Who among us hasn’t in some way, shape or form messaged one of their famous idols? Whether it was fan mail back in the day or unsavory DMs on Twitter and Instagram now, everyone is guilty of trying to get the attention of their favorite stars. We’d call it a success if you got any kind of acknowledgement from said hero, but in Ariana Grande’s case, the true win is when you get famous enough yourself to be able to work with them on a personal level.
I recently found some unearthed tweets by Grande that are just straight-up fangirl messages, no two ways around it. In 2009 (Gaga’s first album “The Fame” dropped in 2008), she went on a blitz positively gushing about her newest musical inspiration at any chance she got.
Then in 2011, when Gaga was just about to release her second album, “Born This Way,” Grande hyped up the release; at the time of Grande’s writing, “Born This Way” the single was coming out the next day.
It’s safe to say that “Born This Way” cemented Lady Gaga as a force to be reckoned with. The fans were already there once “Just Dance” was on the radio, but “Born This Way” was the true beginning of Gaga’s Little Monsters; the album hits on sexuality, feminism and freedom of expression in every iteration, resonating with a lot of her target fan base, i.e. an 18-year-old Ariana Grande, whose debut album didn’t come out until 2013. At this time, she was still just a no-name Nickelodeon star.
Why is this all cute? Because Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga are nominated together for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at tonight’s Grammy Awards for “Rain on Me.” The song appears on Gaga’s “Chromatica,” another huge hit of an album for the artist.
Grande, who’s easily on Gaga’s same level as far as popularity and success, was nothing less than appreciative for her chance to work on “Rain on Me” with her, and the two reportedly got very close during their collaboration. If we go back to Twitter more recently, we see their bond clear as day:
Basically, these two are the dictionary definition of lifting up your fellow creators and women instead of harping on competition, and we can’t wait to see what else they come up with!
The 63rd Grammy Awards air tonight on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.