Ariana Grande Auditioned for ‘Wicked’ While Coaching on ‘The Voice’
Trae Patton/NBC Reading Time: 2 minutes
Ariana Grande recently opened up about her experience auditioning for Glinda in the movie adaptation of Wicked. The audition process happened while she was appearing as a coach on The Voice in 2021.
Ariana Grande Talks About Auditioning for Wicked
In 2022, Grande told fans that she hadn’t started her new album yet, because she had been busy preparing for her Wicked audition and coaching on The Voice. In a new interview on the Zach Sang Show, Grande shared what it was like to balance these responsibilities.
The singer shared that the entire audition process, including preparation, took six months. She said she took voice and acting lessons every day, all while shooting The Voice. Grande called her experience on the show “so much fun.”
She recalled one day in particular when she knew she would be singing “a lot of opera” the next day, so she asked if the studio could be made less chilly. They ended up making it “so hot” that her fellow coaches were commenting on it.
Grande explained the situation, and she recalls the coaches being “so supportive” of her. She also said that she needed to put her own music aside for a while to “give everything of myself to her [Glinda] and to the movies.”
SEE ALSO: HOW ARIANA GRANDE PAID HOMAGE TO PAULA ABDUL IN ‘YES, AND?’ MUSIC VIDEO
Grande Says She Just Wanted a Chance to Audition
Grande told Sang that she “had no expectations” about getting the role of Glinda in the Wicked movies. She emphasized that she was “just so excited to have the opportunity to audition,” joking that she’s been “hunting [producer] Marc Platt down for an audition since I was 20.”
“I’ve never wanted anything more,” Grande shared. Her casting in the adaptation was announced in late 2021, and filming began a year later. Grande is starring opposite Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. The adaptation was originally supposed to be just one movie, but it was split into two.
The first film is set to be released on November 27, 2024. The second will be released on November 26, 2025. In the meantime, fans can listen to Grande’s new album Eternal Sunshine on March 8.
