Ariana Grande Performs Jazzy Rendition Of “Problem,” Confirms VMAs Performance & Drops F-Bombs On MTV’s ‘Total Ariana Live’

Bradley Stern | July 3, 2014 6:04 am

As promised last week, MTV resuscitated late ’90’s/’00’s music video staple Total Request Live for one night, and all for Ariana Grande — dubbed Total Ariana Live. And oh, what a Grande evening it was!

The pint-sized pop princess treated us to all things Ariana last night alongside MTV News veteran Sway (nostalgia overload), including the live premiere of her brand new Zedd and Max Martin-assisted smash-in-the-making, “Break Free,” and a fabulous acoustic performance of her current summer hit “Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)” like you’ve never heard before: The stripped down rendition saw the songstress riffing atop jazzy piano, lounge singer-style, entirely breathing new life into the track.

Speaking of life, Ariana fully gave her Arianators life when she made a little announcement: She’s going to be performing “Break Free” at the 2014 VMAs on August 24 in Los Angeles — just one day before the release of her upcoming sophomore record, My Everything!

Keep reading about last night’s show, and check out Ariana belting out her beautiful acoustic rendition of “Problem,” plus her VMA announcement and her hilarious “F–kin’ Problems” rendition after the jump.

The favorite moment of the night for fans, though, might have been when Ariana’s hip-hop knowledge was put to the test with the Hip-Hop Mix-Up, a giant spinning wheel full of genres and hip-hop records. Sway told Ariana that she’d have to spin the wheel and sing us a song. So what did she land on? Well, since it was her night, she decided to live by her own rules — which is why she hand-picked “Broadway” as the style and A$AP Rocky‘s “F–kin’ Problems” as the song. And — with bleep machine at the ready — she launched into the expletive-filled jam like a seasoned musical theater pro. Bad bitches and Broadway: Who knew they could sound so sweet together?

Watch below.

What did you think of Total Ariana Live? Let us know in the comments.

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