Ariana Grande has responded to criticisms about her vocal changes for her portrayal of Glinda in the musical Wicked.
Earlier this year, she was featured on the podcast Podcrushed with hosts Penn Badgley, Nava Kavelin, and Sophie Ansari. During the episode, Grande talked about various aspects of her life and career.
During the discussion, listeners noticed an abrupt change in her voice, initially starting the interview with a lower tone.
However, as the conversation progressed, she shifted to a much higher vocal register, which her fans are more accustomed to hearing.
This change left many people puzzled, prompting Grande to clarify the reason behind it later.
“I intentionally change my vocal placement (high / low) often depending on how much singing i’m doing. I’ve always done this BYE,” she explained on TikTok.
Grande revisited her experience on the podcast in a recent Vanity Fair interview, where she also addressed rumors about cosmetic surgery.
In the interview, the 31-year-old discussed how she handled the backlash over her voice change and pointed out the industry’s double standards.
She said: “There is a part of the world that isn’t familiar with what it takes to transform your voice, whether it’s singing or taking on a different dialect for a role or doing a character voice for something.”
She continued: “When it’s a male actor that does it, it’s acclaimed. There are definitely jokes that are made as well, but it’s always after being led with praise: ‘Oh, wow, he was so lost in the role.’ And that’s just a part of the job, really.
“Tale as old as time being a woman in this industry. You are treated differently, and you are under a microscope in a way that some people aren’t.”
Grande also reflected on her role in Wicked, expressing her pride in being part of the project.
She said: “It’s something that I’m just really proud of. Part of why I did want to engage [on TikTok] is because I am really proud of my hard work and of the fact that I did give 100 percent of myself, including my physicality, to this role. I am proud of that, so I wanted to protect it.”