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Ariana Grande-Butera  born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon, she is an influential figure in popular music .

In 2016 and 2019, Grande was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world. In 2017, Celia Almeida of the Miami New Times wrote that of all the biggest pop stars of the past 20 years, Grande made the most convincing transition “from ingénue to an independent female artist”. Bloomberg named her the “first pop diva of the streaming generation” in 2020. Regarded as a pop icon, Grande was nicknamed “Princess of Pop” by Guinness World Records. Due to her 2014 song “Santa Tell Me” becoming a modern-day Christmas standard and having a lasting impact, Grande was dubbed the “Princess of Christmas”. 

Grande was also included in Pitchfork’s list of “The 200 Most Important Artists of Pitchfork’s First 25 Years” for “emerging with music that pushed her artistry further as it asserted a magical trifecta of hope, joy, and a powerhouse voice”.Her song “Thank U, Next” was in Rolling Stone’s 2021 revision of their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2023, the magazine ranked Grande among the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time, at number 43. The Hollywood Reporter named her as one of its “Platinum Power Players” in music in 2024. In May 2024, Katy Perry claimed that Grande is “the best singer of our generation”.In October 2024, Billboard ranked Grande as the ninth-greatest pop star, out of 25 artists, of the 21st century. 

Recording artists who have cited Grande as an influence or inspiration include Billie Eilish, Breanna Yde, Bryson Tiller, Chappell Roan, Charlie Puth, Giselle of Aespa, Grace VanderWaal, Jungkook of BTS, Lana Del Rey, Madison Beer, Maggie Lindemann, Meghan Trainor, Melanie Martinez, Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, Sufjan Stevens, Tate McRae, Troye Sivan,and Zara Larsson. 

Music records and awards

Grande has sold over 90 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. All of Grande’s studio albums have been certified platinum or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and have spent at least one year charting on the Billboard 200 chart. Her highest-certified album by the RIAA is My Everything, at quadruple platinum, whilst her longest-charting album, Thank U, Next, has spent 171 non-consecutive weeks on the chart. 

Grande has accumulated 13 million albums and 95.5 million digital singles units as a lead artist in the United States, making her the 15th highest-certified artist and fifth highest-certified female artist on RIAA’s Top Artists (Digital Singles) ranking, 22nd overall, and sixth among women across all units. In the US, Grande has moved 22.4 million album units, and garnered over 23.6 billion streams across lead artist credits, as of 2023, according to Luminate. She is one of the best-selling female artists in the UK, with over 31 million certified units as of 2024.Having amassed 98 billion streams globally as of 2021, Grande is one of the most-streamed artists of all time and was the first female artist to surpass 90 billion streams.

She was the most-streamed female artist of the 2010s decade on Spotify, being the only woman in the overall top five. She was also the most-streamed female act on Apple Music as of 2019, and the first female act to amass 3 billion total streams on the platform. Grande was also the most-streamed female artist, and fourth-most-streamed artist in the US of the 2010s decade, in audio and video streams across all services; being the only woman and non-rapper in the top five. She became the most-streamed female artist of all time on Spotify in 2020, surpassing Rihanna, and held the record for over two years. As of 2024, Grande is the second-most-streamed woman and the sixth-most-streamed act ever, with over 51 billion streams (over 48 billion streams across lead artist credits). She is the second woman in the platform’s history to amass 40 and 50 billion streams. Her songs and albums are some of the most-streamed of all time. 

Grande became the first woman with one and two billion streams with one album.

 

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