Today marks 27 years of this legend being on the planet :cheeseblock: happy birthday Ari! :cheer:

 

To celebrate - I have picked 27 iconic Ariana moments that I'll share throughout the day in this thread as an ultimate celebration *.*

 

Omg I had no idea this was coming happy BD queen!

Queen that never ages

It was actually quite hard to cut down to 27 but I got there in the end and put them all into random.org! So, here is the first...

 

#01 'God is a woman' music video

 

 

What a start *.* Ariana was on a roll with her music videos in 2018 and here is a particular high point with 'God is a woman'! It's empowering, artsy and bold. She even got a Madonna voiceover in the mix! Plus a screaming gopher. It has everything really.

 

Here's an array of GIFs to do the talking:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I need to go to bed so I'll carry this on tomorrow! I'm only working a half day so plenty of time to provide the moments *.*

A picture of Ariana and Toulouse materialised overnight:

 

@1276354134518558721

 

~~~

 

Continuing the 27 iconic moments!

 

#02 Her singing impressions

 

 

 

Now we move away from Ariana's own music and focus on her impressions of other pop stars! She's taken part in activities on both Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live that involved her impersonating the singing style of other stars. This includes Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and of course her iconic Celine Dion impression *.* away from specific impressions, she also took part in the following game that involved singing songs in the style of other genres:

 

 

The rock version of 'Humble' :cheeseblock:

Ariana's impressions and generally quirky/silly sense of humour is one of the things that took me from casual fan to stan. YouTube is a goldmine; she is so hilarious.

^ Yeah watching her speak in interviews and letting her hair down in games like those really helped me to warm to her as a person more too! I can so easily fall down a YouTube rabbit hole when it comes to her interviews. Hope she returns to the U.K. for promo at some point when the world gets back to normal!

 

#03 One Love Manchester

 

 

Now we move from humorous to serious. In 2017 the world was in a dark place following the Manchester Arena attack, taking the lives of 22 of Ariana's fans. She wanted to turn the dark into light by paying tribute to the victims through song. At just 23 years old, Ariana did this by putting together the benefit concert 'One Love Manchester' - featuring the voices of herself and several other artists including Liam Gallagher, Little Mix and Miley Cyrus. This sent out a message of strength to the world that we should continue doing what we love, no matter what. The concert was watched by millions, 'One Last Time' re-peaked at #2 after being re-released for charity and Ari was made an honorary citizen of Manchester. What a beautiful, comforting move from her. She provided many touching performances, including the inspiring 'Be Alright' and tear-jerking rendition of 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'.

I will never forget One Love Manchester, or the terror of the show in Manchester. I have so much respect for how Ariana responded to the attack, and how she continues to deal with it.

^ :heart: :heart: what a woman.

 

#04 Carpool Karaoke

 

 

We know that Ariana constantly impresses with her vocals. So she was a must for Carpool Karaoke! The segment on James Corden's 'The Late Late Show' sees him dueting with superstars on some of their biggest hits. 'Sweetener' was her latest record at the time so she sang material up to that point. She opened with 'Dangerous Woman' and continues with other essentials from her catalogue. They also covered broadway classic 'Suddenly Seymour'. Plus the Celine impression comes out again, of course. Funnily enough, Ariana discusses birthday parties during her Carpool Karaoke stint too, as she had recently turned 25, so James asked her birthday related questions! Her 2nd birthday was Jaws themed. Casual. Finally, they stop off at Starbucks where James carries Ari on his back, to the amusement of others in there.

#05 'thank u, next' music video

 

 

In late 2018 Ariana was dropping teaser after teaser on social media about her upcoming music video for 'thank u, next'. The world was waiting and it went down a storm when it eventually dropped - becoming her most liked video on YouTube ever. It features references from the films Mean Girls, Bring It On, Legally Blonde and 13 Going on 30. I was particularly excited about the Mean Girls references! The video also includes lots of cameos including Kris Jenner, Troye Sivan and Liz Gillies amongst others.

 

The GIFs are endless for this one but here are a few:

 

 

 

Happy birthday Ari :birthday:

 

It's weird to think that she's now entering her late 20's. It doesn't seem like that long ago when she was so young in Victorious/Sam & Cat. She was 19 when she released The Way and the seven years in between have gone by so fast.

 

Loving the thread Jade!

^ thanks Lewis, glad you're enjoying *.* my half day is over so I can sit back and relax with more of these now :cheer: I seem to recall you buying some of the AG26 merch last year, is that right? The purple hoodie goes for loads now! I wonder if we'll get any AG27 stuff. Time really is flying, I remember her being only 19 when 'The Way' came out too :drama: she's still young and thriving though of course. Here's to a great year *.*

 

#06 Ariana gets her first U.K. #1 with 'Problem'

 

 

The year is 2014. Ariana kicks off her second era 'My Everything' with lead single 'Problem', featuring Iggy Azalea. The pre-orders are racking up on iTunes. After failing to crack the top 40 during her debut era ('The Way' stalled at #41 </3) she has a huge change of fortune as 'Problem' debuts at #1! I believe this was the first ever chart topper here to incorporate streaming too. So it was a real transition period and Ari walked through that easily. We'd soon find out what a streaming force she'd truly become.

 

She has now racked up a further 5 #1 hits :clap:

Crazy! I still think of her as being 23 or so.

 

Happy birthday Ari.

who else shares birthday with this queen other than me? xo

^ Happy birthday to you too Pavel :cheer: I'm out by about 6 weeks unfortunately x

 

#07 'Side To Side' music video

 

 

Time for another music video! Both 'Dangerous Woman' and 'Into You' unfortunately failed to crack the top 10 here. However, 'Side To Side' turned the power of the era around with its top 5 success! The song already sounded like a ready-made hit but the fun video catapulted its appeal to new heights. It felt like Ariana's first music video moment. Exercise bike choreography surprisingly worked. This is the most viewed video on Ariana's channel with over 1.7 BILLION views!

 

 

Easily her best video for me, Happy birthday Ariana.. 27 wow, she looks so much younger than that as others have said.

 

This is a great thread Jade!

 

^ thanks so much Rob, I'm glad that this spontaneous idea is going down well! She really hasn't aged a day in years.

 

#08 Playing Cat Valentine on Victorious

 

 

Ariana got her biggest break yet playing Cat Valentine on the hit Nickelodeon show Victorious! She had previously starred in the musical '13' on Broadway alongside Liz Gillies, who also got a role on the show as Jade West. Victorious began in 2010 when Ari was just 16. Her character is the most ditsy for sure, but also a lot of fun and she comes out with some cracking one liners. I've recently been watching Victorious for the first time so I'm slowly getting to know her character more. Ari got her own spin-off as Cat alongside iCarly's Jennette McCurdy, called Sam & Cat, until her music career took off more. Ariana was made to dye her hair red while on the show as the other three main female characters (Tori, Jade and Trina) were all brunettes, so they felt that four would be overkill.

#09 Ari becomes a 'Dangerous Woman'

 

 

Ariana's third era felt like a real turning point. 22-year-old Ari provided us with a more mature sound and the looks to match. The bunny ears have become an iconic visual for sure. BuzzJack recently voted 'Dangerous Woman' as her best album cover thanks to her striking appearance with the ears. The incredible a cappella performance above is the ultimate 'Dangerous Woman' experience with the outfit coming to life and her singing the title track. The era is a huge fan favourite - from the album to the tour. I didn't get to go to the tour myself but the 'Dangerous Woman Diaries' on YouTube provide a good insight. It'll take something seriously special for her to top this album for me :heart:

#10 'Rain On Me'. That is all.

 

 

Ariana is a serial collaborator outside of the 'thank u, next' era! She's worked with Nicki Minaj, Big Sean, The Weeknd, Childish Gambino, Iggy Azalea, Macy Gray, Lil Wayne, Missy Elliott, Lana Del Rey, Miley Cyrus... the list goes on! But it was a certain collaboration that had our expectations high. This was 'Rain On Me' with Lady Gaga. Both had a track record for pop gems, but would this meeting of minds work out? The answer is YES! They worked their magic on a throwback dance-pop floor-filler and set the charts alight with it. It's Ariana's 6th and latest U.K. #1, plus her 4th in the U.S. The music video has generally pleased fans too. It's been lovely to witness their friendship shining through via social media interactions and silly weather girl skits on YouTube. Big pop girl collaborations can often disappoint but this proved to be a gem in both of their discographies.

#11 Her interviews

 

 

 

I brought up her fun interview games earlier but now this is more about her serious, chatty interviews! That 'thank u, next' interview embedded above is a long one but probably my favourite ever interview with her. She really opens up in that one and gives us a great insight into the creative process. The interviewer is really respectful too so it's a comfortable watch. On the other hand, that bottom GIF is from an interview where she challenged a sexist comment from an interviewer. She's really outspoken, creative, funny, warm and not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, so she always makes for a brilliant interviewee. She's exactly the same on social media too! Unafraid to be herself.