So you think you know Ariana Grande?

Ariana Grande-Butera (born June 26, 1993), better known as Ariana Grande, is an American singer and actress. Below are FACTS you didn't know about Ariana Grande!

1.Her full name is Ariana Grande-Butera. She is of Italian descent and is half Sicilian and half Abruzzese. She was born on June 26, 1993.

2. Her name was originally inspired by Princess Oriana from Felix the Cat (1959)

3. She has an older half-brother, Frankie Grande, who is an actor, dancer, and producer.

4. Ariana Grande is close with her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Grande.

5. Ariana Grande was raised a Roman Catholic but abandoned Catholicism during the reign of Pope Benedict citing opposition to the church’s stance on homosexuality noting that her brother, Frankie is gay.

6. She has followed Kabbalah teachings since the age of twelve or earlier, along with Frankie  believing “the basis lies in the idea that if you’re kind to others, good things will happen to you.”

7. At the age of ten Grande co-founded the South Florida youth singing group Kids Who Care, which performed for charitable fund-raising events and raised over $500,000 for charities in 2007 alone.

8. In the summer of 2009, as a member of the charitable organization Broadway in South Africa, Grande, along with her brother Frankie, performed and taught music and dance to children in Gugulethu, South Africa.

9. After watching Blackfish, she urged fans to stop supporting SeaWorld and has become a vegan.

10. Ariana Grande, who has adopted several rescue dogs as pets, promoted pet adoption and paid the adoption fees of 35 rescue dogs in connection with her concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City and American Airlines Arena in Miami in March 2015.

11. In early 2016, she launched, with MAC Cosmetics, a line of lip shades called “Ariana Grande’s MAC Viva Glam”. All of the profits will benefit people affected by HIV and AIDS.

12. Grande’s music is generally pop and R&B, and has elements of funk, dance and hip hop.

13. Ariana Grande said she grew up mainly listening to urban pop and 90s music.

14. Ariana Grande has cited Cuban-American star Gloria Estefan as the person who inspired her to pursue a career in the music industry, after Estefan complimented a performance she saw Grande give on a cruise ship when she was eight years old.

15. Grande cites Whitney Houston as a major influence on her career, stating that Houston has inspired her “endlessly” since she was a child.

16. She has also cited Madonna, Destiny’s Child, Fergie, Christina Aguilera, India.Arie and Amy Winehouse as influences.

17. She named Keys, Carey and Beyoncé as female artists she tried to channel during the three years it took to create the record.

18. Ariana Grande described Imogen Heap as one of her influences, noting Heap’s “intricate” song structure. She also cites India.Arie as an influence, calling Arie’s voice “heaven” and praising her lyrics.

19. She has described actress and singer Judy Garland as being one of her childhood influences, stating that she grew up watching and listening to Garland, admiring her ability to tell “a story when she sings.

20. Ariana Grande has stated that Big Sean, whom she dated from 2014 to 2015, is her favorite rapper and collaborator.

21. Ariana Grande possesses a four-octave and a semitone soprano vocal range, and the whistle register.

22. With the release of her debut album, Yours Truly (2013), Grande was deemed the “mini Mariah Carey” and the “new Mariah Carey” by some critics because of her wide vocal range, sound and musical material.

23. Ariana Grande’s modest look early in her career was described as “age appropriate” compared with other pop stars who grew up in the public eye.

24. She has experienced hypoglycemia.

25. Ariana Grande’s mother moved with her father from New York to Florida when she was pregnant with her. She has stated that her parents separated when she was around 8 or 9 years old.

26. As a child, Grande performed with the Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theater.

27. Her first role ever was Annie.

28. At the age of 8, she performed at a karaoke lounge on a cruise ship, in various orchestras such as South Florida’s Philharmonic, Florida Sunshine Pops and Symphonic Orchestras, and made her national television debut singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” for the Florida Panthers.

29. She attended Pine Crest School and North Broward Preparatory School.

30. By age 13, she became serious about pursuing a music career, though she still concentrated on theater.

31. Then she first arrived in Los Angeles to meet with her managers, she expressed a desire to record an R&B album when she was 14: “I was like, ‘I want to make an R&B album,’ They were like ‘Um, that’s a helluva goal! Who is going to buy a 14-year-old’s R&B album?!'”

32. In 2008, Grande was cast in the supporting role of cheerleader Charlotte in the musical 13 on Broadway for which she won a National Youth Theatre Association Award.

33. When she joined the musical, Grande left her high school, North Broward Preparatory School, but continued to be enrolled. The school sent materials to her so she could study with tutors.

34. She also sang various times at the New York City Jazz club Birdland.

35. Grande auditioned for the Nickelodeon television show Victorious in New York along with 13 co-star Elizabeth Gillies in 2009.

36. Grande had to dye her hair red every other week for the role because the executive producer, Dan Schneider, did not want all cast members to be brunettes, and the red hair was also a feature that the network felt would fit the personality of Cat.

37. The show began filming in October 2009 and premiered on March 27, 2010 to the second largest audience for a live-action series in Nickelodeon history with 5.7 million viewers

38. The role helped propel Grande to teen idol status, but she was more interested in a music career stating that acting is “fun, but music has always been first and foremost with me.

39. Her character was compared to “Brittany Murphy’s performance as the hapless Tai in Clueless” (1995) and described as being “very impressionable and easily swayed” but “generally sweet.

40. Season two premiered on April 2, 2011 to 6.2 million viewers, becoming the highest rated episode of Victorious.

41. After the first season of Victorious wrapped, Grande wanted to focus on her music career and began working on her debut album in August 2010.

42. To strengthen her vocal range, she began working with vocal coach Eric Vetro.

43. She made her first musical appearance on the track “Give It Up” on the soundtrack Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show in August 2011.

44. While filmingVictorious, Grande made several recordings of herself singing covers of songs by Adele, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, and she uploaded them to YouTube.

45. A friend of Monte Lipman, CEO of Republic Records, came across one of Grande’s videos. Impressed by her vocals, he sent the links to Lipman, who signed her to a recording contract.

46. She released her first single, “Put Your Hearts Up”, in December 2011, which was recorded for a teen-oriented pop album that was not issued.

47. She later disowned the track for its bubblegum pop sound, saying that she had no interest in recording music of that genre.

48. Also in 2011, she voiced the fairy, Princess Diaspro, in 13 episodes of the Nickelodeon animated television series Winx Club and appeared in Greyson Chance’s music video for a song called “Unfriend You” from his album Hold On ’til the Night, portraying Chance’s ex-girlfriend.

49. Meanwhile, Nickelodeon created an iCarly and Victorious spin-off starring Jennette McCurdy and Grande. The buddy sitcom, titled Sam & Cat, paired Grande and McCurdy as roommates who form an after-school babysitting business, reprising their respective roles as Cat Valentine from Victorious and Sam Puckett from iCarly. The pilot aired on June 8, 2013, and the show was immediately picked up by the network. Despite its success in the ratings, the series was canceled.

50. Ariana Grande recorded her debut album, Yours Truly, over a three-year period.

Image Credits: Capitalfm.com