Photo: instagram
The singer has an impressive collection of ink.
By Sloane Solomon — Written on Jun 25, 2018
Ariana Grande is probably best known for her fierce singing voice and iconic ponytail. But what you may not know about the songstress is that she has quite an affinity for tattoos. This is because Ariana's tattoos are the type where if you blink, you'll miss them. All of her tattoos are tiny, but their meanings are just as powerful as her song lyrics.
The singer started her tattoo collection in 2012 and hasn't stopped getting pieces of dainty ink since. In 2014, Ariana even commented on her Facebook page about her love of tattoos and her plans to get inked more often. "I plan to get a ton of little discreet tats here and there throughout my life that are meaningful to me. I thoroughly enjoy them."
So now that it's four years later from her comment, how many tattoos does she currently have? As it turns out, the singer has much more than a few of them right now — including matching tattoos with her fiancé Pete Davidson! What are they and what does each tattoo symbolize for Ariana?
Here is the breakdown of all of Ariana Grande's tattoos as well as the meanings behind them.
1. Heart Tattoo
Ariana got her first tattoo in April 2012. The songstress wanted a permanent reminder of what she called one of the happiest years of her life — which was also when she wrote her first album. She got a tiny heart tattooed on her toe. Tattooed Heart also happened to be the name of a song on Ariana's first album. The singer even posted a video of herself getting her very first piece of ink.
2. "Mille Tendresse" Tattoo
Two years later in 2014, Ariana got her second tattoo. The French saying means "a thousand tendernesses" and was made popular by the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, which Ariana seems to be a big fan of as she had already posted the same saying to Twitter before she even got the tattoo. This time, the singer made it more permanent by getting the delicate words tattooed across the back of her neck and was excited to let her fans know about her latest ink on Instagram.
3. "Bellissima" Tattoo
Ariana's third tattoo has a very special meaning behind it that's close to her heart. In March 2014, Ariana revealed the new tattoo on Instagram, which was the word "Bellissima" and ran across her side. Ariana explained that she had gotten the tattoo as a tribute to her grandfather, whose nickname for her was "Bellissima."
4. Crescent Moon
In 2015, Ariana added a tiny crescent moon on her neck to her growing collection of ink. However, the meaning behind this one wasn't so clear this time. But, Ariana did write "moon baby" on her Twitter when she revealed the tattoo to her followers. In 2017, Ariana's best friend who is also her choreographer, Brian Nicholson explained that they both got matching crescent moon tattoos to commemorate their 2015 tour as well as their friendship. “It came together as a fun moment for me and her to bond,” Brian said.
5. Finger Tattoos
In 2015, Ariana also debuted two new tattoos on her fingers. On the inside of her middle finger was the word "honeymoon" in cursive to represent her big Honeymoon tour. And on the inside of her ring finger was a tattoo written in Hebrew, which she got with her brother Frankie. The matching tattoos represent the siblings' Kabbalah faith.
6. Heart Finger Tattoo
The Honeymoon tour was memorable not only for her singing but also the numerous tattoos Ariana gathered during it. She added yet another finger tattoo and this one seemed pretty familiar. The small heart on Ariana's finger looked to be almost identical to her first tattoo.
7. "Hi" Tattoo
This is Ariana's smallest tattoo - in fact, it's so tiny that you can barely even see it. The word "Hi" is written on her toe on her left foot and she got this piece of ink when she was with ex-boyfriend Ricky Alvarez. The tattoo was meant to symbolize the former couple's long-distance relationship.
8. Babydoll Tattoo
Ariana was always close to both of her grandparents, so this time she chose to get a tattoo to honor her grandmother. On the other side of the same finger that has the Honeymoon tattoo is where Ariana added a tattoo that said Babydoll in capital letters. This was the singer's grandmother's nickname for her.
9. Venus Tattoo
It may seem like Ariana was running out of room to put tattoos on her fingers, but that's obviously not the case since she added two more in August 2016. The singer and her then-boyfriend Mac Miller got the tattoos together. One tattoo was the Venus symbol.
10. "A" Initial
The other finger tattoo Ariana got was the initial "A", which Ariana explained was for a friend who has the same initial. "I got two new tattoos today," she said in a short video. "I got this one for my friend, and for myself, because we have the same initial."
11. Bee Tattoo
This tattoo is one of Ariana’s most meaningful ones. In May 2018, she got a bee tattoo to acknowledge the one year anniversary of the Manchester attack that happened at one of Ariana’s shows. The bee is an important symbol for the city’s history. The tattoo is small and is behind Ariana’s ear.
The singer also wrote a message on Twitter accompanied by a bee emoji. "Thinking of you all today and every day," she tweeted "I love you with all of me and am sending you all of the light and warmth I have to offer on this challenging day.”
12. Lumos Tattoo
In an Instagram story, Ariana showed off yet another new piece of ink on her hand. Ariana had the word "lumos" written on her hand, which refers to a spell from Harry Potter. Although Ariana is a huge fan of Harry Potter, the tattoo could very well have a double meaning as she debuted it shortly after the Manchester anniversary and the lumos spell creates light in a dark room.
13. Cloud Tattoo
Ariana and her fiance Pete Davidson have matching cloud tattoos. And it's not hard to guess where they are — on their fingers, of course.
14. "H2GKMO"
Ariana's newest tattoo is the abbreviation, "H2GKMO" and appears on her right hand. In an Instagram story, the singer and her fiance were shopping for their new apartment and also made a pit stop at one of their favorite places: the tattoo parlor. The abbreviation stands for "Honest to God knock me out", which Ariana explained was one of her favorite phrases.
This is the songstress' most recent tattoo, but we're sure it won't be her last — at least until she runs out of places to put new ink on her hands!
Sloane Solomon is a professional writer and editor. She graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelors in English Writing. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her daydreaming in French about coffee, online shopping, travel, and baby animals.