Ariana Grande’s Musical Partnerships and Most Influential Duets: A Musical Journey

Ariana Grande is one of the music industry's greatest stars, rising from an early career in musical theater to being a GRAMMY Award-winning artist. She has multiple chart-topping hits, 18 GRAMMY nominations, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the delightful film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked. 

From her early hits such as "The Way " with Mac Miller to "Save Your Tears (Remix) " with The Weeknd, Grande continues to collaborate and evolve musically while pursuing her acting career.

In 2008, at the age of 15, Grande made her Broadway debut in 13: The Musical. While it only ran for a few months, the musical showcased her vocal and acting skills, demonstrating her potential as a singer and performer. In 2010, Grande was part of Nickelodeon's TV show Victorious, where she played the character Cat Valentine. Her character was so popular that when the show ended in 2013, a one-season spinoff show called Sam & Cat featuring actress Jennette McCurdy was created.

It wasn't until the release of her first studio album, Yours Truly, which included the hit song "The Way" featuring the late rapper Mac Miller, that the music industry began to recognize Grande as a pop star with real potential. This song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Working in the theater and TV industries and collaborating with a superstar such as Mac Miller set the course for Grande's career.

Grande realized that working with other artists was not only fun but also a great way to advance her career. In 2014, she collaborated with the pop star Iggy Azalea on the song "Problem." This rap/pop song hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Best Song at the MTV European Music Awards.

As Grande's success began to skyrocket, she collaborated on another smash hit, "Bang Bang", which took off like wildfire. On this song, she worked with R&B/pop stars Jessie J and Nicki Minaj. It earned a GRAMMY nomination and reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Grande continued to release successful hits. In 2014, she collaborated with the R&B singer The Weeknd on "Love Me Harder." This beautiful song peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

By 2016, Grande had firmly established herself as a musical superstar with singles such as "7 Rings," which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. She also continued working with other superstars. In 2016, she collaborated with Nicki Minaj for the song "Side to Side," which reached No. 4, and the song "boyfriend" featuring the musical duo Social House peaked at No. 8. Grande's collaboration with Nicki Minaj for "Bed" solidified her professional music relationship with the R&B singer.

In addition to her successful charting hits, Grande sang a duet with the famous R&B singer Stevie Wonder titled "Faith." This song featured on the soundtrack of the animated film Sing and was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture.

Riding on the success of this film collaboration, Grande sang "Don't Call Me Angel" with Lana Del Rey and Miley Cyrus, the soundtrack to the 2019 Charlie's Angels reboot movie. It peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and garnered millions of views on YouTube within the first 24 hours. While this song attracted mixed reactions, it highlighted Grande's strong collaboration skills.

One of Grande's greatest collaborative triumphs came in 2020 when she sang the hit song "Rain on Me" with mega pop star Lady Gaga, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The duet also won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards in 2021.

With the release of her album Positions came the hit song "motive" featuring the rapper Ty Dolla $ign and Doja Cat. Grande, Doja Cat, and Megan Thee Stallion also released the hit song "34+35 (Remix)," which climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Grande is widely recognized for her high energy and for the strong admiration she receives from fans and fellow musicians. She collaborated with The Weeknd on "Save Your Tears (Remix)" in 2021, and in 2023, the duo created a remix of "Die For You," which topped the Billboard Hot 100.

The legendary pop singer Barbara Streisand has recently announced the release of a new duets album titled The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two. It includes "One Heart, One Voice" featuring Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey. Singing with an industry icon such as Streisand is a tremendous honor for any musical artist, and performing this sweet and thoughtful duet is an extraordinary achievement for Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey.

In 2024, Ariana Grande returned to her musical and acting roots with her performance as Glinda, the Good Witch, in the film adaptation of Wicked, which premiered in theaters in November 2024. Grande sang several songs for the soundtrack, including "One Short Day" and "What Is This Feeling?," which she performed alongside her co-star, Cynthia Erivo.

While Ariana was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 2025 Golden Globes, she did not win the award. However, she did receive the NBR Spotlight Award — Creative Collaboration of Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande, Wicked — a special award given by the National Board of Review at its annual gala in New York City.  She also made appearances in movies such as Don't Look Up, Zoolander 2, and  Swindle.

Grande plans to rerelease her wildly popular seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, with added songs not previously heard. The original album remained on the Billboard 200 for over 12 months, a monumental feat for any musical artist.

Grande plans to continue making music while also focusing on her acting career. As stated by the Recording Academy on the GRAMMY Awards website, "Her artistic evolution and cultural impact continue to solidify her status as a leading figure in music and entertainment."