- - Ariana Grande reveals 'brave thing' Mac Miller influenced her to do

KiMi Robinson, USA TODAYJanuary 14, 2026 at 10:38 PM

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Days ahead of what would have been Mac Miller's 34th birthday, Ariana Grande is crediting the late musician with helping her find her sound as an artist.

Grande, who dated the rapper from around 2016 to 2018, looked back fondly at Miller's influence on her early career in the Jan. 13 episode of the "Awards Chatter" podcast by The Hollywood Reporter.

"My debut album took some time to figure out, because there was also a strange presence from Nickelodeon in my head at the beginning of, like, what should this project be?" Grande said about her 2013 LP, "Yours Truly."

"I've never talked about this, but actually Malcolm – who you might know as Mac – encouraged me to be myself, and that it was OK to kind of shed that character and embrace my brown hair and make R&B-influenced pop music and separate and do the brave thing," the 32-year-old continued.

In this handout provided by 'One Love Manchester' benefit concert Mac Miller and Ariana Grande perform on stage on June 4, 2017 in Manchester, England.

"It was a great influence. I'm very thankful for that."

Before their working relationship bloomed into a romance, Miller featured on Grande's breakout single, "The Way."

"That's also why I was so eager to ask him to be a part of it, not only because he was perfect for the song, but I also felt like I had him to thank for finding my sound," Grande reflected.

"Yours Truly" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 when it was released. The singles off the album were "The Way," "Baby I" and "Right There," featuring Big Sean. Over the course of her career, Grande has collected two Grammy Awards, including for her fourth album, "Sweetener."

Miller died at 26 years old on Sept. 7, 2018, due to a deadly combination of fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol. A month earlier, he'd released his fifth studio album, "Swimming."

In 2019, three men were charged with distributing drugs that led to Miller's fatal overdose, with all three serving prison time.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ariana Grande reveals Mac Miller's influence 7 years after his death

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