For Ariana

In A Span Of Four Short Years Since Her Music Debut, Ariana Grande Has Catapulted From Nickelodeon Star To Global Phenomenon, Doing It All With Maturity Beyond Her Years. At Just 24 Years Young, How Did This Pint-Sized Diva Ascend To Become The Quintessential Role Model Pop Music Needs Today?

- Bryan Yeong

The saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” could not ring any truer than for Ariana Grande. Sure, she may have mastered the art of duck-face selfies on Instagram, and her R&B-meets-pop brand of hits might be passed off as ‘radio fluff’ by the casual listener; but beneath the baby-faced veneer and high-knotted ponytail lies a dangerously incredible woman. When she’s in performance mode, she struts and sashays with relentless confidence that belies her petite frame. But her Instagram stories show a more personal side of her fangirling over Harry Potter and sharing jokes with her grandma, whom she affectionately calls Nana. She’s as elusive as she is relatable – and not even past career mishaps (most notably the infamous ‘Donut-Gate’) can overshadow Ariana’s gleaming impact on the world in recent years.

Take her poised approach in the wake of the tragic Manchester attacks just three months ago as a prime example of the ‘One Last Time’ singer’s maturity. The heinous act of terrorism was unsuspecting, a dastardly attack on innocent victims at a pop concert. But many also opined that it’s because of the sheer positive courage and feminism-strong views Ariana and her legion of Arianators share that deplored the terrorist group, which in turn made her a ‘prime target’ to make their senseless statement. While the public assumed that the pop star would cower away from the devastation and cancel the rest of her Dangerous Woman Tour, Ariana surprised the world with the exact opposite.