Thursday, January 14, 2016

Ariana Grande, Teen Pop Legend

Ariana Grande (Wenn).

Ariana Grande (born June 26, 1993) is the idol of millions of teenage girls. A talented singer and actress, she has exploded onto the television screens of tweens around the world, and trails only Selena Gomez as the most-followed person on Instagram with well over 110 million followers.

Ariana has had her share of controversy, too. Her concert in Manchester, England famously was bombed by terrorists in 2017, and Ariana quickly flew home to Florida. However, she gathered her nerve together and quickly went back Manchester to give a charity performance with other superstars.

Let's learn a little more about Ariana Grande.

Ariana is not her real name, it is Ariana Grande-Butera. Her mother's last name is Grande, and her father's is Butera.

Ariana is Italian, half Sicilian and half Abruzzese (east of Rome).

Ariana began acting early, playing Annie and parts in "The Wizard of Oz" and "Beauty and the Beast."

Ariana's big break was being chosen for the cast of Nickelodeon show "Victorious" in 2009. She died her hair red for the role.

Ariana liked acting on the show, but she was more interested in recording an album.

Ariana's first song was "Give It Up" on the soundtrack for her television show.

Ariana's first single was "Put Your Hearts Up," which she released in December 2011.

While "Put Your Hearts Up" went gold, Ariana didn't like it due to its teen-pop sound.

Arian's next song was "Don't You (Forget About Me)" from the second soundtrack to her television show, "Victorious 2.0."

There was a third soundtrack to the show, "Victorious 3.0," and Ariana contributed "L.A. Boyz."

Ariana's next song, and her first on her own, was "Popular Song," a duet with Mika.

After her show was cancelled, Ariana starred in a spinoff called "Sam & Cat." Her co-star was Jennette McCurdy. The show premiered on 8 June 2013.

Sam & Cat only lasted one season, and there was friction between Ariana and Jennette. They apparently made up at some point. Jennette later released a sort of parody video in which she appeared to take a swipe at Ariana, though that is open to interpretation.

After Sam & Cat, Ariana focused on her musical career again. She released her album "Daydreamin' a few months later. it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart and became a gold album.

Ariana's single "The Way" from the album hit No. 9 on the singles chart.

Her other singles from the album, "Baby I" and "Right There," also did well.

Ariana did some acting, too, appearing in a Nickelodeon film "Swindle" with McCurdy.

Ariana's second album was "My Everything," released on 25 August 2014.

"My Everything" went to No. 1, too.

Her next single, "Problem," hit No. 2 on the singles charts.

Ariana has run into some issues with the press. Some people considered some of her interactions with fans and the press to be those of a diva. Many others think she was just being a normal person responding to endless provocations.

In addition, Ariana was caught on surveillance video saying "I hate Americans" and "I hate America." She also licked some of the doughnuts that were on display.