Ariana Grande's grandmother is officially the oldest artist to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 at age 98.
Grande's "Nonna," Marjorie Grande, is credited as a featured singer and co-writer on her new single "Ordinary Things," which hit No. 55 on the chart. The song is the last track on the Grammy winner's seventh album, Eternal Sunshine, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart following its release on March 8.
"Ordinary Things" closes with a recording of Nonna imparting a bit of wisdom to her famous granddaughter, drawing from her experience with her late husband, Frank.
"And when he'd come home and I'd see him, when he first gets off that train, it was like God almighty arrived. It was like seein' daylight," Nonna says at the end of the track. "I mean, I could've packed up and left a million times. It's not that we never fought. You can overcome that. You know? It's very easy."
"And as I told her, never go to bed without kissin' goodnight," she continues. It's the worst thing to do. Don't ever, ever do that. And if can't and if you don't feel comfortable doing it, you're in the wrong place — get out."
In an interview with Apple Music 1's Zane Lowe earlier this month, Grande explained, "I always record my Nonna, because you never know what she's going to say. I had this 30-minute voice note of her and her friend Shirley talking."
"I think it’s a little bit of, 'Wow, our loved ones, our friends and our family have the ability to instantly just sort of soothe and calm and simplify things that are so complicated and heavy at times.'"
Nonna has also appeared on previous songs by Grande, though without credit, including 2013's "Daydreamin'," from Grande’s debut album Yours Truly, and 2019's "Bloodline," from Thank U, Next.
According to Billboard, Nonna is the senior-most artist to land on the chart since the chart began in 1958.
She nabbed the record from the late Fred Stobaugh, who was 96 when the song he wrote, "Oh Sweet Lorraine," spent a week at No. 42 in 2013. The song was credited as by Green Shoe Studio featuring vocalist Jacob Colgan.
Before Stobaugh, the record was held by the late Tony Bennett, who was 85 when his duet with the late Amy Winehouse, "Body and Soul," spent a week at No. 87 in 2011.
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Alongside "Ordinary Things," the Eternal Sunshine single "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" debuted at No. 1 atop the Hot 100, Grande's second chart-topper from the album following lead single "Yes, and?" — and her ninth overall.
That means that Swedish pop songwriter and producer Max Martin, who co-wrote and co-produced both singles, has overtaken John Lennon with the second-most Hot 100 No. 1s for a songwriter at 27 — behind only Lennon's Beatles bandmate and frequent songwriting partner Paul McCartney, who still has a considerable lead with 32.
TMX contributed to this story.