Ariana Grande's Tattoos: A Complete Guide
Ariana Grande has been totally "successful" at using her beauty routine to convey meaningful messages to fans. Whether it's her signature ponytail that reportedly matches her mood or a cat-eye that provides inspiration for our own looks, the Sweetener singer isn't shy about using beauty to make a statement. This is especially true when it comes to her tattoos.
Over the years, Ariana has surprised fans with new and impactful works of inked art. From a small bee that sent a message of hope to an inked tribute to her favorite Sweetener song, the singer has explored her past and present with tattoos that represent important people, events, and even pop culture moments from her life. Looking to brush up on the singer's most meaningful ink? Here's your guide to some of Ariana's most touching tattoos — including a nod to her Sweetener World Tour and her latest tat unveiling at the 2020 Grammys.
Butterflies
On January 26, 2020, Ariana gave fans the smallest peek at her latest tattoo while walking the Grammys 2020 red carpet. As some eagle-eyed Ariana fans noted, the singer was sporting a brand new butterfly tattoo.
Back then, we thought Ari's latest ink was one of her daintiest, featuring the outline of a butterfly in a single-needle style. The art was mostly hidden under her gloves at the start of the night, it was later spotted more fully during one of the singer's many outfit changes.
On May 4, however, Ari gave fans a better look at the tattoo and it’s actually one of her biggest pieces so far. It looks like Ari must have only gotten the lines done when the Grammys took place but has since gone back for a session or two on the piece to get what we now know are (at least) two butterflies filled in.
Ari’s butterflies look like they are done in a micro-realistic style and the position of the two that we can see perfectly frames the singer’s upper arm. Despite showing it off more casually now, Ariana hasn't yet confirmed what significance the butterflies hold to her. And, hey, maybe they don’t at all but they look killer and we're here for a revamped '00s trend.
Sweetener World Tour
Ari got ink before heading on tour, and Ari got ink to celebrate wrapping up her tour. The singer has been touring for over nine months now and, with only a couple of days left on her Sweetener World Tour, she’s decided to celebrate the momentous occasion with some permanent ink.
On December 18, Ariana and three of her friends and collaborators (including producers Tommy Brown and Steven Franks) all unveiled their brand new group tattoos on Instagram. Though not quite matching, the four got finger/hand tattoos to commemorate Ari’s biggest tour to date. While Ari’s tattoo reads “SWT,” the rest got an assortment of what looks like different dates and numbers.
The group has yet to explain the meaning behind the tattoos (apart from the obvious) but it’s clear to see the inks have great significance for the bunch who captioned the pic, “Family Ties.”
A quote from The Truman Show
It’s a widely-known fact by now that Ari is a huge fan of Jim Carrey (and her first AIM screen name was even a tribute to the actor). She recently honored him in a more permanent way: with a tattoo of a quote from his film, The Truman Show.
Ari revealed the tribute via Instagram Stories on Thursday, June 20, noting that her cousin Courtney Chipolone also got a matching tatt. “In case I don’t see ya,” the tattoo reads, “Good afternoon, good evening, and good night!” According to Ari’s post, her version of the ink is upside down (naturally), and was designed by Mira Mariah, the tattoo artist behind most of the singer’s body art.
Soon after Ariana announced the new tattoo, Jim Carrey himself took notice. The actor shouted out the singer on Twitter, writing: “Wow @ArianaGrande...a tattoo? Ssss’nice!”
A branch with leaves
Before heading out on her Sweetener world tour, Ariana shared her newest ink with Instagram. For her latest tattoo, the singer revealed a branch of leaves that runs across her upper abdomen. Although the tattoo appears where the singer had previously inked "Always" — written in Pete Davidson's handwriting — she denied that it was intended to be a cover up. "Not a cover up just evolvin," she wrote on Instagram. Tattoo artist Mira Mariah shared the work on her Instagram, writing, "Middle of the night leaves on the queen."
In a comment left on Mira's Instagram, Ariana also denied that the ink was related to a recent mango poem she had previously tweeted about writing, "This is mango poem unrelated. We just enjoy the poem."
7 Rings
Following the release of "7 Rings," a song appearing on Ariana's upcoming Thank U, Next album, the singer paid tribute to the single with a tattoo. On Tuesday, January 29, she debuted a picture of the tattoo on her left hand. Originally posted to Instagram, Ariana had explained that the tattoo — which was done in Japanese Kanji characters — meant "7 Rings." However, some fans pointed out that the symbols translated to shichirin, the word for a Japanese style grill, Entertainment Tonight reports.
The singer responded to the tweeted criticism, writing, "Indeed, I left out “つの指” which should have gone in between. It hurt like f*ck n still looks tight. I wouldn’t have lasted one more symbol lmao. But this spot also peels a ton and won’t last so if I miss it enough I’ll suffer thru the whole thing next time.” She later deleted both the tattoo from Instagram and her tweeted response to fans.
After getting advice from her tutor, Ariana attempted to fix the tattoo. She posted the updated ink on Instagram stories, writing: "slightly better. thanks to my tutor for helping me fix ... rip tiny charcoal grill. miss u man. i actually really liked u."
The problem is the new character was tattooed in the wrong place, as Buzzfeed reports: "The new symbol [指] should have been added above the original tattoo, as Ariana's tutor suggested. However, it was added under the seven (七), meaning it would read as "輪♡七指" vertically. That doesn't make sense in Japanese, so people would most likely still read it from left to right, which would be 七輪指♡. So Ariana's new tattoo — "七輪指♡" — actually translates to something like "Japanese BBQ finger ♡"."
Eevee
For her latest tattoo, Ariana paid tribute to one of her favorite Pokémon. In an Instagram story post shared on Monday, January 14, the pop star showed off an Eevee tattoo done by artist Kane Navasard. 'I've wanted this for so long," she wrote on Instagram. The new ink — which appears on her arm — also appears to be rather large, with the image occupying a section of her upper arm.
The new tattoo comes just after Ari admitted she spent 15 hours playing Pokémon Let's Go. In a tweet made on Sunday, January 13, she wrote, "honestly. yesterday i had a day off and i played pokémon let’s go eevee for fifteen hours. honestly."
"Let's Sing"
Ariana chose to ring in the new year with some new inspiring ink. The pop star took to Instagram Stories on December 30 to debut her latest tatt, located on the inside of her arm, which translates to "Let's Sing" in Japanese. According to her post, the tattoo was done by artist Mira Mariah, who also designed Ari's moon and stars from earlier in December. Does this mean that 2019 is going to bring some brand-new music for Arianators? All signs point to yes.
Crescent Moon and Stars
On Thursday, December 6, Ariana celebrated being named Billboard's 2018 Woman of the Year by getting a celestial tattoo on her hand. But that's not all; as the singer-songwriter documented in her Instagram stories, her grandmother Marjorie “Nonna” Grande also got some ink that night. Yep, you read that correctly; Ari got tatts with her 93-year-old grandma, which basically makes Nonna the coolest ever. According to Ari's Insta story (which has since expired, but was captured by a fan account), Nonna's ink appears on her finger. As noted by Just Jared Jr., the tiny tatt was in honor of her late husband, and reads "Ciccio." In the video, she seems awfully chill about it. We stan an iconic grandma!
Myron
After reportedly adopting Mac Miller's dog Myron, Ariana revealed a tattoo tribute to her newest pet. After watching her behind the scenes vid from the "thank u, next" music video, several eagle-eyed fans spotted the ink. The new tattoo is on her left foot, and seemingly serves as a cover up for the tattoo she had gotten in memory of Pete Davidson's father.
R.E.M.
Ariana debuted this tattoo in her music video for "Breathin'." The ink, which was spotted by fans on Twitter, makes reference to one of her favorite tracks from Sweetener. As noted by one fan, the pop star had previously alluded to possibly getting the tattoo in a tweet.
Heart
Along with unveiling ink in honor of "R.E.M.," Ariana also showed off a new heart tattoo. The tiny black heart is located behind her ear and was also spotted in the release of her "Breathin'" video, Refinery 29 reported.
Olive Branch
During an evening with friends near the end of October 2018, Ariana shared an Instagram Story image of her new miniature olive branch tattoo. The small nature-inspired image serves as a cover up for a matching tattoo she had shared with Pete.
Manchester bee
On May 22, 2017, a terrorist bombing occurred at an Ariana concert in Manchester, England. Nearly one year after the event, the singer revealed her tattoo tribute to those affected by the bombing. Taking to Instagram, she showed the tiny bee that was inked behind her left ear. As noted by the BBC, the bee is the symbol of Manchester, and many residents had previously gotten similar tattoo tributes after the attack. The singer offered few words when posting the tattoo, simply writing, "forever."
Chihiro Ogino from Spirited Away
Ari's tattoos contain frequent references to pop culture, including an inked portrait of Chihiro Ogino from the film Spirited Away. Ariana debuted the tattoo addition in August 2018, and revealed how much the film resonated with her. In a post on Instagram Story, she explained the tattoo's significance, writing, "Chihiro's growth into a capable individual is a core factor to the movement of Spirited Away's plot. During her adventure in the Spirit World, she matures from an easily scared girl with a childlike personality to match her age to a hardworking, responsible, and brave young girl who has learned to put her fears aside for those she cares for. To protect her friends and rescue her parents from a spell that has turned them into livestock, Chihiro sheds her former personality and adapts to her environment to become a courageous, quick-witted and reliable girl."
Breakfast at Tiffany's
This "lil tat" pays homage to one of the singer's favorite films. In 2014, Ari debuted the inked quote, the French phrase "mille tendresse," which translates to "a thousand tendernesses," on the back of her neck. It's a quote from the novel turned movie, and as MTV News pointed out, the pop star has shared that the movie holds a special place in her heart.
Baby Doll
Appearing on another one of her fingers is a tattoo that reads "BABY DOLL." The ink, which Ariana shared to Instagram in 2016, is reportedly inspired by a family nickname given to her.
Cloud Emoji
Ahead of her Sweetener release, Ariana was seen making frequent use of the cloud emoji. Later, she made her love for the dreamy image permanent. In addition to the ink, the singer announced that clouds would serve as inspiration for her newest perfume.
H2GKMO
Similar to her cloud tattoo, the "H2GKMO" is reportedly an inked version of one of Ariana's favorite sayings, "Honest to God knock me out." First revealing the tattoo during an Instagram video, she got the saying etched onto her right hand.
Bellisima
This tattoo dates back to 2014 and was first seen in a stunning Instagram post shared by the singer. "Bellisima" is the Italian word for beautiful, and was also frequently used as a family nickname for Ariana. "It's what Grandpa's called me my whole life," the singer tweeted in 2014.
Always
Ariana hasn't been shy about sharing her love for Harry Potter. She loves the film so much that fans speculated her tattoo of "always," located above her ribs, was meant as a tribute to one of the books' most infamous lines. People also reports that the tattoo was allegedly done with Pete's handwriting.
This tattoo was later replaced on March 17, 2019 with a tree branch.
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