Ariana Grande owes her stardom to singing, not sex appeal

The 411 on Ariana Grande

Born: June 26, 1993, Boca Raton, Fla. Parents: Joan Grande, CEO of Hose-McMann Communications, and Edward Butera, a graphic designer Faith: Raised Catholic, but broke with the church over its opposition to gay marriage. Diet: Vegan Voice: A four-octave lyric soprano Acting debut: 2008, playing Charlotte in the Broadway musical “13” TV breakthrough: 2010, as Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon sitcom “Victorious” First hit: “The Way,” featuring the rapper Mac Miller. It went No. 1 in 2013. First album: “Yours Truly,” which opened at No. 1 in September 2013. Current hits: “Problem,” featuring Iggy Azalea, which got to No. 2, and “Bang Bang,” a No. 1 download. Second album: “My Everything,” to be released on Aug. 25. Linked to: Australian comic Jai Brooks (ex) and rapper Big Sean (reported current squeeze)

You won’t find her swinging naked on a wrecking ball. She’s unlikely to make a signature move of grinding her hips. And her album covers could never be mistaken for the cover of Booty Call magazine.

Unlike Miley Cyrus, Iggy Azalea or Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande has been gaining attention less for how little she wears or how graphically she moves than for how she sings.

“I don’t feel confident in my sexuality — or in my fashion,” Grande tells The News as her second album, “My Everything,” is about to be released. “It’s just not in my mind. I think of music first. I want people to listen instead of look and judge.”

 

So far, her emphasis has paid off. Grande, who burst onto the music scene with last summer’s smash “The Way,” is poised to transition from teen idol to grownup star in record time. She may look even younger than her 21 years, but her vocals have a lot of history and experience in them.

“Her music isn’t only directed at teens,” says Carissa Tozzi, entertainment director of Seventeen magazine. “People can appreciate it in their 20s, 30s, 40s or whatever age.”

 

That appreciation should help “My Everything” shoot to No. 1 hours after it drops on Aug. 25. The disc features two songs that have already helped define the season. “Problem,” recorded with Iggy Azalea and with an uncredited cameo by Grande’s rumored boyfriend, Big Sean, bolted to No. 2 in April and sold more than 2 million copies. Then “Bang Bang” — which matches Grande’s fluid vocal to one from Jessie J and a rap from Nicki Minaj — enjoyed the second-biggest debut of 2014. It’s now the most downloaded song in the country.

But just as Grande has found herself ushered to pop’s forefront, she’s going through one of the roughest patches of her life. Last month, he grandfather — the person to whom she was closest, owing, in part, to a strained relationship with her dad — died of cancer. Knowing his health was failing, she ditched her promotional schedule to spend most of July by his side.

“I’m so glad to have been there for him,” Grande says. “He was the patriarch of my family, our rock. He will always be my favorite person.”

Grande has only recently begun to speak again to her father, Edward Butera, who split from Grande’s mom, Joan Grande, when the singer was about 9 years old.

“That’s one of the hardest things to deal with,” says Grande, who dropped her dad’s surname when she started performing. “As a kid, it’s so confusing. It takes a while to find a healthy relationship.”

Losing her grandfather has had a ripple effect on her life. In early August, Grande broke up with on-again-off-again boyfriend Jai Brooks, of the Australian YouTube comedy group the Janoskians. The singer would not comment about the split — nor would she speak about the reports that she’s now dating Big Sean. But right after her grandfather’s death, she tweeted a message that suggested Brooks was not there for her: “You learn a lot about love, life and the people around you during a time of crisis.”

Grande hasn’t been shy about letting fans learn a lot about her personal opinions. Unlike many teen stars, who flinch from voicing their views, Grande has been very outspoken about her support for gay marriage and her opposition to animal cruelty.

The issue of gay rights caused her to distance herself from her Catholic upbringing and to begin studying the Kaballah.

Grande was initially hesitant to talk about something as personal as faith — “It’s not my place to tell anybody they’re wrong in their beliefs,” she says — but then moved quickly back to activism, forcefully adding, “Actually, I do think it’s wrong to tell people who they can and can’t marry.”

Grande’s love of animals — which she says she likes “more than most people” — has led her not only to become a vegan but to speak out against Sea World’s alleged mistreatment of its orcas as described in “Blackfish,” a movie Grande has championed.

“I used to love Sea World,” she says. “I thought the animals were safe and happy. Then I learned what happened — that they’re taken out of their habitat and kidnapped. It breaks my heart. They’re not ours. Yo, bitch — throw them back!”

But for all her talk of politics and family life, music remains Grande’s focus. She has been groomed for superstardom since her preteen days. Like a real-life corollary to Lea Michele’s character on “Glee,” Grande always had her eye on leaving her Boca Raton home for Broadway. By age 14, she was in the musical “13.”

But Grande wanted to sing, not act. She had plans to record a mature R&B album, but her managers steered her toward acting jobs, especially on television.

“They told me I need to build a fan base,” Grande says. “They said, ‘No one’s going to buy an R&B album from a 14 year old.’ ”

It was good advice. By 17, Grande was playing Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon show “Victorious,” a role that made her a tween idol but only heightened her desire to sing. She got her chance on her debut album, “Truly Yours,” released last September. It went to No. 1 and made Grande, then 20, the most promising young pop singer since Mariah Carey.

Her album stood out from those of other young stars because of Grande’s fluid, four-octave range. It also showed uncommon attention to styles of the past. Several songs drew from 1950s doo-wop, a style the Italian-American singer knew from her parents. Other pieces referenced ’90s R&B with sleek charm.

The marketing behind the album gave Grande even greater distinction. While many have compared her to Carey, her image is actually closer to a young Alicia Keys. Twelve years ago, Keys stood out by wearing pants, and for sitting behind a piano rather than dancing.

For all the focus on Grande’s own instrument, she knows she’s unlikely to sail all the way through her career on that alone. In her latest videos, TV appearances and photo shoots, Grande has shown a bit more skin and found a way to catch the camera with a teasing stare. She has also started to pay more attention to how she dresses.

“The visual part is a big part of this job,” Grande says. “If I thought it would be all music, that would be a bit crazy.

“It’s been a hard thing to embrace the visuals,” she adds, with resignation. “But I’ll have to get used to it.”