Ariana Grande Reveals How She Beat Insecurity & Found Huge Success

She's one of the world's biggest pop stars and has over 50 million followers on social media, but, Ariana Grande shares an unfiltered look at her true self. Check out what she had to say about overcoming insecurity and finding success.

On Overcoming Her Insecurities, she says: "Everybody has certain things that make them feel insecure. Even when you overcome a huge battle in your life and you make a ton of progress as a person, there are still things that will upset you and break your heart. But I feel like I'm at a point in my life where love is the most important thing, and I won't let anything come before it."

The Social Media Superstar On Selfies

“Everybody makes up these ridiculous captions for their selfies that have nothing to do with the picture, like ‘Layin’ in bed on Saturday.’ It’s like, No, you are not!  You just spent an hour getting ready for this picture! We all post a selfie for the same reason—because we feel better about ourselves than usual.  So just be like, 'Hey, I feel good about myself today, so here’s a picture!'”

On How Her Grandfather Influenced Her Growing Up

"He was like, 'you're a star, I know in my heart you're going to make this family so proud. You're a blessing.' And I was like, oh my god, and started crying, and I trusted it."

Ariana talks a lot about her grandfather, who sadly passed after we went to press. She told us: "This interview took place before I lost my grandfather. Reading it back now is of course very hard, but I'm so grateful that I spoke briefly about some of the wisdom he shared with me in this interview. I hope Seventeen readers find it helpful and can relate."

The Toughest Thing She Has Ever Had To Deal With

“Falling out of touch with my dad.  It’s private, but it happened last year.  It took me so long to be okay with it. The thing that got me there was embracing the fact that that I am made up of half my dad, and a lot of my traits come from him.  So much of me comes from my father, and for so long, I didn’t like that about myself. I had to accept that it’s okay not to get along with somebody and still love them.”

On Putting Herself Out There And Being Totally Exposed

“It’s tough to spend some of the most important years of your life in front of so many strangers who want to pick you apart.  Insecurity has been the hardest thing I’ve had to overcome.  I think everyone my age struggles with that because everyone strives for approval and wants to feel loved.”

The Biggest Lesson She’s Learned In The Past Few Years

“Being okay with not having the answers to everything.  I feel like for the first time in my life, I’m really okay. I used to freak out about everything all the time. I used to be like, ‘Oh my God, somebody said this!’ Everything used to be such a big deal! But now, I feel I can handle everything that comes my way with a calm energy.”

On Working With Iggy Azalea On "Problem"

"For me, a collaboration is taking a song that is great, and turning it into a fantastic song. When you hear IGGY [in "Problem"], it screams confidence and girl power, and all these wonderful things."

On Doing Anything For Her Fans

"If my fans want something, I'll always do my best to give it to them. A lot of my fans are in love with my old music, and they're always asking me if they can have the songs that didn't make it on the first album. I had to buy ["Boyfriend Material"], so I could just give it to them for free. I really wanted them to have it because they love it!"