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Ariana Grande Said Being a Pop Superstar Was Not Enough, She Had to ‘Earn’ Her ‘Wicked’ Role

Ariana Grande said that despite her worldwide fame as a pop star, she absolutely had to 'earn' the role of Glinda in the 'Wicked' movie.

1 Billboard Hot 100 hits — and deep knowledge and love for the original 1939 Judy Garland movie version and the 2003 Tony-winning Broadway production, it was not a given that she’d land the gig in director Jon M. Chu’s fantastical re-imagining. During the pod recording where the singer apologized several times for her dog Myron’s incessant barking, Grande told the hosts that she has often turned to the Broadway Wicked soundtrack for comfort and a “safe space” if she is nervous or needs to warm up her voice. And, when the first murmurings about the film version reached her desk before the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the singer said she told her team that she was willing to immediately pull the plug on her 2019 Sweetener world tour so she could go home and start on voice and acting lessons.

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