from me to u... (book one)

chapter one: introduction

ARIANA GRANDE-BUTERA (b. June 26, 1993), is an internationally recognized singer, songwriter, and actress. With a career spanning almost fifteen years, Grande caught her first break in Broadway, starring in the production 13 (alongside future co-star Elizabeth Gillies and then-boyfriend Graham Phillips). Her breakout role, however, came with playing Cat Valentine in the hit Nickelodeon show Victorious. With the show ending in 2012, Grande reprised her role as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon spin-off series Sam and Cat, starring iCarly star Jenette Mccurdy as Sam Puckett. The show, however, was canceled only after two seasons, with sources revealing that tensions between Grande and Mccurdy, as well as Grande's increased desire to branch into music, were the sources of the cancellation of the show.

In mid-2013, Grande made her musical debut with her album My Everything. A stark contrast from the innocent, child-like character of Cat Valentine on television, My Everything explored themes of heartbreak, lost love, and toxic relationships. Showcasing her incredible vocal range, and intimate songwriting prowess, My Everything debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and Grande became the youngest act to have four top ten hits simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 (One Last Time, Break Free ft. Zedd, Love Me Harder with The Weeknd, and Bang Bang - which was featured on the deluxe edition, and featuring Jessie J and Nicki Minaj). Grande earned four nominations at the 2015 Grammy Awards; Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for Love Me Harder with The Weeknd, and Best Pop Solo Performance for One Last Time, winning Best New Artist. As of August 2018, My Everything has sold twelve million copies and has been certified diamond by the RIAA.

In late 2015, Grande released Dangerous Woman - which proved to be a step further into adulthood, exploring themes of sex, abandonment, and short-term flings. The title track became Grande's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and Into You became her second number-one single after just five weeks. Her third single, Side to Side ft. Nicki Minaj peaked at number four. Dangerous Woman topped the Billboard 200 chart for eight weeks and sold 800,000 copies in its first week. Dangerous Woman became Ariana Grande's first Album of the Year nomination at the 2016 Grammys, alongside other nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Side to Side ft. Nicki Minaj, and Record of the Year for Into You, winning Best Pop Vocal Album. As of August 2018, Dangerous Woman has sold eight million copies and is certified 8 x Platinum by the RIAA.

Having gotten her start in acting, Grande ventured into film with the movie In Nova Street. Having been in production since 2014, Grande had co-written the screenplay with the director Josh Boone (who also directed The Fault in Our Stars). Alongside the writing of the film, Grande took the lead role in the film as Bryony Taylor opposite former One Direction star Harry Styles, who played Liam Stallard. Grande also had a hand in producing, writing, and recording every song in the official soundtrack of the movie. Released in January 2017, In Nova Street followed the story of a young girl suffering from depression and borderline personality disorder being forced to go out for a night of drinking and partying, but meets a young man who not only makes the miserable night tolerable but helps her find the courage to overcome the obstacles she faces in her life. Upon release, the film was lauded by film critics, with particular praise being directed towards the mature concept of the storyline, the music, and Grande's performance as a troubled, lonely university student. During the 2018 Academy Awards, In Nova Street was nominated for Best Picture, and Grande received an astounding three nominations, breaking the record for being the youngest person to receive more than one nomination in different categories in one night, and alongside Mary J. Blige, was the first act to be nominated for an acting and music award in the same night. Grande was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Song for "Loudspeaker". Grande ended up winning Best Original Song, making this her first Oscar win. The soundtrack up until August 2018 has sold five million copies in the United States.

Grande embarked on the Dangerous Woman Tour starting from February of 2017 - shortly after the release of In Nova Street. However, during her concert in Manchester on May 22, a suicide bombing occurred in the Manchester Arena, killing 22 concert-goers and injuring hundreds of others. Grande issued a statement thereafter via Twitter that she was "broken," and offered to help those affected by the bombing. They sympathized with Grande's words and showed their overwhelming support as her statement later became the second most liked of all time. In addition to returning to the city to visit and FaceTime with hospitalized victims, Grande subsequently organized a benefit concert several weeks later, headlined by herself and a number of other artists and groups. The concert was watched by more than 100 million people worldwide and raised proceeds exceeding £10 million in the twelve hours following its conclusion.

A year after the Manchester bombing, Grande released her fourth studio album Sweetener in early August of 2018. The single No Tears Left to Cry debuted at number one (marking this Grande's first number one debut), and in a career-first, all fifteen songs charted in the Billboard Hot 100. Moving a million copies in its first day alone, Sweetener marked Ariana Grande's most successful opening week.

Grande has two Grammy Awards, one Academy Award, five MTV Video Music Awards, ten American Music Awards, one BRIT Award, and three Juno Awards. She has sold almost 75 million singles and 26.5 kkmillion albums in the United States, and has been projected to have sold almost 120 million singles and 70 million albums worldwide - making her the most successful artist to debut in the 2010s. In an updated Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, Grande was the only addition, placed at number 68.

Grande's personal life is subject to immense publicity, however, she tends to keep an extremely low profile. Grande dated her 13 co-star Graham Phillips from 2008 to 2011. Grande also dated YouTube star Jai Brooks for five months in 2013. From 2014 to 2015, Grande dated rapper Big Sean for eight months. Early 2016, it was also reported that Grande was dating her back-up dancer Ricky Alvarez. Following their breakup in mid-2016, Grande began dating Pittsburg-based rapper Mac Miller from August 2016 up until April 2018. Being the private person she is, Grande keeps her displays of affection on social media extremely subtle and infrequent. On top of her semi-reserved activity on social media, Grande rarely appears in interviews, award shows, or meet-and-greets. The reasoning behind her lack of interactions is unknown, however, Grande connects with her fans through Twitter, and since 2014, has sent out thousands of surprise gift-boxes to her fans every holiday season. The only exceptions she has made are for her interviews with Zach Sang, and her visits with her fans who were also victims of the Manchester Arena bombings.

Along with writing her own music, Grande has stamped her name on songs performed by other artists, ranging from Troye Sivan, Zendaya, Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, and Carly Rae Jepsen.

A/N: I added some extra details in here to make Ariana a little more rounded and accomplished (more than she already is 0 and believe me that was hard to do). It's important for the story, so I genuinely hope you don't mind! I love you guys very much! Thanks for giving the story a chance!