Ariana Grande Looks Back on Working with Late Ex Mac Miller, Credits Him with Helping at the Start of Her Career

NEED TO KNOW

• Ariana Grande said that she credits Mac Miller with helping her find her sound during the early days of her career

• The two first collaborated on the singer’s 2013 breakthrough hit “The Way,” a pop song with R&B undertones

• Miller died in 2018 of an accidental overdose at the age of 26

Arianators have Mac Miller to thank for Ariana Grande’s pop-R&B sound.

During her master class at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., the pop superstar opened up about the late rapper’s influence on her music at the start of her career in conversation with The Hollywood Reporter for the outlet’s Awards Chatter podcast.

In footage from the conversation shared on TikTok, Grande, 32, noted that Miller, whose real name is Malcolm James McCormick, paved the way for her to make R&B-inspired pop music and “do the brave thing.” Grande added that she’s “very grateful for that.”

The pair collaborated on the singer’s breakout single, “The Way,” featured in her debut album Yours Truly. The 2013 hit peaked at No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot 100, earning both artists their first top-ten song on the chart.

“That’s also a part of why I was so eager to ask [Miller] to be a part of it,” Grande said. “Not only because he was perfect for the song, but I also felt like I had him to thank for finding my sound.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The pair collaborated on Miller’s “My Favorite Part” as well as a remix of Grande’s “Into You,” both released in 2016.

Though it’s been 12 years since the release of “The Way,” Grande has stayed true to the sound of her start, releasing seven studio albums, all blending pop and R&B seamlessly.

GC Images

Mac Miller and Ariana Grande in 2018

Grande and Miller first went public with their relationship in September 2016, three years after the release of their hit song. The pair broke up in April 2018, after two years together.

Miller died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol at the age of 26 on Sept. 7, 2018.

Since his death, Grande has paid tribute to the “Circles” rapper time and time again. From playing Miller’s songs before her concerts on the Sweetener tour, to singing, “Wish I could say ‘thank you’ to Malcom, ‘cause he was an angel,” in “thank u, next,” Grande continues to keep his memory alive.

On the 10th anniversary of the love song, Grande honored Miller in a sweet message posted on social media. When a fan shared a celebratory post of a clip from “The Way” music video on Instagram, Grande wrote: “I love you.” She then shared the post and message on her Instagram Stories.

In a 2020 interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, the “We Can’t Be Friends” singer spoke about what she admired about Miller’s artistry, saying, “he was the kind of person who woke up and rolled into the studio.”

“Nothing was more important,” she said. “Talk about losing track of time and forgetting to eat, [having to] remind yourself to take care of yourself and be a person. He was a person who gave literally every single second of his thought and time and life to his music.”

Read the original article on People