Yours Truly is the debut
studio album by American recording artist
Ariana Grande. It was released on August 30, 2013, by
Republic Records. Incorporating
R&B,
Yours Truly was influenced by
Whitney Houston,
Amy Winehouse,
Christina Aguilera and
Mariah Carey, amongst other of Grande's greatest idols. Grande describes the album's first half as a "throwback" to the
R&B music of the 1990s, and the second half being "very unique and very special that I've sort of written" which is completely original. On the album, Grande
co-wrote six out of the twelve tracks. Contribution by
Harmony Samuels,
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds,
Patrick "J. Que" Smith and
Leon Thomas III, as well as others, handling the
production on the album. Grande recorded a number of songs on this album over a three-year period. The collaborations with
Big Sean,
Mika and
Mac Miller, in addition to
Mary J. Blige, who is featured on the song "Lovin' It", which sampled her song "
Real Love", and
The Wanted's
Nathan Sykes, who features on the song "
Almost is Never Enough" which was also included on the
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones soundtrack. Occasionally, the album dips into other genres such as
adult contemporary music and
dance music.