Ariana Grande's mom didn't think she would grow up to be a TV actress or a singer; Joan Grande thought her daughter would become a serial killer. The 21-year-old singer sat down with Billboard for a candid interview about being a "weird little girl," a spooky fifth birthday party and her music career.
"For my fifth birthday party we had a Jaws theme and all my friends left crying," Grande recalled to Billboard. "I mean, I still am that way. But when I was little it was more concerning. There was a stage, when I was 3 or 4, where my mom thought I might grow up to be a serial killer."
Grande said she looked up to people like Freddy Krueger and actress Marlene Dietrich, admitting that she was a "very weird little girl."
"Dark and deranged. I always wanted to have a skeleton face paint on or be wearing a Freddy Krueger mask, and I would carry a hockey stick around," she said. "I was like a mini-Helena Bonham Carter."
It's hard to picture Grande as dark or deranged since the "Break Free" singer is often portrayed as an America's sweetheart-type. The former Nickelodeon star told Billboard that she's well-aware people think she's this "little cutesy thing" but says she is "literally the most sardonic person you've ever met."
During the interview, Grande also dished on her music career and told Billboard about the first time she met with her managers.
"I remember when I first came to L.A. to meet with my managers, I was like, 'I want to make an R&B album," she told Billboard. "They were like" - she drops her voice - "'Um, that's a helluva goal! Who is going to buy a 14-year-old's R&B album?!'"
However, the 5-foot singer was determined to have a successful career and didn't let that stop her.
"I'm a micromanaging workhorse," she said. "Absolutely an obsessive-compulsive workaholic."
