Written by: Lucy Widmann
From playing the character “Cat” on Nickelodeon’s teen sitcom Victorious, to being the most recent addition of judges on NBC’s The Voice, Ariana Grande is a household name! At just the age of 28, she is a Grammy winning, multi-platinum recording artist and international superstar! This week we had superfan @updatesgrande, a.k.a Maya, share with us how she created a space online for Ariana fans all over the world to come together to obsess over Ariana’s music, talent, and accomplishments! ❤️🔥
Born and raised in Florida, 21 year old Maya actually became an Ariana Grande fan because of her brother! During the days when Ariana played the character “Cat” on the show Victorious, Maya told us how her brother could not stop obsessing and talking about her. Naturally, like any sister would do, Maya investigated who Ariana was and became hooked! As Maya says, “Her persona, her energy, her creativity, and her humor is like a bright light in a dark room. She radiates such positive energy that you could literally feel and hear in her music.” This was during the time when Ariana’s single “The Way” had just come out, being just the tip of the iceberg for her career! 👀
With now a full catalog of songs, we asked Maya what her favorite song is of Ariana’s, in which she replied with “Get Well Soon.” When the release of Ariana’s album Sweetener came out with this single, Maya shared how this was the exact same time as when she was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Maya illustrates the song as, “[...] a wake up call. I just sat back and was like ‘Wow, the universe sent me this song when I needed it the most.’” The song means so much to Maya, that she even got ‘Get Well Soon’ tattooed on her arm! 🥺
Of course, we can’t forget about all the amazing videos Ariana has either released or been in, which shows off her vision for her music and her personality! Maya said her favorite video of Ariana has to be her interviews on the Zach Sang Show! “It’s always so fun and light hearted that I always find myself laughing and smiling with them. Ariana seems so comfortable in sharing her mind and being herself without the feeling of judgement.” We can’t agree more with Maya and feel the same way! The way that Ariana is authentic with who she is and fearless with how she shares herself is something we admire so much! 💖
Getting into what Maya’s favorite part of running a fan account is, she explained that it is the interactions that she has with other fans in the fandom! Everyone is able to share the same love and appreciation for an artist, that everyone automatically finds comfort and family in that community. As Maya says: “It’s my home away from home. I’ve made so many great friendships that I don’t think would have ever existed in the outside world.” 🤗
Running an Ariana Grande fan account has also created some super cool memories for Maya to look back upon! When asking Maya to share any fun stories, she replied with a story of when Ariana Grande herself noticed her account back in 2014! Maya told us how she had to take multiple screenshots of the notification because she couldn't believe it! If Ariana liked our page, we would have to do the same too! But as for other amazing experiences, Maya described how she has recently seen tremendous growth in her account! “I did this one poll a few weeks ago, it was a ‘this or that’ poll between two songs of Ariana’s that fans would have to choose from and over 20,000 people played it. I was in shock… I didn’t think it was ever even possible to get that big.” How cool is that?! When Maya told us this, we couldn’t help but be so happy for her! 💫
Because Maya has seen Ariana Grande in concert five times, she definitely has some knowledge on how Ariana makes her concerts so special! With her first being at Justin Bieber’s Believe Tour, twice at the Honeymoon Tour, and once each for her Dangerous Woman and Sweetner Tour, Maya tells us, “She can take my money any day!” Same! 😂
This in mind, we asked Maya if she had the opportunity to plan a concert for Ariana, what would she include? To our delight, Maya delivered by saying, “I would love to see Kiana Ledé or Giveon open the show. They are so talented, and their music is absolutely amazing; sharing a stage with Ariana would be surreal. Songs I would love Ariana to perform live would be ‘just like magic,’ ‘safety net,’ ‘everytime,’ ‘34+35,’ ‘in my head,’ and ‘positions.’” All these song choices would definitely be on our list too! 😁
In wrapping up our time with Maya, we asked if she could send Ariana a message, what would it say? Here is what Maya had to say: “Ariana, you have become my best friend in the oddest way. I grew up watching you follow and achieve every one of your dreams and it has inspired me tremendously to chase and achieve my own. I don’t know what life would be like without you and your music; I’d rather never know lol! I’m excited to continue growing with you, dancing and singing along to your music until I’m 80. Here’s to many more memories!!! Love you forever.” 💜
Thank you so much Maya for giving us a behind the scenes look at running a fan account! Make sure you follow @updatesgrande and show her account lots of love! We love seeing how fans come together and find an online community that they instantly can connect to! 🥰
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