About the Artist

Who Sounds Like Who
V. Rose  Hollyn  Holly Starr  Britt Nicole  Caitie Hurst 

Who Is She
Ariana Grande has been preparing for stardom from an early age. After conquering the world of Broadway, she took to Nickelodeon, stealing the spotlight in the hit show Victorious. She was such an engaging presence that the network ordered a spinoff specifically focused on her character called Sam and Cat. All the while, Grande was posting numerous covers on YouTube, revealing a rather impressive singing voice in addition to her acting skills. Her music career followed her other pursuits, becoming immediately and hugely successful, as her debut single, “The Way” had the third-highest debut sales week of 2013, only behind Justin Timberlake and One Direction.

Grande’s debut album, Yours Truly, pulled off the impressive feat of debuting at number one. From there, things have only gone up. Her inescapable earworm, “Problem”, featuring rapper-of-the-moment Iggy Azalea, has solidified her place as a leader in the next generation of pop stars. Her four-octave vocal range and clear influence by vocalists like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston sets her apart from most of her contemporaries, who rely on elaborate staging and studio tricks to project star power.

What Are Her Messages
Like most young ladies in pop music, Grande’s music focuses almost completely on love and its effects of her life. Whether falling into it, falling out of it or expressing her independence from it, most of her songs provide a slick, impeccably produced soundtrack to young romance. She was raised Roman Catholic but began to express doubts concerning most religion after hearing the Pope denounce homosexuality and women in the workplace, revealing that He was essentially stating “that everything I loved and believed in was wrong. I needed something else to believe in.” Grande often discusses the supernatural in interviews however, speaking candidly about frightening encounters with demons and spirits. She is an outspoken advocate for individuality and equality for all, regardless of race, gender or beliefs.

What Does A Youthworker Need2Know
Grande’s meteoric rise to fame has quickly propelled her into the harsh spotlight of young Hollywood. It is likely that many of your students have heard of her as she is the closest thing this generation has to the Britneys and Christinas of the late 90s/early 2000s. Though her beliefs seem to mirror the currently pervasive trend of complete inclusion of any and all things, with little room for absolute right or wrong, her music mostly avoids such topics. Her new album, My Everything, is poised to be one of the biggest sellers of 2014, so engaging your students with her may be unavoidable. By exploring her views on love, you can begin an honest conversation about expectations and hopes with regard to relationships and why God’s plan for our hearts is best. You will need to do a bit of readjusting on her view of love vs. the kind of love that God provides.