Woman of the Year

Looking back at 2018, it’s clear that queen of pop, Ariana Grande has had an insanely tough year, and has definitely expressed that through her new music. She’s been under fire, and on an emotional roller coaster ever since her concert in Manchester, UK, of 2017, where there was a suicide bombing attack, that killed 22 of her fans.

Ariana Grande was absolutely devastated, and was left feeling like she was the one to  blame. In her newly released diaries series of her Dangerous Woman Tour, Grande said, “May 22nd, 2017 will leave me speechless and left with questions for the rest of my life.”

In the documentary series, Grande continued to say that, “Music is an escape. Music is the safest thing I’ve ever known...It is comfort, it is fun, it is expression, it is happiness. It is the last thing that would ever harm someone. It is safe. When something so opposite and so poisonous takes place in your world that is supposed to be anything but that...it is shocking and heartbreaking in a way that seems impossible to fully recover from.”

Despite these heartbreaking events, the pop star held a One Love concert in Manchester that raised a record breaking 13 million dollars at the concert, and since then, a total of almost 24 million. The proceeds went to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, just 13 days after the mortifying terrorist attacks at her concert.

In more recent months, Grande was engaged to SNL star and comedian, Pete Davidson, after only a few months of dating. They then decided to break off their engagement, amid rumours that Grande just wasn’t ready to settle down yet, and found herself back in a sad and devastating state, after the death of her rapper ex-boyfriend of two years, Mac Miller.

Sources close to Grande claimed that she was heartbroken at the death of her ex boyfriend. After the mass amounts of hate, and people blaming for her ex’s death, she tweeted, “Can I please have one okay day. Just one. Please.” The star has clearly been on a roller coaster these past few years, with many ups and downs, and can’t seem to catch a break.

For someone who seems to have it all, Grande has suffered trauma and loss countless times, over and over again. She is constantly showing the world that she is just like the rest of us. Weak and vulnerable at times, but also strong and confident other times.

The star has suffered loss and endured pain that many people will never fully experience. The way she handles her pain is quite admirable to many of her young, and impressionable fans.

Sophomore, Maya Salzman, explained that Grande as, “Incredible. She shows that even if you have faced loss, you will get through it and you can learn from your experiences. She also teaches young girls that you don’t need a man to make you happy.”

With a whopping 142 million instagram followers, anything Grande does, the world sees. With almost no room left to live a normal life, Grande has forced herself to take a break from social media several times, after finding herself unable to deal with the online trolls that attack her.

In defiance of hard times, Ariana Grande has continuously proved herself to be an extraordinary woman to so many young and aspiring girls out there. The star has grown from the hard times she has endured, and continues to rise up, learning from her experiences. She overcomes the internet trolls, the hate she receives on the daily basis, and has decided to live her life the way she wants to.

Despite the immense challenges the pop star has faced, in her more recent years, Grande has released her Sweetener album, which topped the charts and fans absolutely loved.

Grande was even awarded Woman of the Year by Billboard for her amazing accomplishments. Grande was so honored to receive the award and while accepting it said, “I wanna thank Billboard so much for this incredible honor. I feel completely undeserving and...it’s truly insane...I find it interesting that this has been one of the best years of my career and like the worst year of my life. I’m not saying that for sympathy I’m just saying that because a lot of people would look at someone in my position right now...and think that, ‘she’s really got it all,’ and I do, but as far as my personal life goes, I really have no idea what i’m doing.” Grande’s heartfelt speech moved her fans and the audience watching.

Midway through her acceptance speech, Grande got emotional, and while holding back tears said, “I just wanna say that if you’re someone out there who has no idea what this next chapter gonna bring you’re not alone in that...and I’m really looking forward to embracing whatever happens and whatever comes my way. I look forward to hopefully give some of the love and forgiveness that i’ve given away so frivolously to men in the past, to myself hopefully this year.” Grande’s speech perfectly embodied her attitude towards life, taking time to appreciate herself and her accomplishments, while also giving the audience her honest and true feelings about her struggles this year.

Along with her new album, she released a single, Thank u, next, which was her first no. 1 song, and Imagine which also topped the ITunes charts. Grande is set to release more songs this January and most likely February.