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A warm welcome from the Queen of Pop
When Grande started gaining attention, she didn’t expect her idols to notice. Yet, one of the first to reach out was Madonna. “She was so kind right away,” Grande recalled. “I remember being completely overwhelmed because I loved her so much.”
It became a quiet turning point a sign that the industry she was entering could still hold space for generosity. “I think she was one of the first people to make me feel like I belonged,” she added. It’s easy to forget how intimidating fame can be when it lands on you overnight, but hearing Madonna’s voice on the other end of the line must have felt like permission to exhale
A bond that turned into collaboration
Over the years, the connection between the two artists grew into genuine friendship. Grande covered “Vogue” during her Honeymoon Tour in 2015, a gesture of homage that later led to real collaboration. In 2016, she joined Madonna on stage at the Raising Malawi benefit in Miami to perform “Music.”
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The admiration went both ways. Madonna later lent her voice to the intro of Grande’s hit “God Is A Woman,” a track that perfectly captured the kind of fearless femininity both artists embody. For fans, it felt like a symbolic passing of the torch one generation’s rebellion merging with another’s power
More than fame
In an earlier interview with Cosmopolitan, Ariana Grande admitted she holds “the utmost respect” for Madonna. “I love her with every ounce of my being,” she said, not just for her art, but for her resilience. “She outlasted the bullying and the bullshit. I’m so inspired by her bravery and her strength. I can look at her and not be scared to be strong.”
That sentiment hits deeper when you realize how many young women in pop still navigate the same scrutiny Madonna faced decades ago. For Grande, seeing her hero survive and thrive was proof that power doesn’t have to apologize for itself
Beyoncé, Mariah, and the sisterhood of support
Madonna wasn’t the only legend to make an impact. Grande also mentioned receiving encouragement from Mariah Carey and Beyoncé, two artists whose approval carries its own kind of weight. Carey, with whom Grande later shared the stage, became both mentor and collaborator. Their duets felt like pop history folding in on itself two voices, generations apart, harmonizing in a way that felt inevitable
And then there was Beyoncé. Grande remembered being invited to one of her video shoots after performing “Tattooed Heart” at the AMAs. “I was standing in the corner like, ‘Why am I here?’” she laughed. “She gave me some advice, just being kind. She didn’t have to do that.” Small moments, maybe, but in a world where competition often overshadows connection, those gestures mattered
The quiet power of being seen
“I feel like I had people I really looked up to embrace me,” Grande said. “It made me feel safe.” That’s a rare sentence in the entertainment world, and it says a lot about how empathy still travels between artists, quietly shaping careers in the background
There’s something poetic about how those early affirmations from Madonna, Beyoncé, and Mariah have come full circle. Today, Ariana Grande plays the same role for younger artists the reassuring voice who says, “You belong here.” Maybe that’s the real legacy of mentorship in pop: it doesn’t just make stars, it keeps them human
Legacy built on kindness
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Pop music is full of rivalries and headlines, but this story is different. It’s about how women at the top can choose to lift others instead of guarding their thrones. Grande’s gratitude isn’t performative, it’s grounded in experience. And maybe that’s why fans connect with her because behind the glitter and high notes, she remembers what it felt like to be welcomed when she didn’t have to be
It’s the kind of story that reminds us success isn’t only about charts or fame. Sometimes, it’s about the people who show up when they don’t have to, and the quiet moments that make someone believe they deserve to be there at all
