Ariana Grande — who made her television breakthrough on Nickelodeon’s Victorious in 2010 — stopped by The Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday (Sept. 20) to share what it was like moving to Los Angeles for the first time at age 14 in the hopes of becoming a star.
In honor of the show’s “I Love L.A.” week, Clarkson asked Grande to describe the defining step in her career that led her to the city. “The first time I came to L.A. was for my Victorious callback, and I was so nervous, but so excited,” Grande explained.
“I was really young. I was 14, but I had never been here until my callback. My mom was like, ‘Do you think you can really do this? We’ll get a place. Should we get an apartment, you think?’ They kept us waiting for a long time,” Grande continued. “There’s a long time between the next callback and the next one, and we were staying at a hotel. … I was like, ‘I hope so, I have no idea.’ And then, thank God, because what if I didn’t get it? And she then was like ‘We have this lease for the next six months!'”
Grande’s work on Victorious allowed viewers to get a sneak peek of her vocal ability. During the show’s first season, Grande and co-star Elizabeth Gillies performed a duet titled “Give It Up.” The song was featured on Victorious: Music From the Hit TV Show — the show’s first soundtrack album — which later hit the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 5 on the chart.
On Monday night, Grande will make her debut as a coach on The Voice alongside Clarkson. Find out how to watch the season 21 premiere here.
Watch Grande’s interview with Clarkson below.
