’s talent doesn’t stop at having an incredible vocal range. Last year Hollywood really took notice when Ariana hosted Saturday
Night Live and pulled off some seriously impressive impersonations – including one of Jennifer Lawrence. Steven Spielberg loved it so much he reportedly texted SNL’s creator and producer, Lorne Michaels, to tell him.
And let’s not forget how vocal Ariana has been about gender equality and discrimination. Today, she tells us, “A lot of times, women are labelled as a bitch or a diva for having a vision and being strong and using their voice, and it’s just not the case. You can be strong and be friendly. [We] don’t have to be just one thing, you know? Women can love to read a book and have sex.”
So what else do you need to know about this 23-year-old? Do you think sexual confidence is crucial for success in your
career? “There’s scrutiny that comes with it, but I’m proud of myself for embracing it in my art and for keeping a shot of my behind in the
Dangerous Woman video [halfway through there is a close-up of Ariana in a pair of tiny briefs]. There was a moment when we were editing and my director, Nev, said, ‘You’re going to be sad one day if we don’t keep this in.’ I was like, ‘Nev, when I am 95, that is going to be framed over my fireplace.’ I’m not defined by it. It’s a horrible situation that we’re dealing with right now as women. I feel bad for girls who go to school with a short skirt and are told that they’re asking for it just because they like [to show] their legs.” The Dangerous Woman video was quite racy… “I’ve taken baby steps in expressing my sexuality. I’m still figuring everything out, but it’s good to be at a point where I’m having fun with it, and I don’t think that makes me any less of a role model. I think that it makes me honest.” You’re with Mac now – what’s the biggest difference between when you’re single and when you’re in a relationship? “Not much. I’ve never looked at love as something that I need to complete me. I would like to be complete on my own first and fall in love with somebody who is also complete. You can still celebrate and be totally obsessed with each other, but I want to feel 100% myself so that I can love that person better.” What have you learned from past relationships? “I always put everyone’s feelings before mine. It can be taxing, emotionally, and drain the shit out of me. I’ve
“Women are labelled as a bitch for being strong”
learned how to balance that out and be a loving partner, but also nourish myself. A lot of people forget about the whole self-love thing when they’re with someone, and both are imperative.” You’ve known Mac for quite a long
time, haven’t you? “I met him when I was 19. We have loved, adored and respected each other since the beginning, even before we met, because we were fans of each other’s talent. We weren’t ready to be together, though. We both needed to experience some things [first], but the love has been there the whole time. There were times over the years when he would call me and hear that I was stressed or overwhelmed or not doing well, and he would ring my mum. There were also times when he was really broken and sad – this was years ago – and I would come take care of him, because we love each other as best friends first and foremost.” Did people close to you realise you were meant to be together before you did? “Oh, yeah. Our families have known the entire time. He saw a [magazine] cover of mine four or five years ago and told his mum,‘She’s the one.’ How cute is that? That was before we were even talking.” Yo u r Saturday Night Live appearance was a huge hit with everyone. How did
that feel? “SNL was the most fun I’ve ever had. I love being able to make fun of myself, and put on a different mask. I love singing, of course, but making people laugh and feel like they don’t have to take everything so seriously is even more fulfilling to me.” How did the Jennifer Lawrence sketch come
about? “They said,‘Can you do JLaw?’ I was like, ‘I have no idea. I could try.’ I didn’t know if I could! That was my first time trying it. I think she liked it, though – that’s what I heard.” Do you consider yourself to be a businesswoman? “I didn’t care about the business part for a long time. I was burying myself in the music and being like,‘Cool, wake me up when I have to sing.’ Not until the past two years did I start to have any sort of business sensibility. Now I can confidently say that I run my show entirely from top to bottom.” Why is being in charge so
important to you? “I’m not OK to put everything in someone else’s hands, because if I’m going to make art, then I should care about how it is going to be handled and represented. Now, I’m very much in charge, and it feels amazing.”
“I’m not OK to put everything in someone else’s hands”