Ariana Grande sang her heart out in honor of her late grandfather at the ‘Stand Up to Cancer‘ telethon on Friday. Grande’s grandpa passed away just a few weeks ago following a long battle with cancer, making her performance even more meaningful. She belted out her new hit song, ‘My Everything,’ in honor of him.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Joel Gallen produced the ‘Stand Up to Cancer’ telecast for the second year in a row. The money raised supports ‘cross-disciplinary research toward new cancer treatments.’
Ariana Grande tweeted the following message before she dedicated ‘My Everything’ to her late grandfather.
supporting a cause that is near & dear to my heart. tonight I'm singing for grandps! i miss u #StandUpToCancer @su2c http://t.co/F2reRZG4dt
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) September 5, 2014
It was clearly a very painful experience for the young singer and actress. Following her performance she spilled her guts on Twitter.
sobbed my eyes out as soon as I got back. idk how he was just here & now he's not & I'm singing a song in his honor. sucks a lot #fuckcancer
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) September 6, 2014
In addition to Ariana Grande, ‘Stand Up to Cancer’ featured performances from Jennifer Hudson, The Who, Dave Matthews Band, Lupe Fiasco, and Common.
Hopefully Ariana Grande’s performance in honor of her late grandfather proved cathartic. Grief is a powerful emotion, but singing from the heart is a powerful release. Maybe some of her grief floated away as she belted out her latest hit song.
thank u for having me & for the work u do “@SU2C: We stand up with @ArianaGrande & her beloved grandfather who she recently lost to cancer"
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) September 6, 2014
Thank you to our broadcast partners, media partners, viewers, donors, scientists, patients & survivors for all Standing Up with us tonight!
— Stand Up To Cancer (@SU2C) September 6, 2014
Did you catch Ariana Grande or any of the other acts that performed at ‘Stand Up to Cancer’ on Friday evening?
You can check out Ariana’s performance below.