Glinda the Good Witch seemingly appeared out of nowhere in a new interview with Ariana Grande.
Grande, who plays the brilliant sorceress in the upcoming Musical film “Wicked”came under scrutiny this week after a viral interview clip showed her changing her voice mid-dialogue.
At the beginning of shortentaken from June 17 episode On Penn Badgley's “Podcrushed” podcast, the “Positions” singer initially speaks quietly to Badgley, who also recently starred in her “The Boy Is Mine.” music video. When she turns to co-host Sophie Ansari, her tone rises dramatically.
Netizens were quick to point out the change, with a user that “this voice change is sending me 😭😭 normal Ariana came out for a second,” and another, “oh GLINDA FREE MY GIRL.”
Grande has since offered an explanation, or several.
“Habit (talking like this for two years) and also vocal health 🙂 🍵,” he commented on the viral TikTok clip. “I intentionally change my vocal placement (high/low) often depending on how much I sing 😭I've always done this BYE.”
The singer previously spoke about the rigor of her vocal training for “Wicked” in the “Zach Sang Show“: “I trained every day… to transform my voice, even, like my singing voice, everything about me, I had to deconstruct it to show them that I could stand up to this other person.”
This isn't the first time fans have noticed Grande getting into character; Such discourse emerged after a 2023 rem beauty promotion. video and she 2024 Oscar awards performance with “Wicked” co-star Cynthia Erivo. Speculation that the singer intentionally altered her voice is not new; dozens of videos on TikTok and YouTube trace its evolution over the years.
Still, some fans were less focused on Grande's speech patterns during her “Podcrushed” episode and more on her reveal of a possible deluxe version of her March album “eternal sunshine.”
“I went to the studio the day after the Met [Gala] and I stayed for about 10 days. She literally lived there,” Grande said. “I felt like I woke up today and felt like Austin Powers was thawing out. I was like, 'Where have I been? Where I have been?'”
He continued: “I've been writing a lot and maybe there's more to it, but I'd like to do a fancy book at some point.”
Grande also announced Monday a remix of “The Boy Is Mine” with R&B legends Brandy and Monica, who released a duet of the same name in 1998 and had cameos in the video for Grande's song.
“I………can’t believe this is real (I don’t know if I will even long after it comes out),” the “Thank u, next” singer wrote on instagram. “My deepest and most sincere thanks to Brandy and Monica, not only for being with me at this time, but for their generosity, their kindness, and for the countless ways in which they have inspired me. It's almost impossible to say how much this means to me.
“This is a celebration of you two and the impact you have had on every vocalist, vocal producer, musician and artist creating today,” he added.
The remix comes out June 21.
