Ariana Grande Trae Patton/NBCU Photo Bank/GI
As she gears up to release her latest album, Ariana Grande is taking a trip down memory lane. In the latest episode of Spotify‘s Billions Club on Tuesday (Feb. 6), the 30-year-old pop star reflected on the stories behind all 14 of her hits that earned a billion streams on the platform — the most of any female artist in history — and got emotional about the years of work she’s put in to get to the place she is now.
To celebrate the singer’s historic accomplishment, Spotify arranged for plaques representing each of Grande’s billions-streamed songs to be set up in her recording space at Jungle City Studios. While sorting through the plaques, the “Yes, And?” vocalist joked about her “Bang Bang” collaboration with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj — “Bang bang into the room, profound lyricism” — and praised her past duet partners, Lady Gaga and The Weeknd, for their respective roles in the streaming prowesses of “Rain On Me” and “Save Your Tears.”
The Victorious alum also shared a funny memory about the music video for her flagship Christmas song, 2014’s “Santa Tell Me.” “It was a backup video,” she revealed, laughing. “In the original video, I was in weird Christmas lingerie and I was hitting Santa with a cane pole. I was like, ‘That is the right vibe for this song, believe you me.’ And the label was like, ‘Hey, honey … I don’t think we can use this.’”
The “Positions” singer will next release music on March 8 with Eternal Sunshine, her highly anticipated seventh album. She’s already dropped its lead single, “Yes, And?,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, but has since confirmed she will not share any other songs from the album ahead of the LP’s arrival.
“I’m excited ’cause I also feel like I haven’t even really started,” Grande concluded in the Spotify clip. “I’m so, so grateful and I can’t wait for you to hear what’s next. I must go finish it now.”
Sharing the Billions Club video on Instagram, the Grammy winner wrote that “filming this little episode was such a sweet little commemoration and gratitude meltdown, if you will.” She went on, saying that she didn’t anticipate getting emotional during filming, “but it really, truly hit me! so much of my life has been spent doing this, with and for you all. so many little pieces of my life are stowed away all snug in these little, silly songs forever…”
“you aren’t just listeners but you are people that i feel so held by and appreciate deeply,” she added, addressing her fans. “the most special part of all is experiencing so much beautiful human connection (this is a lot / too much / sorry).. i’m so thankful for the memories we have made over the years and the goodness and sense of home we have found in each other! i remind myself of this when i need it most.”
Watch Grande’s Billions Club episode with Spotify below.
