Ariana Admits She Intentionally Changes Her Voice In Certain Scenarios

Ariana Grande isn’t just switching positions, she’s also been switching vocal registers. Ever since she was cast as the upbeat witch Glinda in Wicked, Grande’s fans have noticed a change in the way she speaks. And after a recent interview clip went viral pointing out a sudden change in Grande’s voice, the singer offered up an explanation for why she “intentionally” switches up how she talks depending on the scenario.

The moment came during Grande’s June 17 appearance on the Podcrushed podcast. In the middle of answering a question, Grande’s voice notably became deeper as she started to respond, and then she quickly reverted back to her higher register after collecting herself. A clip of the voice change went viral on social media, and Grande jumped into the comments to explain things.

“Habit (speaking like this for two years) and also vocal health,” the singer wrote. Apparently, her years-long role as Glinda is only part of the reason she makes a conscious effort to speak a certain way. “I intentionally change my vocal placement (high / low) often depending on how much singing I’m doing. I’ve always done this BYE.”

This isn’t the first time Grande has mentioned this vocal method. As far back as when she was doing press for Victorious, Grande shared that she spoke in a higher register when she had a day full of interviews to try to keep her voice healthy.

It’s also true Grande has been doing a lot more live singing recently, from late-night sets to headlining the Met Gala. She’s also dropping new remixes to her Eternal Sunshine songs, and fans think she may be teasing a tour announcement soon.

And of course, along with all of that, she’s also about to float onto the big screen as Glinda when the first part of Wicked hits theaters on Nov. 27.

Grande’s casting was announced all the way back in 2021, and filming took over a year to complete in London, as the massive musical adaptation was split into two movies releasing a year apart. Since then, Grande’s fans have pointed out she’s started to speak like Glinda in real life, like when she presented at the 2024 Oscars with a high, sing-songy voice.

But it sounds like Grande isn’t fully under Glinda’s spell, and can change her voice around whenever she feels she needs to.