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Ariana Grande unveiled her newest role as Glinda in ‘Wicked’ not too long ago, and we’re running through her acting and singing career that helped set her up for this huge milestone. From starring on Broadway to scoring countless No. 1s on the Hot 100 & Billboard 200, keep watching to see Ariana Grande’s journey to ‘Wicked!’

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🎵
Music
Transcript
00:00Ariana Grande was born to be Glinda.
00:02Oh baby, oh baby, oh
00:06Oh baby, oh
00:08The superstar may be known for her insane vocal range,
00:11but she's stepping into the iconic role of Glinda the Good Witch
00:14in John M. Chu's film adaptation of Wicked.
00:17But who is Ariana? What's her story?
00:19And how does she land a role in one of the biggest movies of the year?
00:22This is Billboard Explains Ariana Grande's Journey to Wicked.
00:27Born in Boca Raton, Florida, Ariana's passion for singing and musical theater
00:31started at a young age.
00:32Growing up, she starred in numerous theater productions,
00:35including the leading role in a children's production of Annie.
00:38At 15, she was chosen from thousands of hopefuls to play the role of Charlotte
00:43in the Broadway musical 13 and made the move from Florida to New York in 2008.
00:48Fast forward to the early 2010s when Ariana made her big TV debut
00:52on the Nickelodeon series Victorious, starring as Cat Valentine.
00:56The show ran for four seasons and turned into the popular spinoff,
01:00Salmon Cat.
01:01During this time, Ariana landed her Billboard chart debut
01:04with the Victorious song, Give It Up,
01:07which debuted at number three on Kid Digital Song Sales.
01:10Ariana also started uploading covers to YouTube
01:13and soon caught the attention of Republic Records president Monty Lipman.
01:17He signed Ari to the label in August 2011.
01:20She released her debut album, Yours Truly, in 2013,
01:23debuting at number one on the Billboard 200.
01:31The album featured her Mac Miller collab, The Way,
01:34which debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.
01:37She soon followed that up with her sophomore album, My Everything, in 2014
01:42and earned four top 10 Hot 100 hits that year
01:45with Problem featuring Iggy Azalea, Break Free featuring Zedd,
01:49Bang Bang with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj,
01:52and Love Me Harder with The Weeknd.
01:54As Ariana's star continued to rise, her third album, Dangerous Woman,
01:58debuted at number two on the Billboard 200
02:00and produced hits like Into You, Side to Side,
02:03featuring Nicki Minaj and the title track.
02:13In 2018, Ariana came back stronger with yet another number one album with Sweetener,
02:19featuring tracks like No Tears Left to Cry and God is a Woman.
02:27Less than a year later, Ariana had more music up her sleeve
02:30with her fifth album, Thank U, Next,
02:32and earned her first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100
02:35with the album's title track.
02:37The album also helped Ariana become the second artist after the Beatles
02:41to ever hold the entire top three spots of the Hot 100 at once
02:45with Seven Rings, Break Up With Your Girlfriend I'm Bored, and Thank U, Next.
02:55During the COVID-19 pandemic,
02:57Ariana gifted fans with her critically acclaimed album positions
03:00with the album's title track topping the Hot 100.
03:06Four years later, she returned with her latest album, Eternal Sunshine,
03:09in March 2024, including a pair of number one hits,
03:13Yes And, and We Can't Be Friends, Wait For Your Love,
03:16as well as The Boy Is Mine, which got a remix with Brandy and Monica.
03:27Over the past couple years, Ariana has been hard at work portraying the role of her lifetime,
03:32Glinda the Good Witch in Universal's Wicked, alongside Cynthia Erivo,
03:36and has been receiving rave reviews for her work in the film.
03:39Who knows when Ariana will return with new music,
03:41but we love to see her fulfilling her Wicked dreams,
03:44and can't wait to see what else is to come for this superstar.

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