Inside Mariah Carey And Ariana Grande's Rocky Relationship
Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande are two musical powerhouses with large voices. While the pair debuted on the music scene during two completely different time periods, comparisons have still been made.
Carey first broke into the entertainment industry in 1990 with her iconic debut single, "Vision of Love." Peaking at No. 1, she has since gone on to score 18 more chart-toppers on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the solo artist with the most No. 1s, per Us Weekly. Grande may have released her very first single over two decades later, but she's also made a splash in such a short time. To date, the "Love Me Harder" hitmaker has achieved six No. 1 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 and 19 top 10 hits over the past 10 years. As a young diva who looks up to the stars who came before her, Grande naturally referenced Carey as one of her influences. "I love Mariah Carey. She is literally my favorite human being on the planet," Grande told Neon Limelight in 2012. "As far as vocal influences go, Whitney and Mariah pretty much cover it." During the early days of her music career, Grande recorded and shared a cover of Carey's song "Emotions," which remains on her official YouTube channel.
While Grande gave Carey her highest praises from the jump, that didn't prevent tension from forming between the two talents.
Mariah Carey wasn't happy with the comparisons
Few artists can sing as well as Mariah Carey, hence why the "We Belong Together" hitmaker managed to make such an impact on the music scene. However, when Ariana Grande came along, many recognized the influence Carey had on her career, which led to many comparisons among fans and critics. During an interview with the Recording Academy, Grande was asked how she felt about being compared to the iconic diva. "I take it as a huge compliment because Mariah is a queen vocalist," she explained.
However, when Carey was asked on "The Breakfast Club" how she felt when Grande was said to be a younger version of herself, she didn't seem to be pleased. "First of all, I'm still young because I discount numbers. Numerically speaking, I stopped counting at 17," Carey responded. With that being said, she wished anyone following in her footsteps to have longevity if it's a career they wish to succeed in. After host Charlamagne tha God referenced a quote from Jay-Z saying, "Don't compare me to nobody, I'm offended," Carey agreed with his statement.
Grande didn't respond to Carey's words. Nevertheless, it didn't stop there. As previously reported by Nylon, a photo comparison of the pair was made online that said, "when you order it online vs when it arrives." Carey also threw a little shade when Andy Cohen implied Grande's early material appeared to be an homage to her. "Child, I don't know when early in the career was," she expressed.
Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande have since collaborated
Any tension between Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande seems to have now been completely squashed. As reported by Capital FM, Grande wished Carey a "happy anniversary" on her birthday in 2019, writing, "queen of everything. love u then, love u now, love u tomorrow," on her Instagram Story. The "Focus" hitmaker tagged the singer, who then reposted it to her own Story, adding, "Thank you dahhhhling!!"
The following year, the pair teamed up to re-record Carey's festive single "Oh Santa!" with another powerhouse vocalist, Jennifer Hudson. The Christmas song was not only re-recorded, but all three also shot a music video together (above). "THANK YOU @iamjhud and @arianagrande for this fabulous moment I'll always remember!!" Carey wrote on Instagram after posting a photo of herself in between both singers.
This isn't the first time Grande and Carey have teamed up together. In 2019, Carey made a new video for the legendary "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and asked many celebrities to feature in it. One of those celebs was Grande. In her 2020 Netflix documentary, "Ariana Grande: Excuse Me, I Love You," Grande shared her reaction to Carey's request. In a scene where she is on the phone with her then-manager Scooter Braun, Grande asked, "Does that mean she likes me?" to which he responded, "She actually likes you a lot." "The fact that she thought of me is like very... soul-shaking," Grande expressed before tearing up.