Ariana Grande has defended herself after footage of her switching her speaking voice went viral.
The moment took place as the ‘Positions’ singer appeared on a recent episode of Penn Badgley’s podcast, Podcrushed, where she discussed her music career and her upcoming role in the new musical film, Wicked.
During the discussion, there was one moment that caught fans’ attention, as Grande was seen laughing and speaking in a deeper register than fans are used to, before immediately switching to a higher-pitched, softer tone.
Since being shared last week (June 12), the clip has gone viral and received more than 5.4million views on TikTok. It has also seen many fans question why the singer would immediately change her talking voice. “This voice change is sending me,” one viewer commented, while another added that “regular Ariana was coming out for a second”.
Now, Grande herself has commented on the switch, and explained that she has always done it as a way to protect her voice.
Commenting on one of the videos of the interview shared on TikTok, she said that converting to the higher register has been a “habit” over the past two years and is done intentionally for good “vocal health”.
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“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,” she wrote.
“I intentionally change my vocal placement (high / low) often depending on how much singing i’m doing. I’ve always done this BYE.”
This isn’t the first time that the singer has spoken about adjusting her voice depending on the projects she is working on. Earlier this year for instance, Grande discussed how she worked alongside an acting coach and a voice coach to prepare her for the Wicked role, where she plays Glinda.
“Everything about me, I had to deconstruct to prove to them I could handle taking on this other person,” she said while appearing on The Zach Sang Show (via The Independent) “I had to completely erase popstar Ari, the person they know so well, because it’s even harder to believe someone as someone else when you’re so branded as one thing.”
The Wicked film is set to arrive in cinemas around the UK on November 27. It has been split into two parts, with the second instalment rumoured to arrive in November 2025.
Grande’s recent comments about her voice also come following her premiering the video for her new song ‘The Boy Is Mine’, featuring You‘s Penn Badgley. In an inversion of his role in the hit Netflix thriller, in which he plays a stalker, Badgley ends up being the one who’s stalked in the new visuals.
The song is taken from Grande’s recent seventh studio LP, ‘Eternal Sunshine’. In a four-star review of the album, NME shared: “It’s the most sophisticated project yet from a preternaturally talented vocalist who keeps getting better. Whatever you take away from it, ‘Eternal Sunshine’ definitely isn’t an album you’ll want to wipe from memory.”