Ariana Grande’s Acting & Musical Success Set Her Up for ‘Wicked’ | Billboard Explains

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 No. 1s on the Hot 100 & Billboard 200, keep watching to see Ariana Grande’s journey to ‘Wicked!’

Narrator:

Ariana Grande was born to be Glinda. The superstar may be known for her insane vocal range, and she’s stepping into the iconic role of Glinda the Good Witch in Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of ‘Wicked.’ But who is Ariana? What’s her story? And how did she land a role in one of the biggest movies of the year? This is Billboard Explains: Ariana Grande’s Journey to ‘Wicked.’

Born in Boca Raton, Florida, Ariana’s passion for singing and musical theater started at a young age. Growing up, she starred in numerous theater productions, including the leading role in a children’s production of ‘Annie.’ At 15, she was chosen from thousands of hopefuls to play the role of Charlotte in the Broadway musical ‘13,’ and made the move from Florida to New York in 2008.Fast forward to the early 2010s when Ariana made her big TV debut on the Nickelodeon series ‘Victorious,’ starring as Cat Valentine. The show ran for four seasons and turned into the popular spin-off ‘Sam & Cat.’ During this time, Ariana landed her Billboard chart debut with the ‘Victorious’ song “Give It Up,” which debuted at No. 3 on Kid Digital Song Sales. Ariana also started uploading covers to YouTube and soon caught the attention of Republic Records president Monte Lipman. He signed Ari to the label in August 2011.

Keep watching for more!