This is a story about a privileged white girl who appropriated a self-made biracial woman for her own commercial gain:
When Ariana Grande released her debut album, she embarked on a radio tour across the United States. During this tour, Ariana sat idly by as her manager, Scooter Braun, constantly referred to her as “a young Mariah Carey.” It was Ariana, a white (NOT Latina) girl born into a wealthy family in suburban Florida, who planted the seed.
Ariana’s management team purposely crafted her image after 90’s Mariah: a wholesome, demure girl with a big voice, and they did everything they could to convince the public that she was the “next Mariah.” They even set her up with famous R&B producers like Cory Rooney and Babyface who had worked with Mariah in the 90′s; they literally did everything besides ask Mariah to write and produce the album for her.
Ariana also covered Emotions, drawing even more comparisons to Mariah due to her use of the whistle register, which she also incorporated into her debut album. The album included riffs and runs that were exact replications of some of Mariah’s, and she collaborated with a handful of rappers on the album, a trend that Mariah has been widely credited with establishing and popularizing (hip-pop). I mean, the original title for her album was Daydreamin’ for Christ’s sake. At this point Ariana might as well have screamed, “LOOK AT ME! I AM THE NEXT MARIAH!” from the rooftop of her parents’ Boca Raton McMansion.
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering: why is this white theater girl so passionate about R&B music? then you’re asking the right question. Let’s remember that Ariana’s first album took THREE years to finish, and in the beginning the album was pure bubblegum pop. It wasn’t until her record label, which was dissatisfied with the album’s direction, hired producers to come in and completely change the sound that it became an R&B record, or as Ariana called it, “Urban 90’s music.” Ugh.
To be frank, Ariana and her handlers tried to emulate something Mariah would’ve done herself. They hired some top-notch R&B writers and producers and urged Ariana to screech out a couple whistle notes (even if it meant she couldn’t speak for 3 days afterwards) and add a few breathy trills here and there.
But, in the end, every human being with a brain knew what she was doing, and, I dunno, it all just seemed a little….
