Why Ariana Grande’s recent voice change is completely normal

via arianagrande / Instagram

There are four months left until the release of the first part of the live-action version of Wicked. The musical, which took two years to film and was halted due to the SAG-AFTRA strike when only ten days of filming remained, has been eagerly awaited by Wicked fans for years.

There are many stories surrounding this film and its star-studded cast, most notably the news that Ariana Grande was dating her co-star Ethan Slater, who, as far as the public knew at the time, was married and had a small child at home.

Although this story has died down, Ariana made headlines again because of the change in her voice.

When she took on the role of Glinda, Ariana has often mentioned how important it was to her to get it right, especially since she’s been a long-time fan of the Broadway production, so she tried method acting so she could fully get into character during filming. But after immersing herself in Glinda for so long, it seemed to have affected the way her voice sounded after filming.

In recent weeks, a clip of her interview on Penn Badgley’s podcast “Podcrushed” went viral after a listener noticed a noticeable change in her voice in the middle of the conversation.

@scatsplat #arianagrande #fypage ♬ Original sound – .

Ariana commented under the TikTok in her defense:

This wouldn’t be the only time recently that Ariana has spoken out about her vocal health.

This week, she appeared on her friend Evan Ross Katz’s podcast “Shut Up Evan” and addressed the topic again.

“It’s a normal thing that people do,” she said when Evan mentioned the viral TikTok about her voice change.

“I just spent a lot of time playing a character every day and training my voice to do different things.

“It’s an instrument, and muscle memory is a real thing,” she said of her voice.

This isn’t the only time Ariana’s vocal range has changed over the course of her fourteen years in the entertainment industry.

As a teenager, she starred in Victorious. Her voice was quite high in interviews at the time, similar to the sound of her character Cat. This tone continued into the early days of her music career.

Slowly, her voice deepened and during the pandemic, she reached her lowest octave. Since she was not performing or acting during this time, she had time to rest her voice and not change her pitch as she does now to promote her vocal health.

Although Ariana has her reasons for changing her pitch, it is also normal for a woman’s voice deepen with age. You may suffer from vocal fatigue, which makes your voice hoarse. For someone like Ariana, who sings and speaks a lot, it’s natural for her voice to deepen.

Ariana is not the only actress whose voice was changed after portraying an iconic character.

Austin Butler’s voice changed significantly after playing Elvis. The film, which took two years to shoot, left Austin with a deeper voice reminiscent of the King of Rock and Roll. His commitment to method acting has stuck with him since filming wrapped in March 2021.

@elvispresleyxm Austin Butler’s voice before and after the Elvis movie#elvispresley #austinbutler ♬ Original sound – Elvis Presley

Although Ariana never mentioned Austin by name on the Shut Up Evan podcast, she pointed out the double standard that people react differently to male actors who immerse themselves in their roles than they do to female actors.

“They say, ‘Oh, wow, how dedicated he is to his craft. What an incredible transformation. He’s a brilliant artist.’ And then, God forbid, I sneeze like Glinda.”

If changing her voice keeps her healthy for singing and acting, we’re all for it. We’re always excited for a new Ariana hit.

One thing is for sure: Ariana has put her all into the role of Glinda and we can’t wait to see her in Wicked in November.

Words by Amélie Mahony

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