Grande, who plays the sparkling sorceress in the upcoming ”Wicked” movie musical, came under scrutiny this week after a viral interview clip showed her changing her speaking voice mid-dialogue.
At the beginning of the clip, taken from the June 17 episode of Penn Badgley’s “Podcrushed” podcast, the “Positions” singer initially talks in a low voice to Badgley — who also recently starred in her “The Boy Is Mine” music video. When she turns to co-host Sophie Ansari, her pitch rises dramatically.
Netizens quickly pointed out the switch, with one X user writing that “this voice change is sending me 😭😭 regular Ariana was coming out for a second,” and another, “oh GLINDA FREE MY GIRL.”
Grande has since offered an explanation — or, several.
“Habit (speaking like this for two years) and also vocal health 🙂 🍵,” she commented on the viral TikTok clip. “i intentionally change my vocal placement (high / low) often depending on how much singing i’m doing 😭i’ve always done this BYE.”
The singer previously discussed the rigor of her vocal training for “Wicked” on the “Zach Sang Show”: “I trained every day… to transform my voice, even — like, my singing voice — everything about me, I had to deconstruct to prove to them I could handle taking on this other person.”
This isn’t the first time fans have noticed Grande slipping into character — such discourse arose following a 2023 r.e.m. beauty promotional video and her 2024 Oscars presentation with “Wicked” co-star Cynthia Erivo. Speculation about the singer intentionally altering 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 speaking patterns during her “Podcrushed” episode and more so on her revealing a potential deluxe version of her March album “eternal sunshine.”
“I went to the studio the day after the Met [Gala] and I stayed for, like, 10 days. I was literally living there,” Grande said. “I felt like I woke up today, and I felt like Austin Powers being unfrozen. I was like, ‘Where have I been? Where have I been?’”
She continued: “I’ve been writing a lot, and maybe there’s some more, but I would like to do a deluxe at some point.”
Grande also on Monday announced a remix of “The Boy Is Mine” featuring R&B legends Brandy and Monica, who released a duet by the same name in 1998 and had cameos in the video for Grande’s song.
“I ……… cannot believe this is real (i don’t know if i will even long after it’s out),” the “thank u, next” singer wrote on Instagram. “my deepest and sincerest thank you to Brandy and Monica, not only for joining me for this moment, but for your generosity, your kindness, and for the countless ways in which you have inspired me. it is near impossible to say how much this means to me.
“This is in celebration of you both and the impact that you have had on every vocalist, vocal producer, musician, artist that is creating today,” she added.
The remix drops June 21.