Sometimes meeting your idol changes everything.
Ariana Grande has long called Madonna one of her biggest inspirations — and in a recent conversation, she revealed just how profoundly her idol’s kindness impacted her.
The actress and singer-songwriter was a guest on Shut Up Evan this Friday, a biweekly pop culture podcast hosted by Evan Ross Katz, and talked about her journey filming and promoting the Wicked films, her upcoming The eternal sunshine Tour and answering other questions about her life and career.
In the middle of the episode, Katz brought up that he recently listened to an interview with Paramore’s Hayley Williams, where she revealed that she did not have any mentors while starting in the industry. The 36-year-old podcast host asked Grande what her relationship was like with mentorship, in both music and film.
After a brief pause, the Wicked star responded, saying that she was “very lucky” that all of her idols were very kind to her. She immediately brought up Madonna, who “immediately was kind” to her.
“She was one of the first people to reach out and give me a warm welcome, and it was just really cool,” Grande recalled. “I was overwhelmed by it because I love her so much and I felt so grateful to have that welcome from her.”
The “positions” singer then brought up how Mariah Carey and Beyoncé were also very kind and welcoming towards her when she was a young artist.
“I feel like I had people that I really looked up to embrace me in a really kind way, and it made me feel safe,” Grande concluded.
Grande’s career began as a teenager in the Broadway musical 13 in 2008 before gaining prominence as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series Victorious from 2010 to 2013 and its spin-off, Sam & Cat. After signing with Republic Records, she released her debut studio album, Yours Truly, which debuted on the Billboard 200. Grande incorporated elements of EDM and pop on her next two albums, My Everything and Dangerous Woman, then started exploring the trap and R&B genres in her projects released from 2018 to 2020: sweetener, thank u, next and positions.
She returned to acting with Netflix’s political satire film Don’t Look Up in 2021, and her portrayal of Glinda in the Wicked films, with the first installment earning her an Academy Award nomination. After a four-year music hiatus, Grande returned with her hit album eternal sunshine in March 2024. Now, the 32-year-old artist is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 90 million records. In addition, in 2021, she established R.E.M Beauty, her own cosmetic and fragrance brand.
Though Grande will be touring for the first time in seven years in 2026, Grande revealed in the podcast that she wants to focus on acting and theater in the future. She has a role in the new Meet the Parents movie, scheduled for release in 2026, as well as lending her voice in the animated Oh, the Places You’ll Go! film, out in 2028.
The second installment of the Wicked movies, Wicked: For Good, which stars Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Bowen Yang, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode and Ethan Slater will be out in theaters on Nov. 21.
Related: Ariana Grande Wins Major Award After Selling Out First Tour in 7 Years
This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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