Wicked's Ariana Grande reveals she auditioned for Elphaba as well as Glinda

10 December 2024, 15:12 | Updated: 10 December 2024, 15:17

By Sam Prance

Did Ariana Grande audition for Elphaba in Wicked? Here's what she's said about her audition process.

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Want to know who else auditioned for Elphaba in Wicked? Well, Ariana Grande has said that she tried out for the role.

With the Wicked movie finally out in the world, it's impossible to imagine anyone other than Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande playing Elphaba and Glinda respectively. Both actors capture the magic of each character in ways that pay homage to Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth's original performances while also making them their own.

However, what you may not realise is that Ariana Grande tried out for Elphaba as well as Glinda when she auditioned.

Read more: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande's Wicked audition tapes are going viral
Read more: Every actress who auditioned for Glinda in the Wicked movie

Behind the scenes of Wicked with Ariana Grande

If you've been following Ariana's career closely, you will already know that she previously said Elphaba was her dream role. Talking to Zach Sang in 2019, she said: "I would do anything to play Elphie. Elphaba and Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, those are my two dream roles." She also covered 'The Wizard And I' on NBC's A Very Wicked Halloween.

Ariana hasn't said when she changed her mind but she has also spoken about wanting to play Glinda in the past. In a tweet from 2011, she wrote: "Loved seeing Wicked again... amazing production! Made me realize again how badly I want 2 play Glinda at some point in my life! #DreamRole."

Ariana also met Kristin Chenoweth backstage during the original run of Wicked when she was just 10 years old. In an interview with TODAY, Kristin said: "She came to my dressing room and said: 'I wanna play Glinda'."

In a new episode of the Sentimental Men podcast, Ariana explained: "I had a feeling they were gonna make me sing for both roles and they did."

As for what Ariana did for her audition, she sang: 'No One Mourns the Wicked', 'Popular', 'The Wizard and I' and 'Defying Gravity'.

However, Ariana said that she was hoping for Glinda by the time that she auditioned for the movie: "I had an inkling in my heart always that it was going to be Glinda, but I was hearing really mixed things from people who were like, 'Oh, they want you to read for both.'" Ariana said she auditioned with pink accessories to drop hints.

Ariana went on to say: "I was like, I guess that's because they don't know what my voice is - and maybe they think vocally I might be better-suited for Elphaba. I secretly knew I was only meant for Glinda."

She ended by saying: "Either way, I was going to be open to the conversation."

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have both received Golden Globe nominations for their performances in Wicked. Picture: Alamy

Of course, everything worked out exactly how it was supposed to and Cynthia and Ariana have both received Golden Globe nominations for their performances in Wicked.

Congratulotions Cynthia and Ariana!