- Ariana Grande has been nominated for her first Oscar nomination
- The actor snapped up the nod for her portrayal as Glinda in Wicked
- Grande was ‘just out of the bath’ when she received the news
Ariana Grande stunned audiences as Glinda in Wicked.
And as we await the second movie – which will be released on November 21 – Grande is reaping the benefits of her amazing performance… as she has just earned her first Oscar nomination.
The pop star, 31, is up for the Best Supporting Actress gong at the ceremony, which will take place on Sunday, March 2.
And while shortlisted actors will have been waiting by their phones as they awaited the announcement, Grande took a more relaxing approach – by taking a bubble bath.
“I’m in London. I just got out of the bath,” she told Variety. “Oh! My therapist is calling to congratulate me. Hold on. I’ll tell her I’ll be right back.”
Quickly taking the call, Grande returned to the conversation. “Oh my god, I’m sorry. I don’t even know what to say,” she continued. “It’s really hard to speak. I just got off the phone with my mom and my best friends and Kristen Chenoweth. And I have been texting with Cynthia [Erivo] and Jon [M. Chu] all morning.
“I sobbed. I actually haven’t stopped sobbing since then. It’s been really overwhelming.”
Ariana Grande’s friend Bowen Yang announced her nomination
What made the occasion even more special was that Bowen Yang, Grande’s friend and Wicked co-star, was one of the hosts for the nomination ceremony.
“It felt like home,” Grande admitted to hearing him say her name. “I love him so much, and he is one of my best friends in the world. And he looked so chic. Just his energy being a part of it was special.
“He texted me right before wishing me luck, and he texted me a week before saying, ‘I just found out that I’m doing this, and I can’t wait to hopefully utter your name.’”
And while she has won two Grammy awards for her music – and been nominated for 18 more – Grande is finding it difficult to compare the feeling of being nominated as an actor.
“Oh my goodness. I’m burying my head in my tissue box,” she laughed.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are both Oscar nominees
Grande wasn’t the only Wicked star to be nominated for an Oscar – as Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba in the movie, is up for the Best Actress award.
When asked what it means to Grande for the two co-stars to be nominated together, “It feels like such a magnificent celebration of this hard work that we were able to do together. It feels like we were past the wand and broom by Kristen and Idina Menzel. They were nominated for the Tonys together, and now Cynthia and I get to have this recognition together.”
But as director Jon M. Chu missed out on a nomination, Grande continued, “He is incredibly brilliant, and all of the other nominations stem from Jon. I know he feels like seeing Wicked be celebrated is a celebration of him as well.
“We just got off Facetime, and I told him how much I love him, and the truth, that absolutely none of this could happen without his leadership, brilliance, empathy and thoughtfulness.”
Now all that’s left to consider is who Grande will bring to the ceremony – which isn’t an easy feat when you’re of Italian heritage!
“I haven’t even had a chance to consider yet,” she admitted. “I need a table for 40 Italians from Boca. How do we work that out?”
