'I Was Shaking': Ariana Grande Confirms 1 Thing She Refused To Do In Wicked

Ariana Grande has confirmed there was one suggestion she was less than enthusiastic about when she was first cast as Glinda in Wicked.

The hit movie musical finally arrived in cinemas in November last year, with Cynthia Erivo playing the Elphaba to Ariana’s Glinda.

In the lead-up to the film’s release, composer Stephen Schwartz claimed he’d had an idea that, because of the Grammy winner joining the cast, songs like Popular could be given a modern refresh.

Apparently, though, Ariana herself wasn’t so keen.

“My music team and I thought, ‘let’s refresh the rhythm. Let’s, maybe, I don’t know, hip-hop it up a little bit’,” he recalled, only for the Thank U Next singer to respond: “Absolutely not, don’t do it. I want to be Glinda, not Ariana Grande playing Glinda.”

In a new interview with Variety, Ariana confirmed that when she was first played the movie version of Popular, “hip-hop drums” had been included to make the showtune more modern.

She explained: “I wanted to lovingly and respectfully say, ‘Absolutely not!’ Thinking through the lens of the character – Galinda Upland does not have that bounce to her at all. She’s as vanilla as they come.” 

“I called Jon [M Chu, the film’s director] first. I was shaking. ‘Is this something that we can meet in the middle on?’,” she continued.

“And of course, it was so understood. And that’s what happens when you have a team who loves and respects each other and can hear those truths, because nothing has to be withheld.”

Since Wicked’s release, Ariana and Cynthia have widespread praise for their performances, appearing in the film alongside the likes of Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Marisa Bode and Ethan Slater, with whom Ariana has been in a romantic relationship after meeting on set.

Both Ariana and Cynthia are in the running for Golden Globes at this weekend’s ceremony, where Wicked is also up for Best Musical Or Comedy Film.