THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK POP CULTURE BIOS A R I A N A G R A N D E FROM ACTRESS TO CHART-TOPPING SINGER HEATHER E. SCHWARTZ s Lerner Publications Company MINNEAPOLIS To my loving in-laws, Connie and Phil Schwartz Copyright © 2015 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or tpprhearonmtsomicssoitiptoeyndi n oigfn , L areenrcyno efrrod rPimnugb o,l iros hbr iyon tgah neGyrr womuisepea,—n Isnw—ci.t,eh leoexucctter otphnte ifc op, rrm itoherec wh arnititceanl , V ICTORIOUS, ON-SCREEN AND OFF inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. Lerner Publications Company A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA For reading levels and more information, look up this title at www.lernerbooks.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schwartz, Heather E. Ariana Grande : from actress to chart-topping singer / by Heather E. Schwartz. pages cm. — (Pop culture bios) Includes index. ISBN 978‒1‒4677‒3669‒5 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper) ISBN 978‒1‒4677‒4730‒1 (eBook) 1. Grande, Ariana—Juvenile literature. 2. Singers—United States—Biography—Juvenile literature. 3. Actresses—United States—Biography—Juvenile literature. I. Title. ML3930.G724S38 2015 782.42164092—dc23 [B] 2013051367 Manufactured in the United States of America 1 – PC – 7/15/14 INTRODUCTION PAGE 4 CCCHHHAAAPPPTTTEEERRR OOONNNEEE BBBBRRRROOOOAAAADDDDWWWWAAAAYYYY BBBBAAAABBBBYYYY PAGE 8 CCCHHHAAAPPPTTTEEERRR TTTWWWOOO VVVV IIIICCCCTTTTOOOORRRRIIIIOOOOUUUUSSSS,,,, OOOONNNN----SSSSCCCCRRRREEEEEEEENNNN AAAANNNNDDDD OOOOFFFFFFFF PAGE 14 CCCHHHAAAPPPTTTEEERRR TTTHHHRRREEEEEE SSSSUUUUPPPPEEEERRRRSSSSTTTTAAAARRRR OOOONNNN TTTTHHHHEEEE RRRRIIIISSSSEEEE PAGE 20 ARIANA PICS! 28 SOURCE NOTES 30 MORE ARIANA INFO 30 INDEX 31 3 I N T RODUCT I O N Ariana (R IGHT ) stands with the cast of Nickelodeon’s V ictorious . 4 B y the time Ariana Grande attended the 2013 American Music Awards, she was no stranger to the spotlight. Still, she wwwaaasss ssshhhaaakkkiiinnnggg iiinnn hhheeerrr SSSeeerrrgggiiiooo RRRooossssssiii ssshhhoooeeesss... FFFooorrr ooonnneee ttthhhiiinnnggg,,, ssshhheee wwwaaasss ssseeettt tttooo pppeeerrrfffooorrrmmm fffooorrr aaannn aaauuudddiiieeennnccceee ttthhhaaattt included music’s biggest stars: LL Laaadddyyy GGGaaagggaaa,,, OOOnnneee DDDiiirrreeeccctttiiiooonnn,,, JJJuuussstttiiinnn TTTiiimmmbbbeeerrrlllaaakkkeee,,, RRRiiihhhaaannnnnnaaa,,, aaannnddd TTTaaayyylllooorrr SSSwwwiiifffttt,,, tttooo nnnaaammmeee jjjuuusssttt aaa fffeeewww... B B Beeesssiiidddeeesss ttthhhaaattt,,, AAArrriiiaaannnaaa wwwooouuulllddd bbbeee pitted against big-time talents MMMaaaccckkkllleeemmmooorrreee &&& RRRyyyaaannn LLLeeewwwiiisss,,, FFFlllooorrriiidddaaa GGGeeeooorrrgggiiiaaa LLLiiinnneee,,, IIImmmaaagggiiinnneee DDDrrraaagggooonnnsss,,, aaannnddd Phillip Phillips for the NN Neeewww AAArrrtttiiisssttt ooofff ttthhheee YYYeeeaaarrr AAAwwwaaarrrddd PPPrrreeessseeennnttteeeddd bbbyyy KKKooohhhlll’’’sss... Who wouldn’t be nervous? S S Stttiiillllll,,, AAArrriiiaaannnaaa wwwaaasss aaa ppprrrooo... SSShhheee wwwaaasssnnn’’’ttt aaabbbooouuuttt tttooo llleeettt aaa cccaaassseee ooofff nnneeerrrvvveeesss ttthhhrrrooowww hhheeerrr oooffffff hhheeerrr gggaaammmeee... TTTaaakkkiiinnnggg ttthhheee ssstttaaagggeee iiinnn aaa gggllliiitttttteeerrriiinnnggg rrreeeddd gggooowwwnnn,,, ssshhheee bbbeeelllttteeeddd out her song “Tattooed Heart” with skill and emotion, stunning ttthhheee cccrrrooowwwddd bbbeeefffooorrreee hhheeerrr... WWWhhheeennn ssshhheee’’’ddd fffiiinnniiissshhheeeddd,,, mmmaaannnyyy iiinnn ttthhheee cccrrrooowwwddd gggaaavvveee hhheeerrr aa ssttaannddiinngg oovvaattiioonn,, iinncclluuddiinngg ppoopp qqquuueeeeeennn LLLaaadddyyy GGGaaagggaaa... IIIttt wwwaaasss eeennnooouuuggghhh tttooo give a girl an enormous ego! 55 Yet when Ariana won New Artist of the Year, she was far from smug. In fact, she looked shocked and overwhelmed. She leaned into her friend actress J ennette McCurdy before standing to give her a big hug. Rushing to the stage in her dress and heels, Ariana looked more like an awkward schoolgirl than a rising superstar. Lady Gaga and R. Kelly applaud Ariana’s performance at the 2013 American Music Awards. 6 Onstage, she humbly thanked her fans and everyone who’d helped her along the way. With only a few seconds left to speak, she pulled a list from the front of her dress, speed- reading the names on it so she wouldn’t miss thanking anyone. Breathless and gracious, she finished with even more gratitude. The win meant she had tons of support, and all her hard work was paying off. “I love you guys so much. Thank you. This is crazy. I love you. Thank you,” Ariana said, before hurrying off center stage. 7 Ariana poses with family members. C C CHHHAAAPPPTTTEEERRR OOONNNEEE BROA DWAY BA BY Ariana grew up in Boca Raton, Florida. 8