Uh oh, Ariana Grande fans, you've got some catching up to do!
Ever hungry for new details about their favorite diva, the Ariana Grande fan universe is reeling at the news that they've apparently been calling her the wrong name all along (according to her grandpa, anyway)!
In an interview on the Apple Music show "Beats 1," Ariana was discussing her impending marriage to Pete Davidson when host Ebro Darden asked her if she'll hyphenate her name after the wedding to Grande-Davidson, and whether she'll use that name professionally. She revealed that she originally wanted to just go by her first name, in the grand tradition of single-named pop divas, but because of her grandfather's pride in their family name, "Gran-DEE," she decided to keep it.
Yep. It's "Gran-DEE," not "GRAHN-day." Hear it for yourself at the :40 mark!
Seems the family has always pronounced it "Gran-DEE" even though the true Italian pronounciation is "Grahn-day"--the family changed it when they emigrated. "My grandpa said Gran-DEE," she told Darden, "Gran-DEE was kind of the Americanized version of it, made it more chill."
It was her brother, YouTube and former "Big Brother" star Frankie Grande, who suggested they change it. "My brother was like, we should say Gran-DAY. It's so fun to say it. It's a funny name," Ariana said, going on to joke about how very Italian she is. "Literally, my name is like 'Ariana Grande-Butera!'" she exclaimed. "I'm like a pizza. I'm a f*cking meatball."
Cute story! But Ariana's fans on social media were SHOOK:
@bobbybonesshow @RadioAmy @ArianaGrande 🤯🤯 😲😲we’ve been saying it wrong this whole time ?! #sorryAriana— Mezrek (@Mezrek) 1534774842.0
bye i just saw ariana grande’s last name is actually pronounced gran-dee WHICH SHE CONFIRMED HERSELF and my whole life is a lie— amanda ♥️ (@amanda ♥️) 1534731185.0
@ArianaGrande is your last name pronounced “grandee” ??? i’m so confused— jasmine (@jasmine) 1534708791.0
i just watched a video of ariana grande and she pronounced her last name like “grandy”?????— krystan (@krystan) 1534693716.0
Ariana Grande’s last name is pronounced “gran-dee” 😂 WHAT?!— StephiiiiElaine (@StephiiiiElaine) 1534645406.0
The fact that Ariana Grande’s last name is actually pronounced “Grand-ee” has me shook. I think I need a hot minute to readjust my life 😂— Michael Kim (@Michael Kim) 1534610214.0
While others with difficult Italian names felt seen and heard:
Ariana Grande revealing her last name is pronounced differently and that they changed it to sound more Americanized… https://t.co/B6gWUZtsBt— ida 💧 (@ida 💧) 1534685139.0
lmfao when @ArianaGrande was talking about her Italian ass name & talking about how no one pronounces correctly or… https://t.co/Sn3177S8F6— . sɹɐɯ dɐsɐ (@. sɹɐɯ dɐsɐ) 1534567581.0
And some took it ... maybe a bit too seriously?
I also get irrationally annoyed at people when they pronounce @ArianaGrande ‘a name wrong. Someone said ‘Air-e-ana… https://t.co/3BGxNUfZTK— Ari (@Ari) 1534748458.0
And others couldn't help but go topical, tying Ari's name story to others in the news:
I have been pronouncing Ariana Grande's name correctly. #TruthIsNotTruth— Ben Tanzer (@Ben Tanzer) 1534713360.0
And, of course, puns about a certain ubiquitous coffee chain were irresistible:
@paradigmkai I always grahn-day bc starbucks pronunciation LMAO— versai | MANBAWAME 🌻 (@versai | MANBAWAME 🌻) 1534750143.0
apparently people have been saying Ariana Grande's name wrong, it's actually pronounced "Ariana Venti"— JayFly (@JayFly) 1534633244.0
@JayFly Wait. It's not Ariana Medium?— Gary Rancid (@Gary Rancid) 1534649213.0
As for me, right now I'm in a state of mind where I'm like, Ariana, baby you just gotta make up your mind, because when it comes to your name, you can have it any way you like!
H/T: Huffington Post, Elle