Ariana Grande opens up on voice of ‘Glinda’ in ‘Wicked’

Ariana Grande reflected on a ‘lot of vocal work for’ movie ‘Wicked’

Ariana Grande is not letting go of her Wicked persona too soon.

Grande is opening up about her experience of portraying Glinda in the highly anticipated Wicked film adaptation.

In a recent interview with Variety, the 31-year-old actress and singer reflected on the challenges and rewards of embodying the iconic role, describing it as one that required “a lot of vocal work.”

“Certain things maybe won’t melt away. Some will, but I’m really grateful for the pieces that will stay with us forever,” Grande said. “What a beautiful thing to be left with, and to feel the ghost of every day.”

Grande humorously mentioned another “parting gift” from her transformation into Glinda: “I’m still looking for my eyebrows,” she joked. “I’ll let you know if I find them — I hope I don’t.”

The 7 Rings singer also acknowledged the dedication she and her co-star Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) poured into their characters.

“Maybe people underestimate how long we spent finding and disappearing into these women,” Grande said of the process.

“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.”

Grande, who has long referred to Glinda as her “dream role,” revealed that her commitment to the character spanned a decade.

“I had been chasing [producer] Marc Platt down for about 10 years, wondering when this movie was going to happen, when I would have the opportunity to audition,” she said with a laugh in a clip from the Wicked digital home release.

The two-time Grammy winner also shared her excitement leading up to the audition process, even dedicating part of her wardrobe to the role.

“I had a little portion of my closet that was all just little pink tops and stuff, just in case,” Grande said. She added with a playful tone, “I was like, ‘What underwear would Glinda wear today?'”