Wicked's Ariana Grande says her voice may sound like Glinda's forever
3 January 2025, 12:26
"I think that might stay, Galinda required a lot of vocal work for me."
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Ariana Grande has opened up about her voice changing after playing Glinda in Wicked and why it might stay that way.
If you've been following the Wicked press tour, you might have noticed that Ariana Grande's real-life speaking voice is noticeably different. Fans first picked up on it when Ariana started promoting 'Eternal Sunshine' in 2024 and a clip of her voice fluctuating in an interview with Penn Badgley on PodCrushed in June of that year went viral.
Since then, comments about Ariana's voice have flooded social media and the discourse has amplified since Wicked came out. In the past, Ariana has spoken in a lower register but now her voice is higher and more similar to Glinda's.
Now, Ariana has addressed the conversation surrounding her voice and revealed why it has changed so drastically.
- Read more: Amanda Seyfried speaks out on Ariana Grande being cast as Glinda in Wicked over her
- Read more: Wicked's Ariana Grande reveals she auditioned for Elphaba as well as Glinda
Behind the scenes of Wicked with Ariana Grande
Speaking to Variety, Ariana said that her voice naturally changed while she was playing Glinda. She explained: "Maybe people underestimate how long we spent finding and disappearing into these women. So when certain inflections or mannerisms take time to melt away, sometimes people poke fun."
Ariana added: "But we had a job to do, and we had things to get lost in, because that’s what the piece required.”
Fans of Ariana will already know that she worked closely with a vocal coach to ensure she got Glinda's voice right. On the Zach Sang Show, she said: "I trained every day to transform my voice, even, like, my singing voice. Everything about me, I had to deconstruct to prove to them I could handle taking on this other person."
Ariana isn't alone either. Many other actors work in a similar way. Just recently, fans noticed that Austin Butler's voice changed after he worked with a vocal coach to play Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis.
Reflecting on whether her voice will go back to how it was, Ariana said: "I think that might stay, Galinda required a lot of vocal work for me. Certain things maybe won’t melt away. Some will."
She added: "I’m really grateful for the pieces that will stay with us forever. What a beautiful thing to be left with, and to feel the ghost of every day.”
Ariana previously responded to comments about her voice changing on TikTok in June last year. When people noticed her voice fluctuating in her PodCrushed interview, she wrote: “habit (speaking like this for two years) and also vocal health. I intentionally change my vocal placement (high / low) often depending on how much singing i’m doing."
She then added: "I've always done this Bye."
Read more about Wicked here:
- Wicked's Marissa Bode explains how they've changed problematic Nessarose scene in Part 2
- Wicked's Ariana Grande reveals iconic line was almost replaced until she fought to keep it in
- Wicked's Cynthia Erivo has co-written an original Elphaba song for Part 2
- Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande's Wicked audition tapes are going viral
- Wicked director explains why they cut iconic Glinda line from the film
WATCH: Wicked cast vs. 'The Most Impossible Wicked Quiz'
Wicked Cast vs. 'The Most Impossible Wicked Quiz'
