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What Ariana Grande Represents to Her Fans - The New York Times

posted onMay 24, 2017
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Article snippet: Young women and girls pack Ariana Grande’s concerts, snap up her songs the moment they’re released and follow her every social media post. In her music, shows and videos, Ms. Grande — ever-smiling as she unleashes a soaring voice — is what her fans long to be: Self-assured, sexy, talented, optimistic, in control and proudly feminine. Pink balloons drop at the end of her concerts — a deliberately chosen color — and many of her fans were happily clutching them on the way out of the Manchester Arena when a terrorist’s bomb exploded there on Monday. Whether Ms. Grande’s show in particular or simply a large, vulnerable crowd was the target of the bombing in England has not been established. But the attack, for which the Islamic State has claimed responsibility, killed fans — including an 8-year-old girl — who had gathered to enjoy Ms. Grande’s amorous self-assurance. Making her way from a squeaky-clean teenage Nickelodeon actress to a pop singer who can headline arenas worldwide, Ms. Grande has expertly navigated a 21st-century path to stardom. With her trademark high ponytail, long eyelashes and kitty-cat ears headband (lately switched to bunny ears), she has evolved, slowly and deliberately, into an act suitable for grown-ups, though she has remained careful not to alienate adolescent fans (or, more to the point, their parents). When she made her first solo album, she recalled to The New York Times in 2014 that her goal was to be “a little ’50s pinup” — “a good girl... Link to the full article to read more

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