By Chris McPherson

Ariana Grande’s follow-up single, “Baby I,” is not only an certified sentence fragment, but is also a killer hit.

In the wee hours of Sunday night, Grande released her second single from her debut album. Her fan base, often referred to as Arianators, could very well consider the tune their mid-summer night’s dream come true. Within the first hour, the track jumped to number 3 and has been sitting pretty at number 2 ever since.

Her first single, “The Way” debuted at number 10 on the Billboard hot 100 charts and also happened to feel like a sentence that is complete. Could this be a pattern for Ariana? Maybe her next single could be something like, “True to” or “He Makes.” Or maybe “This Day Was.”

Production-wise, the summer R&B pop song shimmers with pop sparkles with heavy R&B instrumental undertones, essentially the best of both worlds. The trajectory of Ariana’s successful music career is quite surprising. Yes, her vocals are unmatched, but you don’t really see many Nickelodeon stars hitting the big time on the music charts. There are comedic greats like Kenan Thompson, entertainment execs and hosts like Nick Cannon, and the recent tabloid nexus Amanda Bynes. But Ariana is reaching new territory for Nick alumni.

Grande has recently gotten a lot of comparison to Mariah Carey, but I’m infidelity feeling Christina Aguilera, circa “Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You) in this new song. I can just see a 90s inspired music video with an all white backdrop surrounded by a bunch of dancers in baggy jeans and neon sweats suits.

No doubt, “Baby I” is sure to thrust Ariana once again into the spotlight and send her well on her way to super stardom. And with a debut album slated to drop September 3rd, nothing can stop this powerhouse vocalist.