When subjected to constant exposure there’s bound to be an occasional critique or two, Ariana Grande however, cannot seem to catch a break. The 21-year old songstress is at the end of her most successful year, yet this doesn’t mean the occasional shots haven’t been fired her way.
Only recently, Bette Midler, a prominent idol of Grande’s essentially labelled the ‘Problem‘ singer a ‘whore‘. In an interview with The Telegraph, she elaborated on her disappointment at Grande “slithering around on a couch, looking so ridiculous.” In turn, Grande responded in the most amiable manner: “...not sure where that Bette went but I want that sexy mermaid back!!! always a fan no matter what my love“.
Presumably, Midler must’ve stumbled across Ariana Grande’s latest music video ‘Love Me Harder‘, a duet with Canadian R&B singer The Weeknd in which the two flirt back and forth about what they’ll be doing to each other in the bedroom. Ariana could’ve easily replaced ‘love’ with an alternative expression for sex but she didn’t. Looking back at Ariana’s route to fame she indeed has a responsibility to maintain some sort of composure from starring on Nickelodeon’s Victorious to becoming a worldwide pop sensation. However, by reaching the twenty one milestone you can’t help but support the singer in wanting to grow up – it’s not like she’s nakedly swinging on wrecking balls or anything. Just because she once played the innocent ditzy character Cat Valentine doesn’t mean she’s not allowed to feel sexy in wanting to mature both her image and music.
It’s not the first time the starlet’s received criticism over her style either. At the time of releasing her ‘Break Free‘ video she endured more scrutiny over her shorter skirts which lead her to tell Attitude: “Believe me, if I don’t want to do something I will not do it, and I say that with every ounce of passion in my body. I’m a very flexible person but if I feel like you want me to compromise my views or myself as an artist, you can go f**k yourself.” To us, that sounds like she’s very self-assured and aware of her presence.
Even by defending herself, she’s been accused of being a diva – a title that perhaps spawns from rumours over a need to be shot from the left side of her face, as well as a report on ‘ignoring’ her younger fans at a meet and greet, the latter she admitted due to her grandfather’s death at the time. A bereavement that hit close to home if you look back at how often he appeared on her social media. It’s not that the star hides away from the spotlight though as she continually promotes and promotes which is commendable, her live vocals are always maintained to a great standard – even those high whistle notes she’s known for.
Instead of focusing on Ariana’s underexposed involvements such as WAT-AAH, Delete Digital Drama and Stand Up to Cancer it seems that the media loves to take a bite or two out of the singer whether it’s her new beau Big Sean or even a far-from-drastic hairstyle change from her signature ponytail. Understandably she isn’t the only victim. It now appears Taylor Swift, a fellow favourite of the press is now romantically linked to model Karlie Kloss.
In the end, Ariana Grande is a fantastic singer who is able to replicate what she does in the studio, on the stage and that itself should be celebrated and recognised. She’s still quite young in terms of show-business and has so much room to grow. Considering she has two number one US albums, two recent Grammy nominations and many hits under her belt, it seems she’s here to stay for quite a while and therefore we’re very glad.
