American singer Ariana Grande's music career began in 2008, when she contributed vocals to the cast recording of the musical 13. She subsequently went on to contribute to the soundtrack albums of the Nickelodeon TV sitcom Victorious, in which she also starred from 2010 to 2013. Three soundtrack albums were released between 2011 and 2012. In 2011, Grande also began to work as an independent artist outside of television, releasing "Put Your Hearts Up", a bubblegum pop song, the same year. Retrospectively, Grande has expressed dissatisfaction with the song, claiming it to be inauthentic to her artistry, resulting in its removal from YouTube. Following this, Republic Records granted Grande more creative control over the production of her debut album.