Ariana Grande is celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in honor of Gay Pride Month. The singer, who is set to release her fourth studio album, Sweetener, later this year, has penned a "love letter" for Billboard where she thanks the community for their support and influence.
"There is nothing more infectious than the joy and love that the LGBTQ community exudes," she writes. "I grew up with a gay brother whose every move I would emulate. I idolized him. Everything Frankie did, I would do. I can’t remember a difference between Frankie before he came out and Frankie after he came out. He’s always just been Frankie. Sexuality and gender were never topics my family and I were afraid to discuss. When Frankie came out my surprisingly unfazed (for his age) grandfather said 'Congrats! Can we go to dinner now? I’m fuckin' hungry'."
Grande expressed her gratitude for being able to connect with LGBTQ+ fans through her songs. "My music being embraced and celebrated by the LGBTQ community is all I ever truly cared about when I thought about my career goals early on," she said. "There’s no award I could win or accolade I could receive that would fulfill me more than seeing a 6-foot queen with a 4-foot ponytail walk into my meet n greet and say “hey girl” or meeting a young queer person at Starbucks and them letting me know that my music has helped them become who they are. Literally nothing."
Read the full letter here. Grande recently released "No Tears Left To Cry," an optimistic ode to overcoming tragedy. She is expected to release her second single, which is rumored to feature Nicki Minaj, later this month.