Ariana Grande's Hairstyle Evolution Over The Years (20 Photos)

Fans of Ariana Grande love her beautiful singing voice and honest lyrics. They're always interested to learn who she's dating and see what stylish selfies she's posting on social media. But there's one thing that the star is definitely known for above all else: her pony.

It seems like any time she is photographed walking around with her latest beau or performing, she's rocking her high ponytail. Honestly, it's so high and tight that it looks like it might be unpleasant. According to Hello Giggles, in November 2018, Camila Cabello asked Ariana on social media how she wore ponytails all the time, and Ariana responded, "well u actually have hair so that prolly makes it a lil more painful… nah jk i'm in constant pain always and don't care at all." People have been saying that "beauty is pain" for decades now so it sounds like she is very committed to her pony.

While she has tried various hairstyles over the years, Ariana's signature high ponytail seems to be the one look that she hasn't said "thank u, next" to. Let's take a trip down memory hair lane and see the colors and styles that the singer has tried out.

Here are 20 photos that show Ariana Grande's hairstyle evolution over the years.

20 2008: The Time Of Curly Hair

Do we even recognize Ariana Grande here?! Chances are, fans don't think that this is the same girl who now rocks a seriously high pony. We might have never even seen this photo of her.

In 2008, Ariana had really curly brown hair. Back then, she starred in the Broadway musical 13 and then had two well-known television roles: Cat Valentine on Victorious and the spin-off Sam & Cat. It's interesting to see the singer with such curly locks and makes us wonder if her hair is naturally curly? If so, does she straighten it all the time now? Either way, she looks beautiful (and we're pretty jealous of her amazing curls).

19 2009: Lady In Red

In 2009, Ariana had seriously red hair. It's the kind of red that jumps out from across the room and would make anyone the center of attention. Of course, Ariana has always had star power, and this hairstyle proves it.

She definitely looks like Ariel from The Little Mermaid in this photo since it's the same shade of red. It turns out that Ariana dyed her hair red when she played Cat. According to Cheat Sheet, she wrote about this on social media: "I had to bleach my hair and dye it red every other week for the first 4 years of playing Cat… as one would assume, that completely destroyed my hair."

18 2010: Long Red Locks

Here Ariana is with long red locks in 2010. Her hair looks gorgeous, and while we know that this bright red wasn't her natural hair color, it really does suit her.

It's so interesting to think about how much hair color and style can change the way that someone looks. If we compare this photo of Ariana with long red hair to more recent pictures of her with her high ponytail, we honestly might say that she doesn't look like the same person. She always looks fashionable, but she did have a younger look when she had bright red hair.

17 2010: A Side Pony

In 2010, Ariana rocked a side ponytail, and it's a really cool style. While she's known for her high ponytails, it's interesting to see her wear this low ponytail.

If we're ever in a hair rut and are wondering what we can do to switch our usual look up, we can be inspired by Ariana's side pony and do the same thing. The girl knows what she's doing when it comes to hairstyles because she always looks perfectly put together. We wonder if Ariana was ever close to making a side pony her thing or if she was never that big on it?

16 2010: The Beginning Of Her High Ponytail Love

If you're wondering how Ariana's infamous ponytail started, it could have been back in 2011 when she wore her red hair in a pony.

In the same social media post mentioned above, she explained why she wears a ponytail so often: "My real hair is back to brown and I wear extensions but I wear it in a pony tail because my actual hair is so broken that it looks absolutely ratchet and absurd when I let it down." We bet it doesn't really look that bad, but hey, we're not going to argue because we love her high ponytails. They are chic and fun at the same time.

15 2012: Gorgeous Brown Waves

Did you know that Ariana ever had long, curly brown hair? Maybe not. This photo was taken in 2012 and it gives fans a chance to see her natural hair color, which is brown.

Teen Vogue wrote about the look from December 2012 and said, "Starting a new chapter in her [professional life], she showed up wearing her natural hair color to KIIS FM's 2012 Jingle Ball in Los Angeles. The brunette starlet wore her hair in loose waves and highlighted her features with shimmering pink lips and eyes - an on-trend holiday-party look."

It's truly amazing to see how much the star's hair has changed in just a few years.

14 2013: Half Up And Half Down (And All Style)

It looks like, back in 2013, Ariana was starting to experiment with her hair. Maybe she knew that she wanted to try a high ponytail or maybe she wasn't sure just yet, but with this half up half down look, we can see the evolution of her hairstyles.

This half up, half down look has fallen in and out of style over the years. It was particularly big in the '90s, and anyone who grew up during that time period can remember styling their locks that way. Come to think of it, this photo of Ariana could honestly have been snapped in the '90s.

13 2014: A High Pony With Adorable Cat Ears

If Ariana is known for her high ponytail, she's also known for another look: wearing cat ears.

In 2014, she performed with both a high pony and cat ears, and a writer for Bustle says that she wore them a bunch of places that year. The writer wondered about the significance: "Right off the bat, I'm thinking the ears represent Grande paying homage to her late character as Cat Valentine on Sam & Cat on Nickelodeon. Maybe this is her way of letting the now canceled show live on through plush ears atop her perfectly sculpted ponytail? Or maybe I am giving Grande way too much credit and reading too far into the ears."

12 2014: Letting Her Hair Down (Literally)

In this 2014 photo, the star is letting her hair down (literally). It's a more natural look than the bright red hair color that she was sporting just a few years earlier.

We don't know if Ariana is wearing extensions in this photo, but she has been known to wear them. Her hairstylist Chris Appleton told PopSugar that extensions are in. He said, "Ariana likes a little texture in her ponytail, and extensions are always helpful because it's great way of adding that. For a while, it was so foreign. Now, even my 13-year-old daughter has a full set of clip-in extensions, and all her friends use them. It's become the new normal."

11 2015: No Ponytail Here (But Two Buns Instead)

Anytime a girl wears two high buns, she brings to mind Princess Leia's hair in the Star Wars films. That is definitely true here, but since Ariana is wearing two high buns but the rest of her hair is down, she has a more natural look.

If you look closely, you can see that the singer's brown hair looks like it has a reddish tint to it. This is probably because she had been dyeing her hair red for so long for her role. This hairstyle is a fun, youthful look that really suits her, and we would love to see it more often (if she ever breaks up with her high pony, that is).

10 2015: The Higher The Half Bun, The Better

We love this 2015 photo of Ariana with a half bun. This hairstyle has become really popular these days and chances are, many of us have worn this look many times.

The cool thing about the half bun is that we can wear it with casual and also more formal looks, and if we ever want to remember how chic this hairstyle is, all we have to do is look at this photo of Ariana in 2015. We guess she doesn't love it quite as much as her high pony since we don't see it that often, but we think it's a great look.

9 2016: A High Pony With A Twist (AKA Bangs)

There are tons of jokes around the internet about how when we're having a bad day, we think that we should get bangs. Every girl gets them at one point or another and often regrets it pretty much ASAP. But then there are the few who look awesome with bangs, and Ariana is one of them.

Ariana's bangs put a new spin on her trademark ponytail. In this photo from 2016, her ponytail has two shades: at the top, her hair is a darker brown color, and at the bottom, she's got blonde hair. It's a really cool look and paired with the necklace that she's wearing, she looks gorgeous and sophisticated.

8 2016: Another New Pony (This Time, With A Beautiful Braid)

The addition of braids makes this ponytail that Ariana rocked in 2016 stand out. It's a special look that grabs the spotlight.

In an interview with The Fader, Ariana talked about her ponytail and how it has changed over the years. She said, "The pony has also gone through an evolution, and I'm proud of that. Old pony? I don't know if she's that girl. But new pony? I like her. I mean, it's like a Victoria's Secret angel without angel wings. It's still her without them, but when she's with them it's like, 'Ohh, I get it, she's an angel.'"

7 2017: A Perfectly Accessorized Ponytail

This 2017 photo of the singer shows a perfectly accessorized ponytail.

As her hairstylist, Chris Appleton, told PopSugar, "With ponytails, it's all about the placement. The higher you go, the fiercer it looks. The lower you go, the more professional or serious it looks. It can change the whole shape of your face. It can snatch your face upward and lift your eyes, or it can pull your eyes down. If you're adding hair extensions or details like braids, it gives off a different impression. That's where she gets to show her personality. But when we've worn it down recently, that's fun as well because it's just a change."

6 2018: A Low Pony (And Blonde Hair, Too)

There are two different things about this photo of Ariana: her hair is blonde and she's got a low, not high, ponytail.

It's safe to say that this look would divide her most loyal fans. It seems like some would say that they love this look since it's fun and something new. But others might say that they miss her high ponytail and her brown hair. Both opinions are totally valid, of course. But we can all agree that Ariana always keeps us on our toes when it comes to her hairstyles and we're always excited to see her next look.

5 2018: A Fun Look For The Met Gala

It's always fun to see what celebrities are going to wear to the Met Gala each spring. This past Met Gala found Ariana with this hairstyle on the red carpet. Her hair is slicked back and it looks like she's got her hair in a ponytail with a huge bow on top.

Since fans are used to seeing the star with cat ears and other accessories in her ponytail, her huge bow doesn't look out of place. In fact, it suits her perfectly. It's pretty fabulous. And if she wanted to wear this big bow more often, we wouldn't say no to that and we would think that she looked impossibly chic.

4 2o18: The Higher, The Better (And A Braid In The Front Makes This Look Special)

Could Ariana's hair be any longer here?! In this 2018 snapshot, she's sporting what might just be her highest ponytail yet, with so much hair that it looks like she's definitely got extensions on. She also has a braid in the front which sets this look apart.

If we're ever wondered what it would be like to wear a high ponytail for a few days, we can turn to this story on Elite Daily. The writer tried it for a week and wrote, "I don't know if it was the super tight ponytail, or the heavy hairpiece, but about an hour into wearing my new look, I felt a headache coming on."

3 2018: Her Signature Style

This 2018 photo shows Ariana's signature style: the super high ponytail that we all know and love.

While we know that people grow up and change and evolve, we have to say that we would be kind of sad if she ever dropped her high ponytail altogether. We know that she's in her early 20s and that she might decide that it no longer works for her, but until that day, we're going to say that we love this look so much. Maybe we've even been inspired to try our own high pony (if our hair is long enough, that is… ).

2 2018: Seriously Slicked Back

In this 2018 snapshot of Ariana, she's got her hair in a really high pony once again. But this time, her hair is seriously slicked back and it looks really tight. It's no wonder that the star has said that she is in "constant pain" because of her hairstyle.

Something else that we can't help but notice about Ariana's hair is that it's incredibly shiny. We're definitely interested in learning about what she does for her hair on a regular basis.

According to Allure, Ariana uses coconut oil on her hair. She explained this more: "Coconut oil just goes with everything."

1 2018: A New Look For Ariana

In 2018, Ariana posted this on her social media and it seemed like she had cut her hair and was now rocking a bob.

This was a huge change and is definitely part of her amazing hair revolution. While we know that the day might come when she waves goodbye to her high ponytail (and maybe even writes about it in a song), we hope that day doesn't arrive for a while because her ponytail is seriously #hairgoals. She gives us hope that we can achieve the same amazing look, and we can't decide what we love more: her fun music or her epic ponytails.