As Wicked’s release is on the horizon, Ariana Grande took a look back to where she started.

The pop star confessed that it wasn’t easy landing the role of Glinda in the musical film, but she was determined. Ariana, who always dreamed of championing the role, began preparing for her audition the moment she heard the production was in the works. She said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: “I started to kind of mentally prepare myself and my team. I just told them, you know, if this is really happening, and if they are going to start seeing people for it, I just want to be so prepared.”

She explained that she did some voice training “to become coloratura” which is akin to opera style as she wanted to honor the musical “the way that it requires.” Ariana was interested in taking acting and singing lessons, too, despite already being famous for both her acting and singing ability.

For Ariana, it was important that she didn’t score the gig based purely on her prestige as she wanted it to be “earned.” She added: “I tried to prepare myself mentally going into it, knowing that — listen, this is going to end up where it’s meant to end up.”

After her intense preparation, she still had to go through the entire process which, she said, kicked off on Aug. 13, 2021 for her first audition. Ariana went through multiple rounds of auditions before doing screen tests with two different actresses. “It was like a 3 1/2 hour session that day,” she confessed.

When Ariana finally got official word about her casting, she was in shock. The actress said: “So when they called me to tell me that I had the part, I had one heart attack. That was the first one. And then they told me that I was gonna be playing opposite Cynthia Erivo, and that was the second heart attack. And then I died, and I’m dead, and I’m dead here. And I’m still dead.”

Ariana might have put the work in, but some fans simply don’t think it was enough for her to actually be worthy. A video of Amanda Seyfried practicing the role made its rounds on X, formerly known as Twitter, as fans debated who would be better as Glinda. After all, a teaser trailer with Ariana singing the song Popular just dropped, too, giving them a quick comparison.

Some fans didn’t think that Ariana’s performance was in line with more theatrical styles, unlike Amanda’s emote in the song. A fan said: “Amanda crushed mamma Mia, she will be on Broadway, this is a silly video not an audition?!?!?! Ariana is a singer, period. Saying that Amanda couldnt play Glinda is WILD!! Musicals require a different preparation and Amanda has all the qualities to do such a thing.”

“I stand by my original opinion when I saw this casting and its that Glinda should not have gone to Ariana Grande,” another fan criticized.

Another person offered: “I think Grande would be a great choice if the movie was made 12 years ago and she was still known for theatre. Since then she’s gone from being an actor/singer to being ‘Ariana Grande’ and her general aura is just way bigger than the role she’s playing.”

“ngl i was rooting for dove cameron but i see why ariana grande was cast. shes a big Glinda fan and her performance shows that!!,” chirped in a fourth.

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