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00:00People call me the queen of entertainment, a famous pop icon, a musical superstar.
00:04You can take your pick. As for me, I like to be called the queen of hearts.
00:08Hi, I'm Ariana Grande. I was born in 1993 in Florida to overachiever parents
00:13who were super successful in their careers.
00:15Right since I was a toddler, I loved to sing.
00:17Mom would sing me lullabies and I'd sing along with her.
00:20You have a beautiful voice, my baby, just like an angel.
00:23I'm not so sure. I didn't get selected for the school choir.
00:26Don't let that dishearten you, sweetheart, and have confidence in your talent.
00:30I'm sure you're meant for greater things.
00:32Although I loved singing, I was also fascinated by theater and acting.
00:36I performed on stage for the first time when I was eight in a musical named Annie.
00:40Are you nervous, Ari? No, not at all.
00:42In fact, I can't wait to set the stage on fire.
00:45And I did just that.
00:47That musical was a great success, and it marked the beginning of my musical theater journey.
00:51After that, I performed in so many other local productions like Beauty and the Beast and The Wizard of Oz.
00:56Life was going smoothly, but then my parents got separated.
00:59I felt devastated for a while.
01:01But thank God I had my pet dogs to keep me going through that tough phase.
01:04Just so you know, I have ten rescue pups.
01:07One of them is named Sirius Black.
01:09Yeah, I'm quite obsessed with Harry Potter.
01:11But then, aren't we all?
01:13So by the time I turned 14, I decided I'd acted enough and now wanted to make a career in singing.
01:18I packed my bags and moved to Los Angeles to meet my managers.
01:21Guys, I think I want to make an R&B album.
01:24That's a hell of a goal, but who do you think is going to buy a 14-year-old's R&B album?
01:28Well, that kind of made sense.
01:30So I went back to Florida and decided to focus on theater for the time being.
01:33Then when I was 15, I got chosen from among thousands of girls to play one of the main characters in a Broadway musical called 13,
01:40for which I later bagged a prestigious award.
01:43By this time, I had moved to New York, so I was missing school a lot.
01:46Mom, I want to continue performing, but what about studies?
01:49I want to finish high school at least.
01:51Don't worry, sweetheart.
01:52Your school has agreed to send study material so you don't miss out on your studies.
01:56That was pretty cool.
01:57I was studying and focusing on my career, even though I was miles away from home.
02:01Then in 2009, I bagged the role of an adorable goofball named Kat Valentine in the famous Nickelodeon TV show named Victorious.
02:09Since the show was set in a performing arts school, it gave me an opportunity to showcase my acting,
02:13as well as my singing abilities on a national platform.
02:16Thanks to the show, I was suddenly a teen idol.
02:18So, Ariana, what's next?
02:20Are you looking at a career in Hollywood?
02:21To be honest, acting is fun, but music has always been first and foremost with me.
02:26I was determined to give singing a shot, so I kept uploading my videos on YouTube,
02:30where I sang covers of songs by Adele, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston.
02:34Meanwhile, the second season of Victorious premiered in 2011 to 6.2 million viewers,
02:39becoming the highest-rated episode of the show.
02:41Victorious ran for three seasons until it was finally wrapped up in 2013.
02:45Then one day, I got the most unexpected call.
02:48Hello, Ariana, I'm Monte Lipman, CEO of Republic Records.
02:51I saw your YouTube videos, and I want to sign you up for the label.
02:54Are you interested?
02:55I, I, yeah, of course.
02:57I'd love that.
02:58I put down my phone and did a little happy dance.
03:00My music career was finally taking off.
03:02The next three years, I focused completely on my vocals and singing,
03:06and collaborated with many contemporary artists.
03:08The result was my first album, Yours Truly, that debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart,
03:15and it sold 138,000 copies in its first week.
03:18After that, there was no looking back for me.
03:20Today, I've sold over 85 million records worldwide, broke 27 Guinness World Records as a singer,
03:26bagged two Grammys, and was listed among the 100 most influential persons in the world by Time magazine.
03:31So, friends, I hope my story inspires you to never give up on your dreams, since miracles do happen.
03:37Just believe in yourself, because if you don't, who else will?