Ten years ago — August 30, 2013 — Ariana Grande released her debut album, Yours Truly. In honor of the milestone, ABC Audio is revisiting its chat with Ariana shortly before the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200.
Yours Truly, featuring Mac Miller, Big Sean and The Wanted's Nathan Sykes, was a unique mix of '90s-style R&B, hip-hop and 1950s retro. "I've always loved R&B. I know I wanted to do something R&B, but I'm incredibly attracted to throwback music, like the '50s and '60s doo-wop," Ariana told ABC Audio. "There's an underlying theme of doo-wop throughout the album ... that was sorta the approach."
She added, "I think it came together quite nicely. I'm happy with the hip-hop/doo-wop mixture."
As for the title, Ariana told ABC Audio, "When I was looking at the track list, I didn't feel like any of the titles of the songs really encompassed what the album is really about. And I feel like the album is like a love letter that was written over the course of three years. And I wanted to sign it like a love letter."
Yours Truly wasn't just a commercial success, it was a critical smash, as well. It allowed Ariana to transition from the star of Nickelodeon's Sam & Cat and Victorious to a bona fide pop diva.
"I'm so grateful for the families and kids who love my show and who watched me as Cat and I love it," Ariana said in 2013. "But I have to say that, the past few months, when adults have been coming up to me like, 'Are you Ariana? I love your music,' I've, like, literally almost died."
A 10th anniversary edition of Yours Truly with newly recorded live tracks is available now.
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