There’s a good chance if you happen to spot Ariana Grande out and about, you’ll most likely see her iconic ponytail too. Ari’s long dark tresses are often styled in a sky-high pony, and it truly has a mind of its own. Or so she’s letting us believe. When the songstress stopped by The Tonight Show, she took part in a skit with host Jimmy Fallon that poked some fun at her signature hairstyle and it legit came to life. Her ponytail signed an autograph, handed Jimmy something to drink, gave Ariana a tissue and her phone, took a selfie, and even stopped a robbery from happening. Check it out:

We all know Ariana has a great sense of humor, and the fact that she’s able to laugh at herself and how much she loves her ponytail is just priceless. But where did this extreme devotion to the high pony come from? Why does she often choose to do this to her hair instead of letting it down? Does she get a lot of headaches? (Apparently no, since she joked on Twitter the nerves on top of her head have been gone for two years now, LOL.) But still, there are just SO MANY QUESTIONS. Well, let’s start off by acknowledging the fact that she’s always worn her hair this way, even back in her Cat Valentine days when she had to dye her hair bright red for her role on Victorious.

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Back in 2014, Ariana found herself defending her decision to always wear her hair up, citing the fact that her locks were severely damaged from all the dyeing she had to do for her role as Cat.

“I had to bleach my hair and dye it red every other week for the first four years of playing Cat. I wear extensions but I wear it in a ponytail because my actual hair is so broken that it looks absolutely ratchet and absurd when I let it down,” she wrote on Instagram. “So as annoying as it is for y’all to have to look at the same hairstyle all the time, it’s all that works for now (and I’m comfortable for the first time in years). So PLEASE gimme a break about the hair (or just don’t look at me lol). IT’S JUST HAIR AFTER ALL.” 

So while it seems like the ponytail came out of necessity, in 2016, she said that it’s just something she’s always done to her hair.

“I have just always worn my hair that way because its super easy, so I suppose it kind of unintentionally became my signature look,” she said to British Vogue, adding “I rely on a really good brush and lots of hairspray” to keep her hair in place just the way she likes it. Ariana simply feels the most comfortable and herself when her hair is up, so that’s the real reason why she keeps going back to it. The ‘do has gone through phases too – and when she was rocking a silver hue and then went full on bleached blonde, the songstress styled her locks in a low ponytail instead.

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“The pony has also gone through an evolution, and I’m proud of that,” Ariana told The Fader. “Old pony? I don’t know if she’s that girl. But new pony? I like her. I mean, it’s like a Victoria Secret angel without angel wings. It’s still her without them, but when she’s with them it’s like, Ohh, I get it, she’s an angel.”

OK, can we just say this comparison is too good. But after switching things up and even wearing her hair down for a while, Ariana went back to her roots and once she put her hair back up, she had to document how wonderful it felt to have her lifelong partner back.

So moral of the story here? The ponytail is here to stay. It’s just a part of who Ariana is at her core and it’s the one thing we can count on her rocking until the end of time.

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The true love story in Ari’s life: a girl and her high AF ponytail.

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