The 30-year-old Florida-born Ariana Grande is one of the most recognizable pop stars in the world. With big hair and a petite frame, the powerful singer and performer has become the apple of many a music fan’s eye.
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But what does the talented, award-winning artist have to say about the world outside and of her popular, multi-million-streamed songs? What are her thoughts on her life and craft, love, family, and the music industry?
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1. “Be happy with being you. Love your flaws. Own your quirks. And know that you are just as perfect as anyone else, exactly as you are.”
2. “Love is a really scary thing, and you never know what’s going to happen. It’s one of the most beautiful things in life, but it’s one of the most terrifying. It’s worth the fear because you have more knowledge, experience, you learn from people, and you have memories.”
3. “I’m so thankful for the Internet because actors and singers and performers now have a way to connect with their fans on a very personal level which I think is quite special.”
4. “I don’t feel much pressure to fit in. I never have. I’ve always just wanted to do my thing. I have really good friends and good family, and if I don’t fit in somewhere else, I fit in at home.”
5. “I think it’s so important for girls to love themselves and to treat their bodies respectfully.”
6. “I always knew that St. Jude was an amazing organization but meeting the kids and seeing how the hospital works first hand was truly beautiful. It doesn’t feel like a regular hospital all dreary and sad. It’s a colorful, beautiful, comfortable, fun place to live and the energy is wonderful.”
7. “One of the most terrible feelings in the world is knowing that someone else doesn’t like you. Especially when you don’t know what you’ve done to deserve it.”
8. “I like very girly, retro inspired, feminine, floral things. I’m not very edgy.”
9. “People tend to think that because I’m a performer and I don’t go to a regular high school that I haven’t personally been affected by bullies. But it’s actually quite the contrary.”
10. “I grew up writing songs in my room on GarageBand, and I would make the beats just out of layering my vocals over and over again. Very Imogen Heap-inspired.”
11. “Meditation is a great way to keep my body well-centered while juggling shooting schedules and recording sessions.”
12. “I’ve done the bad-boy thing. It was fun for a good three months. But the thing about bad boys is, you have to keep in mind, you’re never gonna marry a bad boy.”
13. “Sometimes, people can be extraordinarily judgmental and closed-minded to anyone different or special, which is why it’s so hard for young people in this day and age to be comfortable enough in their own skin to not listen to the people picking on them.”
14. “I met India Arie, who is one of my favorite artists of all time. It was really sweet; I was broken up with a month before, and she stayed up texting me all night and was helping me through it. Her text message looks like a song of hers. She’s sort of become my fairy godmother.”
15. “If anything, we should feel sorry for the people who want us to feel bad about ourselves, because they are the ones struggling for approval. In middle school, bullies tortured other kids because they thought it would make people like them more.”
16. “I’m a big perfectionist! I’m trying to channel super-confident women like Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey and Beyonce, because I realized that if you want something, you really have to go for it, just like they do.”
17. “I worked with someone who told me they’d never like me. But for some reason, I just felt like I needed her approval. So I started changing myself to please her. It made me stop being social and friendly. I was so unhappy.”
18. “I did stand-up for my grandparents every day when I was, like, eight.”
19. “I jog up to the Hollywood sign every weekend. It’s fun and what a view!”
20. “Every day, my mom and I would watch a different Judy Garland VHS. I love how she tells a story when she sings. It was just about her voice and the words she was singing—no strings attached or silly hair or costumes, just a woman singing her heart out. I feel like that doesn’t happen that much anymore.”
Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
