Ariana Grande's Journey To Glinda

IG: @ArianaGrande

While Wicked has been in theaters for almost a month, it is safe to say that it is one of my favorite movies. The production and vocals throughout the movie were fantastic. What stood out to me was how great Ariana Grande was as Glinda. As a big Ariana Grande fan, I knew she would do great mainly because she has always wanted to play this role. She is very passionate about Broadway, and the general public did not know that and thought they were getting a pop star in the movie, which would ultimately increase ticket sales. That was not the case, and you should see how talented Ariana Grande is.

Many people think of Ariana Grande as your typical pop star. Many people are unsure what to think about her Debut in Wicked because they believe she will not live up to the Broadway vocal range. Ariana had her first debut album come out in 2013. Ariana Grande’s vocal range is D3–B5–E,  meaning that she is known for her ability to transition from her mid-range to belting. Some of her best performances are live and in acoustic sessions. “She has one of the most impressive ranges of any female singer in the pop music industry, and she makes it all look So. Darn. Easy.” Many people don't realize that Ariana Grande has always been a theatre kid, not just your typical pop star. 

Grande's history with Broadway

Ariana Grande has been going to Broadway shows since she was a kid. She even met the original Glinda that Kristen Chenoweth played when it first came to Broadway. Grande then went backstage, and "Chenoweth, 56, gave the then-10-year-old “a little magical body wash” and “a little wand,” the singer-actress."

IG: @kchenoweth

It is wild looking now that Grande was given that at 10 years old when she went to see the play. Broadway has always been around in her family, especially with her brother Frankie Grande being on different Broadway productions.

In 2013, Ariana Grande released a song with Mika titled “Popular Song.” This song pays tribute to Wicked and its song “Popular.”

Through the lyrics and it is theme it gives a nod to towards Broadway. Even this chorus has some of the same lyrics from “Popular” from Wicked. “Ariana and MIKA made their version of Popular called Popular Song, a pop anthem and Wicked crossover. It’s legendary!”

Ariana Grande makes it seem so effortless when she is belting high notes. It has always been in her nature. During her Dangerous Women era, you can see her vocal range is extremely impressive. Many fans say that Dangerous Women has a Broadway feel to it.

At 1:18 in the video, she is in a D vocal range and goes from a C to a B. That is impressive if you need to become more familiar with vocal notes. Many people will experience unwanted cracks when doing that, but Ariana does it naturally and with a beautiful tone. There are many artist that will never post a raw acoustic clip like this. This is what makes Ariana Grande stand out from other pop stars. She really does have a talent and does not need any production to enhance her talent. Having this range, you can see she has what it takes to be a Broadway Star. From that video, it is clear that Grande has the appropriate range for Glinda.

Preparation For Playing Glinda

Glinda was a role the Ariana Grande always wanted to play. When there were rumors about the Wicked Movie she was ready to drop everything and get into character for that role. While she was on her Sweetener World Tour in 2019 there were some rumors about the audition overlapping with her tour. Grande said she was just about to cancel tour and go into voice lessons in preparation for the movie.

Since Glinda has a crazy vocal range, and it can be tough for people to keep up with her range without damaging their voice. “Originated by Kristin Chenoweth in the 2003 Broadway production, the Glinda role in “Wicked” is for a high, bright, flexible voice, with showy vocal trills and a range hovering near the top end of most female vocal ranges.” Ariana found a way to succeed when playing Glinda.  She had “scale warmups in a high soprano range, then holding a sustained high note (A above high C on piano, specifically) that you never hear on pop radio — and these days, rarely in musical theater." She wanted to get prepared for her role of Glinda that she had went to voice lessons. Since she would be using a different tone that is not really typical for pop music.

While Ariana Grande was a judge on The Voice, she even told the producers to cut the A/C because she was taking care of her vocals for this role. “I asked them to cut the air conditioning because it was so cold...I asked [The Voice production] to turn it off because I had to sing opera the next day. It's very high, and I had to sing 'No One Mourns the Wicked.'"  Grande was passionate about this role and wanted to give it her best. “I was going from my vocal coach to my acting coach to doing The Voice Live Shows,."

Ariana Grande as Glinda

Ariana Grande has always had a passion for Broadway, shown by all the hard work she put into playing Glinda. It had always been her dream to play Glinda. She tweeted a tweet about how much of a dream it would be if she got to play Glinda.

@ArianaGrande

She put her blood, sweat, and tears into playing this role. She did a fantastic job. Grande got a Golden Globes nomination and was “nominated in the best performance by a female actor in a supporting role in any motion picture category.” That is a great accomplishment. 

It is wild that many critics believe that since she was a pop star, she would not have what it takes to play Glinda. Personally, I think that many people did not know how passionate Grande was about theatre—especially intertwining theatre moments throughout her being a pop star. I'm excited about how her career will go from this movie. With a Golden Globe nomination, it is predicted that there might be an Oscar nomination in Ariana Grande's future.