“When we made ‘The Way,’ I was like, ‘Oh, wow, I’m onto something here,’” she explained to Billboard, adding that doing the duet with Mac was the moment that it “felt like, ‘I should do this forever.’”

But working with Mac on “The Way” really concreted that for her. But Ari admitted that even though she’d been performing since she was young, she still wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to pursue music at that point. This was right after she had signed with Republic Records, and she was gearing up to release her first single. In honor of being named Billboard‘s Woman Of The Year, the 25-year-old sat down with the publication, where she revealed that the two first started talking via Twitter. He was 20 and she was 19 at the time, and they hit it off right away. Now, the singer has just opened up about how they first met and the impact he had on her life and career, and it could not be more touching. Ariana Grande is still morning the tragic loss of her longtime friend and ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller, who passed away from an overdose back in September.

Mac and ariana on good morning america