Here's What Ariana Grande's Tattoos Really Mean
Ariana Grande is known for her powerhouse voice and petite frame. As many fans may know, the latter is discreetly covered with ink. The pop starlet had amassed over 50 tattoos since getting inked for the first time back in 2012 (per BuzzFeed). Grande's many tattoos aren't just cute and reflective of her story. They also serve as inspiration for her many fans. According to Elle, Grande's tattoos garner "roughly 12,100 internet searches in the UK and 90,500 in the US on a monthly basis, according to our experts."
Grande's first tattoo (on her foot) was in commemoration of one of her first big professional accomplishments: the recording of her debut album, Yours Truly. "Got my 1st tattoo in the studio with @Skysnuts (LMFAO) while we were recording a really fun duet which you'll all hear soon!" she wrote in the description of a YouTube video documenting the ink, she explained what made her take the plunge. "This year has been 1 of the happiest and most enlightening years for me and I felt like I wanted to do something special to remind me of this time....writing my 1st album, working with my castmates & best friends on victorious, being young, having fun and being surrounded by love."
She continued, "So..I wanted to do something permanent to remind me to always be grateful and not take anything for granted so.. I got a little tattoo. :)"
It was two years before Ariana got her second tattoo
The toe tattoo might've been her first, but it was the one that got Ariana Grande hooked on getting tatted. She got some more ink in 2014 when she added a tattoo on the back of her neck. The pretty script reads, "Mille tendresse," which means "one thousand tendernesses". The phrase appears in Grande's all-time favorite film, Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Next for Grande was "belissima" on her torso on the right side. The Italian word has a special family connection for Grande. "It's what grandpa's called me my whole life," Grande revealed to fans on Twitter. Around that time, she also got "honeymoon" tattooed on her right middle finger, while on The Honeymoon Tour in support of her second album. On the left middle finger, she tattooed "baby doll," which is a nickname from her grandmother.
In 2015, Grande debuted a small crescent moon tattoo behind her ear. It was related to her third studio album, originally slated to be titled Moonlight. The album became Dangerous Woman, but "Moonlight" is still a beloved track on it, per Billboard. "'Moonlight' is a lovely song and it's a lovely title. It's really romantic, and it definitely ties together the old music and the new music," she told fans. "But 'Dangerous Woman' is a lot stronger."
That same year, Grande also debuted matching "hi" tattoos with then-boyfriend Ricky Alvarez. The toe tattoo has since been covered up, but it's unclear with what exactly.
Ariana got a tattoo to reflect her religious journey
Sometime after converting to Kabbalah in 2014, Ariana Grande added a Hebrew phrase to her right ring finger. "אלד" meaning "guarding and protecting from the evil eye and envy," (per Kabbalah Names). Born Catholic, Grande converted because of how Catholicism regards sexuality, per Us Weekly. As fans may recall, her brother, Frankie Grande, is a member of the LGBTQ community.
She has another heart tattoo, this one on her right ring finger. In August 2016, Ariana added another two finger tattoos. One was an "A", for herself and friend Alexa Luria, on her right thumb. The other was the Venus symbol, on her left middle finger. On that occasion, she went to celeb tattoo artist Dr. Woo, along with her then-boyfriend, late rapper Mac Miller.
In May 2017, a bombing occurred at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in the U.K. Twenty-two people were killed in the bombing with countless others injured (per NBC News). Grande herself was safe, but devastated by the events and got a permanent commemoration piece out of respect.
Ariana's bee tattoo is one of her most meaningful
To mark the one-year anniversary of the attack, Ariana Grande joined some of her affected fans and members of the Manchester community by getting a bee tattoo, symbolic of the city's Industrial Revolution legacy. "Forever," she captioned the photo of the tattoo behind her left ear, a bit above her moon.
Grande laid low in the time after the attack, understandably traumatized by what happened. Sadly, 2018 would prove to be another difficult year for the pop star. It began on a high note, however, had a bit of a turn shortly after she started dating Saturday Night Live talent Pete Davidson late that spring.
Both the singer and the comedian were seriously into their tattoos. In the early days of their relationship, Grande was spotted with two new tattoos: the word "lumos," a Harry Potter spell that summons light, on the side of her left hand; and a cloud on her left middle finger, the same spot where Davidson also got a cloud (per Insider).
Ariana has quite a few coverups
It was at this time that Ariana Grande also started getting more tattoos with her friends. She got the word "Court" on her knee in honor of friend Courtney Chipolone (per PopBuzz). Both Chipolone and Pete Davidson joined her in getting "H2GKMO" tattoos, the acronym for Grande's then-favorite phrase, "honest to God, knock me out." A tattoo also appeared on Grande's left thigh at this time, but fans are unsure of what it says as of writing.
Grande got the word "always" on her rib cage in Pete's handwriting, but it's since been covered up by the leaves of another tattoo. "Not a cover up just evolvin," she shared on Instagram. Other tattoos she accumulated during this time is a "561" on her thumb," the word "reborn" (which Davidson also got), and "Pete" on her left ring finger, which was covered with a black heart after they called off their engagement. The "8418" badge number she got in honor of Davidson's late father was reworked into "Myron," the dog she and Mac Miller adopted together.
In late 2018, Grande debuted even more ink. There was a celestial design on her foot, a "9 3/4" Harry Potter tattoo on her finger (since covered by a snaking plant), and three new designs behind her ear: a lightning bolt, a black heart, and "R.E.M," the title of her favorite song on her album, Sweetener.
Grande began getting bigger pieces in 2018 and 2019
Ariana Grande has a tattooed portrait of Chihiro, the protagonist from Spirited Away and Eevee, her favorite Pokemon (per Insider). Then, there's the quote from The Truman Show, which reads, "In case I don't see ya: Good afternoon, good evening, and good night!" The shoulder tattoo is thought to be a tribute to one of Grande's favorite comedic actors, Jim Carrey.
She also got some Japanese lettering that landed her in hot water. The first tattoo, which reads "Let's sing," in Japanese over her left elbow. It was her attempt at getting "7 Ring" tattooed that caused a problem. Despite the fact that Grande has been learning Japanese since 2015, fans pointed out that the way she situated the phrase actually resulted in it meaning "shichirin," the word for a small charcoal grill (per The Guardian).
Between 2018 to as of writing, Grande has been working on a "glove," aka covering her entire hand with tats. It contains a sun, moon, Saturn, her dog's name (Toulouse), and some leaves (per People). She later added "SWT" for "Sweetener World Tour", "Cinderella" on her left ring finger, "GWS" which is believed to be for "Get Well Soon," the final track from Sweetener. There were also some more additions to her arm in the form of two butterflies and the word baby. Altogether Grande is believed to have somewhere upward of 50 tattoos.