Here's why Ariana Grande is keeping Glinda's voice after starring in 'Wicked'
Ariana Grande's voice may have changed permanently after starring in the musical fantasy film Wicked.
In Wicked, Grande portrayed Galinda/Glinda, who has a higher register and crisper articulation than usual.
She told Variety that such a newfound voice remains.
“I think that might stay,” Grande said. "Galinda required a lot of vocal work for me. Certain things maybe won’t melt away. Some will, but 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," she added.
Grande also explained that embodying the character took a great deal of time from them.
“Maybe people underestimate how long we spent finding and disappearing into these women,” she said. “So when certain inflections or mannerisms take time to melt away, sometimes people poke fun."
"But we had a job to do, and we had things to get lost in—because that’s what the piece required," she said.
Grande also reflected on the change in her voice in September in an interview with Vanity Fair. She noted that a part of the world "isn’t familiar with what it takes to transform your voice," whether it's for "singing or taking on a different dialect for a role or doing a character voice for something.”
This, she said, made her want to engage with critics.
"I am really proud of my hard work,” she said, “and of the fact that I did give 100% of myself, including my physicality, to this role. I am proud of that, so I wanted to protect it.”
Grande co-starred with Cynthia Erivo in Wicked, which was based on the musical of the same title.
The story revolves around Elphaba (Erivo), a young woman with unusual green skin who has yet to discover her true power, and Galinda (Grande), a popular young female gilded by privilege and ambition who has yet to discover her true heart.
After meeting as students in the fantastical Land of Oz, Elphaba and Glinda unexpectedly form a close bond. Their friendship, however, gets tested after an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz himself, even as their lives take very different paths.
Wicked: Part One opened in local cinemas on Nov. 20, while its second part is slated for 2025.
