Revisiting Ariana Grande’s First Single Ever, “Put Your Hearts Up”

Ariana Grande is now one of the biggest pop stars in the world, but there was a time when she was a burgeoning vocalist trying to find her footing. Any artist will tell you, the early days of their career can prove to be a little awkward or cringe inducing. According to Grande, her first single certainly fit that descriptor.

Despite her personal feelings about that single, it was enough to push Grande along in her music career, and for that we have to be thankful. Revisit Grande’s first foray in music, below.

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Revisiting Ariana Grande’s First Single Ever, “Put Your Hearts Up”

Grande got her start on the Nickelodeon series Victorious. She played the well-meaning, if a little ditzy character of Cat Valentine. The show allowed Grande to not only flex her comedy skills, but also her vocal chops.

Though she wasn’t the main character on the show, fans quickly noticed how skilled she was as a vocalist. Looking back, Grande’s music career was really only a matter of time. She released her first single, “Put Your Hearts Up,” in 2011. The track was a play on 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up?” Grande made the song her own by adding in a message of good will. If we give a little love / Maybe we can change the world, she sings.

While the song seemed like a perfect first step for Grande at that point in her career, she found it to be a confused effort. She found herself halfway between her Nickelodeon era and her solo career. Because of that, the song felt disingenuous to Grande.

“I feel like ‘Put Your Hearts Up’ would’ve been Cat’s single, you know what I mean,” Grande once said. “It would’ve been Cat Valentine’s single, you know? I really wanted to do music but I couldn’t wait so I was like stuck in this weird world where like, it was like I’m Cat, but I’m me.”

“For the video, they gave me a bad spray tan and put me in a princess dress and had me frolic around the street,” she continued elsewhere. “The whole thing was straight out of hell. I still have nightmares about it.”

While Grande might not love “Put Your Hearts Up,” it has a soft spot in the hearts of her fans. Revisit the music video for this single, below.

(Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)