Is Ariana Grande friends with Rihanna? 2014 Billboard Music Awards controversy explained

After Ariana Grande has gained considerable success as a singer-songwriter, she's now on her path to take her career as an actress to the next level. Along the way, Ari has also made many friends in the industry, one of whom is Rihanna.

According to Grande's fandom wiki, the singer-songwriter has been friends with Rihanna for a long time and a fan of her songs for even longer. In 2010, Ariana covered her hit track, Only Girl (In The World).

In her 2020 Apple Music interview, Ari also admitted that she loved Rihanna's latest album, Anti, and "listened to it" every day. The 2014 controversy about the singers, which received undue public attention, later amounted to nothing.

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Ariana Grande mentioned how Rihanna was "so kind" to her after her performance at the Billboard Music Awards

On May 18, 2014, the Billboard Music Awards was hosted at the MGM Grande Arena in Las Vegas.

Ariana Grande was one of the star performers in the award show, where she sang her iconic track Problems on stage while grooving and adding her own dance steps to the performance.

As Grande's performance continued on stage, the streaming camera focused on Rihanna several times. While the Umbrella singer initially appeared to enjoy Ari's song, as Grande started dancing, RiRi appeared to have been laughing while covering her mouth with her hand. That sparked a controversy that the Diamonds singer was laughing at Grande's dance steps.

Soon after the incident, the Positions singer appeared on Australia's The Bump Show, where the DJ, her host, said that RiRi wasn't laughing at Ari but at something her best friend said.

He further asked her if Rihanna clarified it to Grande when the two later met, to which the 7 Rings singer responded:

"I didn't see her laughing at me, but when I watched it afterwards, it looked like she was just shocked because I was doing something different."

Ariana Grande also said:

"Afterwards she was so kind to me, she was like, 'Lil' mama keep doing what you're doing because it's working.'"

The singer-songwriter pointed out that it struck her as "funny" that people tried to make such a commotion out of it. Grande added:

"She was just being playful and supportive. People are always trying to make a big deal out of nothing because they're bored."

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Ariana Grande gave Fenty Beauty a shoutout in her song

Despite the controversy surrounding the Billboard Music Awards show in 2014, the friendship between Ariana Grande and Rihanna continued to thrive.

In 2019, when Ari released her fifth studio album, Thank U, Next, one of its tracks was called make up, which shouted out to RiRi's makeup brand, Fenty Beauty. The lines from the track that highlight the makeup line are:

"No eyeliner on, but looking at you is the fix / Highlight of my life, just like that Fenty Beauty kit."

Soon after the song's release, Fenty Beauty acknowledged Ari's mention of them in her track, tagging her in an X (formerly Twitter) post:

"Ouuuu @ArianaGrande we’re gonna need you to drop that makeup tutorial sis!! Hope you luv your Fenty Beauty goodies."

Ariana Grande's make up is a wordplay on the term, with the song being centered around a relationship where the cycle of conflicts and reconciliations keeps things interesting, as Lyrics Layers reported. The singer-songwriter also hints at the tumultuous nature of the relationship adding to its allure, making the couple more addicted to "break ups" and "make-ups".

Since its release in 2019, the song has received 157,608,398 streams on Spotify and over 13 million views on YouTube.

Grande's shout-out to RiRi's makeup line is also a testament to her appeal towards the idea of celeb-owned makeup and skincare products. It became more prominent two years later when Ari started her own makeup and skincare line, named after one of her tracks - r.e.m. beauty.

According to The Sun, Grande's cosmetic brand generated a revenue of $88.7 million in 2023. This year, the numbers are expected to grow higher.