Ariana Grande is one of the most recognizable and successful musicians today. She dominates the charts whenever she releases a new album. Grande also has a huge fan base but perhaps some of them have one or two things about the singer that they don't know about. Here are some of the things that some of Ari's fans may hear for the first time.
The Thank U, Next hitmaker was born Ariana Grande-Butera. Fans of the singer have known that Ariana is allergic to cats but her name is believed to have been inspired by Princess Oriana from the cartoon series Felix the Cat. This is perhaps the reason why the singer is often seen sporting cat ears even though she doesn't own a feline.
Ariana got recognition at age eight from no other than Gloria Estefan. The "Turn the Beat Around" singer shared in a past interview that she first saw eight-year-old Grande singing while onboard a cruise ship.
Estefan was blown away not only because young Ariana was singing "My Heart Will Go On" from the movie Titanic while on a ship but also she was amazed by Grande's voice. Estefan recalled giving advise to Ari and her mother on what to do if the young singer is determined to pursue a career in singing.
At age 10, she co-founded a singing charity group, called Kids Who Care, in Florida. The group was able to raise over $500,000 in 2017. Two years later, Ariana along with her brother, Frankie, performed and taught music and dance to children in Gugulethu, South Africa.
Ariana hates her first single "Put Your Hearts Up," which was released in 2011. The singer admitted the "bubblegum pop" song is not the kind of music she prefers to sing. Apparently, Grande would like soulful music in her repertoire. Though Ari disowned the track, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it Gold in 2014.
Ariana's "Baby I," from her debut album Yours Truly was originally written for Beyonce. The "Single Ladies" hitmaker, however, rejected the song and it landed on Grande's first studio album. "Baby I" debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Grande sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" during her live performance at the One Love Manchester concert in 2018 not only because The Wizard of Oz was her favorite movie as a kid. Ari revealed during the concert that it was also her grandfather's favorite song.
