Originally appeared on E! Online
Ariana Grande is reminding people of the truth: the voice is mine.
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WATCH HEREThe "Wicked" actress — whose performance in the film earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress —addressed criticism that she now speaks with a higher-pitched voice than in the past.
“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,” Grande said on the Feb. 3 episode of the Smartless podcast, “is if I have a long day of press or if I have to sing, I'll place [my voice] a little higher.”
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SIGN UP The 31-year-old added, “I'll change my vocal placement to kind of preserve. But that is just something that's healthy for the voice. It's just basically pitching your voice up a tiny bit.”
Grande — who began dating her "Wicked" costar Ethan Slater in 2023 — also addressed the haters directly, calling their criticism “interesting.”
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“It's just a normal thing for vocalists,” she continued. “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.’”
And considering Grande already clapped back at the online critics about her voice as Glinda the Good Witch in "Wicked" last year, she recognized that the comments may never end.
“It's so funny because I’ve talked about it a zillion times,” she explained, “and people are still like, ‘Where's your real voice?’ And I'm like, ‘Well, they all are.’”
But despite the armchair analysis from fans online, the “Positions” singer is grateful for the parts of Glinda (née Galinda) she gets to take with her going forward, including her voice.
“I think that might stay,” she told Variety in January of her higher register and crisper articulation. “Galinda required a lot of vocal work for me. Certain things maybe won’t melt away. Some will, but I’m really grateful for the pieces that will stay with us forever.”
She added, “What a beautiful thing to be left with, and to feel the ghost of every day.”
