Now I am an Ariana Grande stan. Her voice, her style, her philanthropy, and most of all how she has conquered over all obstacles in her personal life truly inspires me to be a better and happier person.
Ariana Grande is an award-winning powerhouse vocalist who is well-known for her dramatic range and is often compared to Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, two of her vocal influencers. She has received platinum ratings by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for all five of her full-length albums. As one of the leading streaming pioneers in the world, she has amassed over 40 billion streams on platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music.
But Ariana Grande is so much more than a performer. She has become the most followed woman on Instagram. She has been ranked amongst the highest-paid celebrities in 2019 by Forbes, and Time named Grande as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016 and 2019. With that Billboard also recognized her as the “Woman of the Year” in 2018.
Now it is not all about rewards. Her Philanthropy work is an unmatched one. From a young age, Ariana co-founded the South Florida youth singing group Kids Who Care, which performed for charitable fund-raising events and raised over $500,000 for charities in 2007 alone. Continuing, she and her older brother were a part of a charitable Broadway organization that taught sing and dance to children in Gugulethu, South Africa.
In more recent years Grande has been affiliated with charities, campaigns, and organizations such as Stand Up to Cancer, the Happy Hippie Foundation, founded by Miley Cyrus to help the homeless and LGBT youth. She has recorded a song in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. She also launched a collaboration with MAC Cosmetics. The line of lip shades called “Ariana Grande’s MAC Viva Glam”, The profits of which then benefit people affected by HIV and AIDS.
To aid the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing, Grande organized the One Love Manchester concert, donated a rerelease of “One Last Time” and her live performance of “Over the Rainbow” at the concert, and released a live album of the concert. Raising about $23 million.
In September 2017, Grande also performed in A Concert for Charlottesville, benefiting the victims of the August 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In March 2018, she participated in March for Our Lives to support gun control legislation.
Lastly, Grande donated the proceeds from the first show in Atlanta on her Sweetener World Tour to Planned Parenthood in a response to several anti-abortion laws being passed in several states, including Georgia. I find this amazing being from Georgia and being someone who stands with women empowerment, being pro-choice and being someone who uses the resources of Planned Parenthood I only love Ariana more.
Besides her philanthropy and her amazing voice, Ariana has become an icon. Her iconic ponytail is recognized around the world and has given her a foundation to be the face of some companies. As of 2019, she has become the new face of Givenchy, has five perfumes, and she has also come out with a Starbucks drink, the cloud macchiato, this year.
What can Ariana not do? Her personal life has had so many obstacles in the last few years. From being diagnosed with PTSD due to the bombing at her concert in Manchester, the death of her long-term ex Mac Miller, and the call-off of her engagement to Pete Davidson. Luckily, she advocates for mental health and reports that she would not be at the place she is if it was not for her therapist’s help.
To end this, I hope you learned something about this amazing artist and woman. Ariana Grande is such an inspiration to many and is definitely an artist who does more.