Maps of Music

Yours Truly (2013)

Where the lyrics of Yours Truly take you, and where it was really made.

Grande's debut album opened at number one on the US Billboard 200, making her the fifteenth female artist to debut at number one with a debut album.

Key places

Recorded at Rocket Carousel (2013)

Recording site Cocoa-Butt — The album's recording credits list this Culver City studio. The map shows only the city-center position. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at The Lair (2013)

Recording site The Lair — The album's recording credits list The Lair in Los Angeles as a recording location. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at The Power House (2013)

Recording site The Power House — The album's recording credits list The Power House in Yonkers. The map shows only the city-center position. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Sound Emporium (2013)

Recording site Sound Emporium Studios — The album's recording credits list Sound Emporium in Nashville. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at London Bridge, Seattle (2013)

Recording site London Bridge — The album's recording credits list London Bridge Studio in Seattle. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Armoury Studios (2013)

Recording site Armoury Studios — The album's recording credits list Armoury Studios in Vancouver. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Powerhouse, London (2013)

Recording site Powerhouse — The album's recording credits list Powerhouse in London. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Studio de la Reine (2013)

Recording site Pathé Marconi studios — The album's recording credits list Studio de la Reine in Paris. The map shows only the city-center position. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Yours Truly: debut studio album by Ariana Grande
• Released 30 August 2013 by Republic Records
• Music production by Harmony Samuels, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Patrick "J. Que" Smith, Leon Thomas III and others
• Featured collaborators: Big Sean, Mika, Mac Miller, The Wanted's Nathan Sykes
• Pop and R&B record with 1990s hip hop, 1950s piano pop and doo-wop influences

Background

• Work began in August 2010 while Grande was filming Victorious
• Formal work with a label started after her signing to Republic Records on 10 August 2011
• By 10 September 2011, 20 songs were ready and narrowed down to 13
• "Put Your Hearts Up" released 12 December 2011 as the intended first single, selling 120,000 download units
• 2013: Grande met her label and voiced dissatisfaction with the album's direction
• She said she disliked "Put Your Hearts Up" and wanted to make the urban pop and 1990s music she grew up with
• Her team asked rapper Iggy Azalea for a feature, but Azalea declined

Recording

• Songs were recorded over nearly a two-year period
• Several studios are credited for recording, listed as map points

Cover

• The first cover showed Grande kneeling on a bed of roses in front of a pink background
• After fan criticism, a new black-and-white image of her standing under a spotlight replaced it

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born June 26, 1993, in Boca Raton, Florida.
• Performed as a child with the Fort Lauderdale Children's Theater, playing Annie.
• Sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a Florida Panthers home game at age eight.

Career

• Began in the Broadway musical 13 (2008).
• Gained fame as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon series Victorious (2010–2013) and its spin-off Sam & Cat (2013–2014).
• Signed with Republic Records; debut album Yours Truly (2013) debuted atop the Billboard 200.
• Albums My Everything (2014) and Dangerous Woman (2016) brought international success.
• Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019) mark her trap-influenced period; Positions followed in 2020.
• Eternal Sunshine (2024) marked her move into dance and house music; Petal (2026) followed as her eighth studio album.
• Acting work includes Don't Look Up (2021) and Glinda in Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For Good (2025).

Recognition

• Three Grammy Awards, one Brit Award, and fifteen MTV Video Music Awards.
• Ten Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles; the first solo artist to hold the top three Hot 100 spots at once (2019).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Acclaimed by critics on release, with praise for Grande's vocals
• Metacritic: average of 81 from 9 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim"
• AllMusic (Matt Collar): four stars out of five, calling the album "surprisingly sophisticated and unique"
• Entertainment Weekly (Nick Catucci): graded A−, calling it "pure pop bliss" powered by her "lithe, Broadway-honed voice"
• The New York Times (Jon Caramanica): positive review, praising Grande as an "identifiable pop star" who builds on the "Glee"/"Idol" template
• Billboard (Jason Lipshutz): rated 86 out of 100 in a track-by-track review
• PopMatters (Scott Interrante): eight discs out of ten, calling it "an impressive debut" for Grande
• AbsolutePunk (Ryan Dennehy): rated 70 percent
• Pitchfork (Andrew Ryce): rated 6.5 out of ten, calling it "a very safe record"
• Digital Spy (Lewis Conner): four stars out of five
• The Michigan Daily (Gregory Hicks): graded B, noting that beat usage becomes excessive at times
• The New York Daily News (Jim Farber): three stars out of five

Records

• US Billboard 200: debuted at number one with 138,000 first-week copies, Grande's first number-one album as a solo artist
• Fifteenth female artist to debut at number one in the US with a debut album
• RIAA: certified platinum on 22 March 2016 for shipments of one million copies
• Top ten debuts in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom
• Billboard 200 year-end chart: ranked 106th in 2013, and 68th the following year
• Sales: 615,000 copies in the US as of June 2020

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The team asked Iggy Azalea for a feature; she turned it down, and the two later worked together on "Problem" for My Everything.
• The music video for "Almost Is Never Enough", a duet with Nathan Sykes, premiered on Vevo on 19 August to promote The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.
• "Put Your Hearts Up" sold 120,000 download units on release, but Grande later said she disliked the song.
• One track, "You're My Only Shawty", was given to Demi Lovato for her third studio album Unbroken.
• The Listening Sessions tour's pre-sale tickets had to be taken down early because they sold so quickly.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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