Fans are buzzing about Ariana Grande’s latest appearance on the podcast Podcrushed, where she sat down with hosts Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari to delve into her life and career. During the two-part interview, Grande opened up about her upcoming role as Glinda in the 2024 movie adaptation of the beloved stage play, Wicked.
Her discussion about working with co-star Cynthia Erivo touched many, as Grande got visibly emotional. She shared, “God, I’m not getting emotional again today; no, we’re not doing it. But, no, it really was, because I think, um, there’s something baked into these roles where you’re so different from one another that you never know how it can go. When you, you know like, you’re sharing this experience in a big way, in a very big way.” She continued, expressing her appreciation for Erivo: “People have needs and people have their own creative process and you never know, like, are we… are we going to be healthy? It was the most symbiotic, beautiful… I feel very grateful to have done this with her.”
However, what really captured the audience’s attention was a peculiar moment during the podcast when Grande’s voice underwent a noticeable change, shifting abruptly from a lower tone to a much higher register, a voice many of her fans are familiar with.
The sudden shift sparked a flurry of comments on social media. One user questioned, “Literally why does she do this,” while another noted, “I knew she did this but to hear it in one setting made it more jarring I LOVE her.” Another fan humorously compared it to their own life, saying, “This is me talking to my coworkers then switching to customers.”
Some fans speculated that the change in her voice was intentional, focusing on preserving her vocal health.
One commenter suggested, “I’m pretty sure she speaks in a mixed voice rather than chest for interviews and long speaking stuff for vocal health!” Another agreed, “Isn’t she all about her vocal cords health? She always talks about it.”
This focus on vocal health isn’t new for Grande. In a past interview with Zach Sang, she discussed her rigorous vocal training in preparation for Wicked. “I tried to use that to take lessons every single day while I was doing The Voice and get ready for these auditions,” she explained. “I trained every day with Nancy [Banks] and with Eric [Vetro] 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.”
Grande’s dedication to her craft and her open-hearted sharing on Podcrushed certainly left fans eager for more insights into her artistic journey and her next big role as Glinda.