Grande's second studio album, My Everything (2014), continued the pop-R&B sound of its predecessor and incorporated EDM elements. It topped the Billboard 200 and featured four US top-ten singles: "Problem", "Break Free", "Bang Bang", and "Love Me Harder" featuring The Weeknd, the most of any artist that year. Grande's pop-R&B styles extended on her third studio album, Dangerous Woman (2016), which was her first of three consecutive number-one albums in the UK, and spawned top ten hits such as the Grammy nominated title track and "Side to Side".
On her next two albums, Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019), Grande experimented with trap while maintaining her characteristic pop-R&B tones; being projects with her most creative control yet and showing a more personal and vulnerable side, both debuted at number one in several countries and were acclaimed by music critics. The former won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album and spawned the international top three hit "No Tears Left to Cry", while the latter broke several streaming records. Grande became the first solo artist to hold the top three spots on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously when "7 Rings", "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" and "Thank U, Next" did so in 2019. She is also the first artist to have the lead singles from each of their first six studio albums debut within the top ten in the US.
Grande released her sixth studio album, Positions (2020) with its lead single, "Positions" debuting at number one in the US and the UK simultaneously. The song became her third number one hit in the US following "Stuck With U" in collaboration with Justin Bieber and "Rain On Me", also in collaboration with Lady Gaga. A deluxe version of Positions was released in February 2021, with four new songs and a remix of "34+35" featuring Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion. The remix helped the song peak at number two, the highest-charting song credited to three or more female soloist since 2001 when "Lady Marmalade" performed by Christina Aguilera, Mýa, P!nk, and Lil Kim peaked at number one. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming her fifth album to do so. In April 2021, a remix of The Weeknd's "Save Your Tears" was released featuring Grande. The song reached number one in both the US Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100. It spent a total of 69 weeks in the US charts, becoming one of the ten longest-running songs in that chart since its publication.
In November 2021, it was announced that Grande would star in the two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked. The first movie is set to release on November 22nd, 2024.
Ariana Grande’s highly anticipated seventh studio album “eternal sunshine" was released on March 8th, 2024. The title is a reference to one of her favourite films, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” which stars Jim Carrey. The album is a concept album inspired by the events of the film. The lead single “yes, and?" was released on January 12, 2024 and debuted at #1 on the Hot 100. eternal sunshine had a debut at #1 on the Global Spotify charts and on the Billboard 200. The album's 2nd single “we can't be friends (wait for your love)" also debuted at #1 on the Hot 100. During this album cycle, she collaborated with Mariah Carey, Brandy, Monica, Charli XCX, and Troye Sivan on various remixes.
Grande has received various accolades, including two Grammy Awards, ten VMAs, one Brit Award, two Billboard Music Awards, and three American Music Awards. All seven of Grande's full-length albums have been certified platinum by the RIAA. Grande has sold over 90 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Having amassed 98 billion streams globally as of 2021, Grande is one of the most-streamed artists of all time and became the first female artist to surpass 90 billion streams. She was the most-streamed female artist of the 2010s decade on Spotify and Apple Music, and was the only female artist to reach 3 billion total streams on the latter as of 2019. In 2024, Grande became the first artist to have five albums with multiple songs over a billion streams on Spotify. She is the only artist to debut the lead single from all their studio albums in the Top 10 of the Hot 100. Her signature ponytail hairstyle has become an iconic piece of pop culture iconography. In October 2024, she was named the 9th greatest pop star of the 21st Century by Billboard and was the newest artist on the list. In February 2019, she became the most followed woman on Instagram. Forbes ranked her amongst the highest-paid celebrities in 2019, and Time named Grande as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016 and 2019. Billboard recognized her as the "Woman of the Year" in 2018. Her song "Thank U, Next" was in Rolling Stone's 2021 revision of their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2023, the magazine included Grande among the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Recording artists who have cited Grande as an influence or inspiration include Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Lana Del Rey, Bryson Tiller, Charlie Puth, Sufjan Stevens, Troye Sivan, Zara Larsson, Tate McRae, Madison Beer, Jung Kook, Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, Giselle of aespa, and Meghan Trainor.
Popular Song
Ariana Grande Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La, la
You were the popular one, the popular chick
It is what it is, now I'm popular-ish
Standing on the field with your pretty pompons
Now you're working at the movie selling popular corn
I could have been a mess but I never went wrong
Uh, huh
Uh, huh, I said I'm putting down my story in a popular song
My problem, I never was a model
I never was a scholar
But you were always popular
You were singing, all the songs I don't know
Now you're in the front row
'Cause my song is popular
Popular
I know about popular
It's not about who you are or your fancy car
You're only ever who you were
Popular
I know about popular
And all that you have to do, is be true to you
That's all you ever need to know
So catch up, 'cause you got an awful long way to go
So catch up, 'cause you got an awful long way to go
Always was on the lookout for someone to hate
Picking on me like a dinner plate
You hid during classes and in between them
Dunk me in the toilets now it's you that cleans em'
You tried to make me feel bad with the things you do
It ain't so funny when the joke's on you
Ooh, the joke's on you
Got everyone's laughing, got everyone clapping, asking
How come you look so cool?
'Cause that's the only thing that I learnt at school, boy
Uh, huh
I said that's the only thing I learnt at school
My problem, I never was a model
I never was a scholar
And you were always popular
You were singing, all the songs I don't know
Now you're in the front row
'Cause my song is popular
Popular
I know about popular
It's not about who you are or your fancy car
You're only ever who you were
Popular
I know about popular
And all that you have to do, is be true to you
That's all you ever need to know
So catch up, 'cause you got an awful long way to go
So catch up, 'cause you got an awful long way to go
All you ever need to know
You're only ever who you were
All you ever need to know
You're only ever who you were (that's all you ever need to know)
Popular
I know about popular
It's not about who you are or your fancy car
You're only ever who you were
Popular
I know about popular
It's not about who you are or your fancy car
You're only ever who you were
Popular
I know about popular (it's all you ever need to know)
And all that you have to do, is be true to you
That's all you ever need to know (it's all you ever need to know)
The song "Popular Song" by Ariana Grande is an upbeat and catchy tune that talks about teenage popularity and the pressure to fit in. The song tells a story of a former popular girl who used to be the envy of her classmates but now works at a movie theatre selling popcorn while the person who used to be picked on is now successful with a popular song. Ariana uses her lyrics to tell her story and offer advice on being true to oneself.
The chorus of the song stresses that popularity is not about one's social status or car, but rather about being true to oneself. Ariana encourages those who have yet to achieve popularity to "catch up" but reminds them to remain true to themselves along the way. The song can be seen as a reminder not to get swept up in the temporary allure of attention and popularity but to be confident in who you are and stay true to that.
One interesting fact about the song is that it is a cover of the song "Popular" from the Broadway musical Wicked. The song was written by Stephen Schwartz and sung by the character Galinda. Another interesting fact is that Mika, the original artist of the song, is featured in Grande's version. The music video for the song features both Ariana and Mika as superheroes fighting off a villain who is trying to steal their popularity. The song was released in 2013 as a single and was part of Ariana's debut studio album, "Yours Truly." It was also featured in the movie "Glee: The 3D Concert Movie" and was remixed by Cole Plante.
Chords: D - A - Bm - G
Line by Line Meaning
You were the popular one, the popular chick
You used to be the popular one, the popular chick
It is what it is, now I'm popular-ish
Now I'm somewhat popular, and I've accepted it
Standing on the field with your pretty pompons
You used to cheerlead with your pretty pompons
Now you're working at the movie selling popular corn
Now you work at the movie theater selling popular refreshments
I could have been a mess but I never went wrong
I could have gone astray, but I never did
'Cause I'm putting down my story in a popular song
I'm sharing my story through a popular song
My problem, I never was a model
I was never a perfect specimen
I never was a scholar, but you were always popular
I was never academically inclined, but you were always well-liked
You were singing, all the songs I don't know
You sang songs that I wasn't familiar with
Now you're in the front row, 'cause my song is popular
Now you're in the front row, because my song is well-liked
I know about popular
I have knowledge of popularity
It's not about who you are or your fancy car
Popularity is not necessarily determined by one's status or possessions
You're only ever who you were
You remain the same person you always were
All you ever need to know
The only thing you need to know
So catch up, 'cause you got an awful long way to go
So hurry up, because you have a lot of catching up to do
Always was on the lookout for someone to hate
You were always searching for someone to hate
Picking on me like a dinner plate
You bullied me persistently
You hid during classes and in between them
You hid during and between classes
Dunk me in the toilets now it's you that cleans em'
You used to bully me by dunking me in the toilets, now you clean them
You tried to make me feel bad with the things you do
You attempted to make me feel bad through your actions
It ain't so funny when the joke's on you
It's not amusing when you're the victim of the same behavior you once exhibited
Ooh, the joke's on you
The situation has turned against you
Got everyone's laughing, got everyone clapping, asking
Everyone is laughing and applauding while questioning
How come you look so cool?
Why do you look so composed?
'Cause that's the only thing that I learned at school, boy
Because that's the only thing I learned at school, boy
That's all you ever need to know
That's all you need to be aware of
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Priscilla Renea Hamilton, Mathieu Jomphe-Lepine, Michael Holbrook Penniman, Stephen Schwartz
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@emilynevarez122
she manifested being glinda! remember seeing/hearing this when i was going to 6th grade it holds a special place in my heart ❤
@forest1605
i always mixed this song up with wicked popular as a kid and now shes in wicked
@jessierocks12
I had a dream Wicked went flop at the box office.
@bakuoogo_0001
Anyone in nov 2024
@zyreneveluya1768
I was about to say the same thing. <3
@XoXoStorm555
She did and it’s such a full circle moment listening to her sing the wicked songs and now be the face of the movie. She was a lover of broadway , singing, acting, always loved wicked and made this video and now her face is everywhere as Glinda. It’s so dope to see her reach the goals she made over 12 years ago. I was only 11🥲
@rhythmpointless9885
This was the only "Popular" song I knew never thought it came from Wicked, and now Ariana sings the og Popular from the said movie. Full circle moment indeed
@jani_lia
Same lol, I had no idea about the broadway Wicked (it's not a thing in my country) so I only knew about Mika's Popular Song first
@KaralistaNFS
Same ahah!!! Im shocked
@LouisRosales
😭