- Ariana Grande has given a lot of interviews in her almost two decades-long career
- So fans were ‘perplexed’ when the actor started using a higher-pitched voice placement during the Wicked press tour
- Now Grande has explained why she sounds slightly different – but says it is ‘healthy’
Ariana Grande has been in the public eye for 17 years, undertaking hundreds of interviews in that time.
So long-time fans of the actor – who is up for an Oscar for her role as Glinda in Wicked – have been a little confused by how different her voice sounds on her recent media tour.
Noticing that her voice sounds slightly higher than usual, followers of Grande, 31, have accused her of faking the pitch.
During an appearance on the SmartLess podcast on February 3, the Eternal Sunshine singer was asked by co-hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett about techniques she employed to protect her voice on tour.
“The thing that I do that perplexes people so much – and it’s just so funny because if you’re a person who uses their voice, you know about this – is if I have a long day of press or if I have to sing, I’ll place [my voice] a little higher,” Grande explained.
“I’ll change my vocal placement to kind of preserve [it]. But that is just something that’s healthy for the voice. It’s just basically pitching your voice up a tiny bit.”
She continued, “It’s just a normal thing for vocalists. But people are like, ‘That’s not her natural voice.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, it is actually, but it’s just a little higher.’ All of it is natural.”
Admitting that it creates negative feedback on social media, Grande went on, “It’s so funny because I’ve talked about it a zillion times, and people are still like, ‘Where’s your real voice?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, they all are.’”
But it’s not the first time Ariana Grande has spoken out about the comments…
This isn’t the first time Grande has addressed the criticism of her voice.
Last year, the former child star responded to comments under a viral clip of her on Podcrushed, which is hosted by Penn Badgley, Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari.
Defending her tendency to “voice switch”, Grande wrote, “I’ve been speaking in a slightly higher placement than I usually speak in because I’ve been doing a lot of interviews and I’m trying to keep my voice healthy.”
Sassily, she then added, “I’ve always done this BYE.”
Ariana Grande keeps Cynthia Erivo’s ears by the printer (yes, you read that correctly!)
Elsewhere, Grande opened up about the very unusual souvenir she stole from the Wicked set… co-star Cynthia Erivo’s prosthetic ears!
Erivo had the fakes made to slot over her actual piercing-adorned ears.
But what Grande is really having trouble with is knowing where to display them in her home… which is obviously a totally normal thing to be worried about.
“Right now, they’re just, like, next to the printer,” Grande admitted in a recent BBC Radio 1 interview. “With, like, pens and printer and then Cynthia’s ears.”
Joking that she sometimes pranked guests by “putting out a tray of whatever, I’ll just kind of leave them nearby to see if anyone gets a little confused,” Grande clarified, “I’m just kidding. I’ve never done that, but I will. No, yeah, they’re next to the printer for now.”
While the Dangerous Woman singer thinks that “framing them is weird”, interviewer Ali Plumb had another suggestion.
“I think hide them in the downstairs loo and just have them there with no context, don’t explain them, that’s where they live,” he said, prompting Grande to reply, “I love it.”
