Ariana Grande's Road To 'thank u, next'

Ariana Grande hasn't always been a superstar, at least not in the world-stopping, internet-breaking way that defines the icons of the current pop generation. But somewhere between her debut in 2013 — which found her stepping out of the Nickelodeon shows where she made her name and into young adult pop and R&B — and the impending release of her fifth album, thank u, next, she has pulled off a rare evolution.

Plenty of artists have channeled real trauma into their work or spun gossip into gold, but particularly in the past year, Grande has seemed to do so almost in real time. In the process, the 25-year-old has transformed in the public eye: from a pop wunderkind with a mighty voice to a figure whose every move of late redefines what modern pop stardom can look like.

is out Friday, Feb.