Ariana Grande to keep her Wicked speaking voice
Ariana Grande has declared her 'Wicked' speaking voice might "stay" for good after she went through months of vocal training to perfect her tone to play Galinda in the big screen adaptation of the hit stage show.
Ariana Grande's 'Wicked' speaking voice might "stay" for good after she went through months of vocal training to perfect her tone for the film.
The 31-year-old pop star plays Galinda in the two-part big screen adaptation of hit stage show 'Wicked' and she used a vocal coach to help her get her speech right onscreen - and Ariana has now admitted she might keep talking in her character's voice even though she's no longer filming.
When asked about her new voice, she told Variety: "I think that might stay."
The singer added: "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."
Ariana also explained it takes a while to get out of character after becoming so immersed in shooting 'Wicked'. She said: "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. But we had a job to do, and we had things to get lost in - because that’s what the piece required."
Ariana went on to joke she might also keep Galinda's blonde eyebrows, adding: "And, you know, I’m still looking for my eyebrows.
"I’ll let you know if I find them - I hope I don’t."
The sequel to 'Wicked' was recently renamed 'Wicked: For Good' after previously being announced as 'Wicked: Part Two and it's due to hit cinemas on 21 November, 2025.
It was previously revealed Ariana originally auditioned to play Elphaba in ‘Wicked’ instead of Galinda's.
'Wicked' director Jon M. Chu let slip that Ariana initially tried out for Cynthia Erivo’s green witch character Elphaba, and sang all of the her songs during the audition process.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Chu said: “We were getting mixed messages. I was like, ‘Of course she's coming in for Glinda.’
"And then my casting director was like, ‘No, I think she thinks she's coming in for Elphaba.’ I'm like: ‘That was not the plan.’
"And they're like, ‘Well, she prepped it.’ She was being nice to me, and I was being nice to her. We just let her do it.
"But in my mind I was like, ‘Why is she singing Elphaba right now?’ Maybe because she's sung those in the past, but to me, she was always a Glinda.
"We didn't know each other well enough to be like, ‘Alright, let's clear up the telephone game here. We are here for Glinda. Right?’"
Ariana also recently confirmed she had auditioned for both parts, but she “secretly knew [she] was only meant for Glinda”.
Speaking on the ‘Sentimental Man’ podcast, Ariana said: “I had an inkling in my heart always that it was going to be Glinda, but I was hearing really mixed things from people who were like, ‘Oh, they maybe want you to read for both.’
"And I was like, ‘I guess that's because they don't know what my voice is, and maybe they think vocally I might be better-suited for Elphaba.’
"I secretly knew that I was only meant for Glinda."
