Ariana Grande: Pull Up A Chair... She's Dishing The Dirt

A former child star with one of the fastest-rising careers in music. Think Ariana Grande is just another manufactured pop act? Well, read on and think again.

- Kyle Buchanan

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.