Ariana Grande’s debut album Yours Truly was released on August 30^th, 2013. The album debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard Chart and has sold over a million copies worldwide. Ariana Grande was still part of Nickelodeon when Yours Truly came out. She had finished Victorious and was starring in the spinoff series Sam & Cat which also starred Jenette McCurdy. Victorious lasted three seasons and Sam & Cat lasted one. Ariana Grande sang a little bit on Victorious but Yours Truly was the first project to fully showcase her vocals. 2013 was a big year for artists finding their own voices, particularly the Disney stars such as Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, and Selena Gomez who all released albums that same year and found bigger success post Disney. Ariana Grande is the most successful artist to come out of Nickelodeon.

Yours Truly is a Pop album that leans more toward R&B with hip-hop beats. Ariana Grande got comparisons to Mariah Carey at the time given the songs were similar sonically and stylistically. That quickly changed on subsequent albums when Ariana Grande leaned more into pop and dance and other styles. Yours Truly spawned the hit single The Way which peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song features the late Mac Miller. The Way did decently and is considered a classic. It also got a fair amount of radio airplay at the time. The second single was Baby I which peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. The third and final single from the album was Right There which peaked at number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song features Big Sean. The Way is the biggest hist to come out of Ariana’s debut album.

Yours Truly is a solid album. It has a classic feel to it. I understand why it did not have that many commercial hit songs. At the time radio was playing a lot of EDM and dance music as well as pop. Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, and Selena Gomez’s albums were transitional albums for them after leaving Disney. Their singles were more radio friendly. Ariana Grande was getting compared to Mariah Carey. By that point Mariah Carey was not getting as many hits anymore like she did throughout her career. Regardless, Yours Truly is a solid debut album that really showcases Ariana’s vocals. The style suits her. The songs are varied enough to keep the album from sounding exactly the same. Better Left Unsaid, which is the closing track, teeters on EDM a little bit. Ariana Grande would later explore EDM on her follow up album My Everything. Piano is an up tempo song while Tattooed Heart is a nice ballad. Almost is Never Enough is a slow duet with Nathan Sykes which was part of the Mortal Instruments soundtrack. The Way and Right There have hip hop beats with Mac Miller and Big Sean on the tracks. Honeymoon Avenue, which is the opening track, really sets the tone for the album. It is also a really good song and one of the highlights.

Yours Truly was only the beginning for Ariana Grande who would go on to be one of the biggest pop stars in the world. Ariana Grande went on to have even bigger hits eventually achieving multiple number 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. It is nice to look back on the humble beginnings of Ariana Grande’s music career and it is a nice trip down memory lane. One thing that really separates Ariana’s debut album compared to her fellow peers who came from Disney is that Ariana’s album already showcased her capabilities. A lot of Disney stars start out with Disney’s label before branching out in different directions. Yours Truly was never part of Nickelodeon’s record label. That set Ariana Grande’s music career apart right from the start.