Ariana Grande Wrote Songs That Were Too Sexual & Mature

Ariana Grande makes a statement as the October 2014 cover girl for Marie Claire magazine, on newsstands September 23.

Here’s what the 21-year-old actress/singer had to share with the mag:

On early ambitions: “I was 14 years old and ready to make an R&B album. I was like, ‘Where is that Mary J. Blige collab? Where is that Natasha Bedingfield writing session? Where is my session with India.Arie? I’m ready. Let’s go.’ I wrote this song called ‘Higher,’ and the lyrics were too sexual, too mature. And my mom was like, ‘This is a great song, but damn, you’re too young for this.’”

On hiding behind her Nickelodeon character: “People liked her and they accepted her and they thought that I was like her. So I used to pretend to be a little more like her than I actually was.”

On her first single “Put Your Hearts Up” not doing well: “I was like, ‘Guys, there has to be a really distinct difference between me and my character.’ And we did that with ‘The Way.’ I dyed my hair back to brown. I made out with a rapper in the video. I made the point I wanted to make. And I was excited to do so after so many years of pretending to be somebody else in front of a lot of people.”

For more on Ariana, visit MarieClaire.com.