Ariana Grande
Appearances
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Well, I for one am so sorry that you have been forced to live with this. Is that so? Yes. And it is my intention to major in sorcery. So if at some point you wanted to address the, um, problem. Problem. Perhaps I could help.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
That's what makes me so nice. Whenever I see someone less fortunate than I And let's face it, right? Who isn't? Less fortunate than I My tender heart tends to start to bleed And when someone needs a makeover I simply have to take over I know, I know Exactly
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
It's funny because I feel like that is why Wicked is what it is. I think that's why people respond to it the way that they do because I think pieces of both of these women exist within all of us. And I think that's what makes it hit home the way that it does and touch people the way that it does because I think everyone can –
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
identify a time in their life where they felt like Elphaba at the center of the dance floor at the Asda's ballroom. While everyone is circled around her laughing or making her feel othered, everyone, I think, has felt that at least once. And simultaneously, I think everyone can also acknowledge a time in their life where they felt like Linda in that moment as well.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
where they know that the mirror is being held up and they have an opportunity to change and to become better, where their bubble of privilege or of circumstance that is specific to them is popped for the first time. A life-changing moment where we learn to see something a different way. And I think because of the incredible nuance and
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
humanness that lives within both of them, that's why they both live in all of us, kind of. And I think that's why it feels the way it does for so many people.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
She's the best in the whole world. She really is, I swear. And as incredible, I'm sorry, I promise I'll let you ask your question. But as beautiful as she sounds in the film and in the end result and whatever it is, it's even more stunning face to face, just in person, in the thin air. It's just such a spectacular gift that she has. I'm sorry, what was the question?
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
What they need And even in your case Though it's the toughest case I've yet to face Don't worry, I'm determined to succeed Follow my lead And yes, indeed, you I'll show you what shoes to wear, how to fix your hair, everything that really counts to be popular. I'll help you be popular. You'll hang with the right cohorts. You'll be good at sports. Know the slang you've got to know.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Yeah. Well, it kind of demands it. The material demands that because the emotional context of what we're singing about sometimes can evoke the performance to be different take to take. Sometimes it's more emotional. Sometimes it's It's different. Sometimes it's stronger. And also with the comedic elements, I love to improv. I love to surprise people.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
So I also, as Glinda, kind of required that freedom to be able to do whatever felt most honest and Glinda in the moment. So the material demands it from both of us. Also, we are singers. We love to sing. We love to sing so much. And it would have felt dishonest to not sing live for this.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And also, there's even more, you know, there are so many beautiful Glindas and Elphabas who have done this on Broadway and the West End on tour eight shows a week. So in solidarity with them, if we have to do something 28 takes in a row live, we will do it.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
We're a part of a beautiful coven. Right. And we had to do that with our sister witches. But also it really just comes back to allowing the performances to be as honest as possible. If we are married to a track that's prerecorded, there's less room for like honesty to pour out. Mm hmm.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And when you're emotional, your voice cracks and you have things seep through that, you know, are beautiful in their own way. So that was a really extraordinary gift. And Simon Hayes, our incredible head of sound, turned the set into a recording studio.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I mean, everywhere you looked, there was a microphone in Cynthia's hat and both of my little peaks of my bubble dress, the pink bubble dress in the bubble itself and the wig and the thing and everything. That required a lot of work to be able to protect the quality and make sure that we were covered from every angle.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Because if a gust of wind came or if, which there was so much wind and everything and rain and flying.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Yes. And somehow Simon was able to figure it out so that it was protected. And also you can hear in the background. You're so excited. I'm so excited. I'm a nerd when it comes to this stuff, can you tell? But I was helping with the vocal production, which was really a cool part of this. And I was helping comp through the live takes of Defying Gravity.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And I called Cynthia on FaceTime because I was so excited. You could hear her little, when you solo the vocal for the second verse, I'm through accepting limits. You hear her little feet going up the stairs in the background when you solo the vocal. And I'm a nerd, so I love that. You could hear the little stairs creaking and her shoes going up. And it was so cool.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I think that's such a nice, that's such a generous way of putting it.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I love sound. I love voices and different tones and different textures. And I think that's why when I was younger, I learned impersonations at a young age, like Judy Garland might have actually been my first with The Wizard of Oz being on TV.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I remember just sort of looking at her posture and also like her vibrato and her tone and finding that so interesting, noticing how voices can be so different at a young age.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Well, Somewhere Over the Rainbow was a big one. I loved Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I used to wear my little gingham dress in front of the TV, but I used to do a weird thing where I would wear it with like a scary movie mask on.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Or a Jason mask. I had that as well, the one with the hockey thing. It was quite strange, but I needed to put my twist on it.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Oh, I don't know. I wish I could tell you. But it makes sense. I don't know. My mom loved Halloween, and we all loved Halloween.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Yes, it did. It's hard to put a finger on it now, but I just feel like it helps set up the visual. Yeah.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Well, I think it's something that was important to us from the very beginning, was to build something real and to know that we could have a safe space in each other for this journey. Because it was going to be tremendous. We knew it was going to be years and years of some of the hardest work of our lives. And... It's something that we started building from the day we were cast.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
You know, we FaceTimed and congratulated each other and the announcement happened and the celebratory dinner happened. And, you know, I was a fan of hers, but it got very real very quickly. You know, I reached out and I said, OK, as we're digging into the contracts now. Let's say in touch. Let's call each other. I want to be there for you and help make sure you're getting everything you need.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And I want us to go at everything together because there's going to be so much that is very high stakes about this production that we're jumping into. You know, this is... 160 plus shoot days with however many months of rehearsal beforehand. This is a lot of time with these characters, with these women, but with each other and in this high stakes environment.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
This project is so much bigger than us and than anything. And I want us to be able to give ourselves over to it in the healthiest way possible. And I want you to know that I've got your back. Whatever comes up, it's always going to be us against the thing. I want it to always be us against whatever arises, if anything.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
So that was a really beautiful, open and beautiful conversation that we had together. And we shared any sort of little concerns and things that were important to us. And that sent a loud message, I think, that like we are safe here. And it just kept building and growing from there. I think that's tremendous.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I just think it was so profoundly important to us both to take care of each other in this high stakes, beautiful dream come true project. And then also to gain that friendship in real life is truly a gift. You know, you hear that there are other ways it can go. Yes. And we had to protect this from every angle we could, you know.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
That possibility, like earn the openness from John, from the casting directors, from the producers to maybe see a possible chance that I could disappear into this person. I thought, oh my goodness, I know what's required of Glinda. I know she's funny. I know it's high notes. And I know that maybe some people who don't know her well enough would think that I'm the perfect fit.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
But that's just kind of scratching the surface. And I have to kind of be able to earn this and have every tool in my box available to me to use so that every piece of her... that is emotional, that is dramatized, that is insecure, that is why Glinda is the way she is, so reliant upon external validation and the popularity and how important that is to her.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And that's a real person under there with a real beating heart and where she goes from part one, her arc in act two and what she experiences. And it requires a lot, this role. And I thought that I would really have a lot to prove That's why I took the audition process so seriously, because I knew I wanted to do the work so desperately to earn a chance.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
So let's start, cause you've got an awfully long way to go.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I think you kind of have to... This is something that my acting coach Nancy Banks and I talked about so much. She is one of the most goodly good witches on this earth, I have to say. But, you know, it's just befriending those monsters in a way. You kind of look at them and say, hey... The monsters being self-doubt. Yeah, self-doubt or fear or whatever it is, or nerves or whatever.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And you have to kind of realize... Nerves are great. It means you care so much and that your ego can be left far, far, far behind in a faraway land so that you can do beautiful work and so that you know you care.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
You're acknowledging this and using those nerves as positive carbonation for the performance and also being able to put a little flashlight on your little fears or monsters in your head and say like, hi, thank you for protecting me. They're totally valid, your fears of, you know, the ways in which this might, you know, could possibly whatever. Thank you for caring the way that you do.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
However, I have work to do. It would be beautiful if you could please step outside and get me a coffee, maybe come back later. You know, you're totally going to come back later.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
So thank you for stepping away for a little. Right. Because I have to get to know Glinda for now. And I have to do this work. I have to give myself over to this person for a little bit. And then I'll get to know her monsters in the meantime so that she can have real monsters in her head and those can be present. And it's just kind of learning how to do that dance. It's all a mental dance.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
So it's important to learn how to navigate those guys and be able to embrace and also keep them where they're supposed to be.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I was born and raised in Florida, and then I moved to New York to do 13, the musical on Broadway, written by Jason Robert Brown and Robert Horn. And I was in that show for quite some time. I did the reading, and then I did the out-of-town run in Connecticut, Goodspeed Theater. And then came to Broadway with the show. And then after that, went to L.A. for my callback for Victorious.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And then I've been kind of an L.A., New York person ever since then.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I'm very sorry for the ways in which my voice has probably ricocheted off the walls in your house.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Thank you, Tanya, for having me. Thank you so much.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Yes. So I was sort of navigating both at the same time because I loved comedy. I loved acting, but I also loved music. And so towards the very beginning of Victorious, I was writing songs that could be used for the character on the show because it was a musical show. So we sang a little bit on the show together. And that just sort of transformed at some point into, I want to make a solo album.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And I started realizing that I could be myself in the music and like dyeing my hair brown on the weekends and then...
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
No, no, no. Like temporarily spraying it. Like crazy things I was doing to be able to sort of jump back and forth between like being an artist and being me and, you know, doing little cover videos and little performances here and there. And it was a slow but steady start. But I was doing both at the same time. So I would be filming the show and then going to the studio in the evenings.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And I worked on my first album for three years while I was simultaneously shooting the show. And then it kind of happened, I guess. Yeah.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
The voices, the singing. I love, I love, I love, I love singers. I remember... I'm loving pop music, too. I do love pop music. But there was just something about Whitney and Mariah and Aretha and just sort of like these gorgeous R&B soulful powerhouse vocals just being my favorite. And I was super inspired by Whitney and Mariah.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And also that was kind of where I felt like there was this crossover with musical theater because there are so many big voices in musical theater, too. You know, my favorite songs to sing when I was younger growing up were like the most vocal ones I could find.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Yes. Or like Here I Am from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels or Gimme Gimme from Thoroughly Modern Millie. Yeah. Or Whitney and Mariah. You know, those were my favorite songs to sing growing up. And I just remember being so inspired by divas.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
That is hilarious. It started as a, I mean, it started and ended as a total joke just because. The song, 3435. I just found the strings so lush and so majestic and like Disney princess sounding. I fell in love with those strings and that was like what I knew I wanted to write over forever. But I just thought how funny would it be?
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I love when comedy can exist within like a sense of humor can exist within songwriting too. That's important to me. But I thought it would be so funny if maybe the dirtiest song we ever wrote would be over these like Disney princess sounding like lush strings. How fun would that be?
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Yes, I was 10 years old and I got to see the original Broadway cast with Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel and Norbert Leo Butz and Chris Fitzgerald. And it was very life changing.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Oh, of course. I think it's always so beautiful when female artists celebrate and embrace sexual expression or their bodies or themselves, their truth or whatever through music, even when it is naughty sometimes. You know, I think it's a beautiful thing. And even when it's done with humor or not, you know, boys do it.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Yeah. So why can't we? Yeah. So many brilliant women are writing such spectacular music right now. It's such an amazing time for women in music. I feel like there are so many beautiful new young up and coming artists that I've loved listening to this year. Like I it's been just a cool thing to watch. I love it.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Oh, I don't know. I mean, I think my parents probably pointed it out to me. I was a big fan of like all of the Christopher Guest movies. So I was doing Jennifer Coolidge and Eugene Levy. And I also am such a big fan of Jim Carrey. So I was doing a lot of his sort of facial expressions and stuff when I was very young. And I don't know.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
It was always just kind of something I loved because I loved making people laugh, and that always worked.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I don't know. I love doing Jennifer. Coolidge. Jennifer Coolidge, yes. I love doing Jennifer. I also like doing my friends and people. Oh, my gosh. My best friend Erin has a very specific speaking voice. I don't know. It's fun.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Wait, what are you going to ask me? I'm scared. No, I want to ask you if you do one for us.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Oh, my gosh. I don't know. What would you... Which one? Well, I think Jennifer Coolidge is one that... This is my new party trick.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Yes. I mean, I think, you know, I was so young. Of course, I loved the music. I loved the comedy. I remember Glinda's impact on the audience and that infectious laughter and how it made me feel and everyone around me feel. I think that was just like so impactful, but also the themes of sisterhood.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I mean, it's an incredible privilege to be a part of this version of it and to have it be so accessible to so many people and to see the response be what it's been, I think. so many new theater kids have been born, you know? And that's such a beautiful gift because it's such an extraordinary community and a beautiful community to grow up in. It's a safe place.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
You feel less alone when you find a fellow theater kid, when you find someone who loves the same musicals as you. So it's really moving and really special because I remember what it was for me. The soundtrack over the course of my life has been such a safe haven.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Even when I was warming up to go on stage and opening night of one of my tours or whatever it was, like I was warming up listening to Wicked. I was getting ready, listening to Wicked and So it was always with me, and now it's so beautiful to know that it'll be with so many other new or returning theater kids.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
You're like those nerds. But not in a nerdy way.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Right. Like we're on our own planet. We are aliens. We are the best kind of nerd, by the way. But no, I mean, it's really kind of hard to articulate because it's just a connection that is felt instantly when you hear that right song or see that right film or whatever it is that is a musical. And it flips a switch. And some of us are so lucky to have it and to find each other through having it.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
That's such an emotional, moving thing. When music and art can do that.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I don't think I ever saw a show or anything at that point that revolved around these two women who are so different, learning each other and really falling in love with each other through their differences and kind of Learning how to protect and accept and celebrate each other, even when it meant that they disagreed.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
It was just kind of like this embodiment of true unconditional love and friendship in a way that I hadn't seen portrayed in a story before. And I think it really spoke to me.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Yeah, so we had worked together before on Hairspray Live. So I knew her a little bit from working together and she was one of my first phone calls. I was very excited to tell her and it was a very special and tearful exchange. She was very supportive of me throughout the course of my audition process as well because I went through quite an extensive process.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I was so excited to have the chance to even be seen at all. But I wanted to tell her right away when I got the audition. And she was a big cheerleader. Did she give you any advice? No. You know what? It was kind of like she was just really supportive of me finding my own Glinda. And that was kind of just the exact green light or pink light that I needed.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
It was really special to hear that from her because, of course, we have this tremendous responsibility to find Glinda. That balance between paying homage to this source material that is beloved and has been iconic and has been a part of people's lives for 22 years at this point, while also bringing our own truths and our own selves to these women.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And finding that balance, so getting the green light from her to kind of play and improv and put my own spin on her was such a helpful and beautiful gift to receive, even from the very beginning. And I, yeah, I'm so grateful for the ways in which she and Adina have championed us and embraced Cynthia and me throughout this journey. It's been very special. Is it true that you auditioned five times?
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Oh! Okay, so I auditioned three times. My first audition, I sang actually for both roles. Even though I came in in all pink, I knew I was Glinda. I knew that was what I was supposed to be doing. I think they just asked me to sing for both parts. For Elphaba and for... Yes, for both witches. So I was, of course, down to do whatever was asked of me, of course. And...
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
I had started training with my vocal coach, Eric Vitro, three months before my first audition to train my voice to sing in a coloratura soprano placement, which is quite different from what I usually do, even though my... voice naturally sits in a high register, it's a totally different style of singing.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And, you know, though I do use my falsetto quite often in pop music, it's just a completely different style, tone, vibrato, sound. And usually I'm using in pop music either my like mixy belt or my whistle register. So there's this big gap in between those two, which is where Glinda kind of lives.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And where that operatic sound needed to be strengthened and found in my voice and trained to become authentic sounding, it really required a lot of work. And what was really fun and interesting about that was that I went to get my vocal cords checked at the beginning of my training process to see if I could see a difference in the muscles, just how the shape is.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
you can actually track the chord's changing shape while I was training and stuff like that. It's really, I'm a nerd for that kind of stuff, but the training was extensive, and it was really thrilling to follow the progress. So for my first audition, I sang No One Mourns the Wicked and Popular, but I also sang The Wizard of Nine Defying Gravity. But it was very clear what I was meant for.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
That you were there for, right? Yes. For Galinda.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And in case it wasn't clear, I was in all pink, and I had a pink mug, and I had a pink. Everything was very Glinda-fied, just sending the subliminal message. And then I was called back for Glinda, and I sang more Glinda songs. So that was my second audition, and that was really thrilling. And I got to do my scenes with the casting associate, Tiffany Little, from Bernie Telsey's office. And
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
She was masked because this was during COVID. Like kind of a little wave of it at the tail end of COVID. But the best thing was feeling that I could tell under her mask that she was giggling because her eyes were smiling.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
And it was just really special. Yes. And then my final callback was a chemistry test with two different Elphabas. It was three hours long. Mm-hmm. And they were so beautiful and wonderful, but surprisingly, neither one of them was Cynthia, so we didn't actually get to chemistry test together at all.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Look! It's Glinda! Let us be glad. Let us be grateful. Let us rejoice if I thought goodness could subdue the wicked workings of your new home. Isn't it nice to know that good will conquer evil? The truth we all believe are one and one.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Oh, my goodness. Thank you. But I don't know. I mean, I was always singing. I don't remember a time in my life when I wasn't singing. Like, as soon as I could speak, I was singing. I grew up in a really musical household. Neither one of my parents did music, but they loved music and they loved to sing. We had a karaoke machine. You all did karaoke at home?
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Yes. We had one. We had a karaoke machine in the living room. It was like kind of an obstruction. It was like in the way of the furniture. There was no... Because they're always bulky.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
It was quite a thing. Like as soon as I got home from school, I was singing. And as soon as my mom and dad got home from work, they were singing. And my brother was in musical theater at schools. And so I would I would go see him in his shows. And I looked up to him so much. I just thought, oh, my goodness, I want to be on stage. I want to be like Frankie and be doing musical theater.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Sometimes. I mean, yes, we all sang together. But my dad was super into the Beatles. We did a lot of that stuff. Bee Gees, maybe. Beach Boys. How Deep Is Your Love and that kind of stuff. Yeah, Beach Boys too. Lots of Beatles. I love the Beatles. My mom was a total diva, like Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion. Frankie was a mix of everything.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Got some Madonna, some Spice Girls in there, Judy Garland, all of it. And my grandparents loved to sing as well. My grandpa more than anyone.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Lots of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, belting from the top of his voice.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Right. Yeah, it was an expression of love.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Yes, I loved a good cover, you know, back in the day.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
But yeah, I always loved the divas, the big, big voices. I looked up to Whitney and Mariah and Celine endlessly. And I think that's a large part of the reason why I learned to sing was just because that's who I was singing along with, you know, growing up.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Not too often. I feel like it has to be, you know, not without emotional intention, you know. It's a fun trick, but it has to serve a purpose. I try not to abuse it.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Yeah. Yeah, I think so. I try to be very discerning with the ways I use my voice. And sometimes you don't need to just do it because it's there. You know, I kind of try to find the right places and moments and make sure that it's kind of with an emotional attachment or serving a purpose.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
So the whistle register is the incredibly, incredibly high notes made most famous by Mariah Carey. The whistle, whistle, whistle register notes, they're in Emotions, they're in Vision of Love, they're in a lot of her most famous records. And a lot of opera singers as well use the whistle register too.
Fresh Air
Ariana Grande Loves Being In A 'Beautiful Coven'
Elfie, now that we're friends, I've decided to make you my new project. Oh, you really don't have to do that. I know.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Wow, 5'6". Do I present 5'6"? I wish. Oh, my God.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
5'6 presenting. No, sorry.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Thank you, that is true.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Well, yeah, it's just kind of something that you build up to. So there's a lot of physical training. There's like, you know, whatever you can do, cardio Pilates every morning. Then before the rehearsals, hopefully it feels like a little easier. Like the more you do ahead of it, the more it's easier. Do you sing on the treadmill to get used to it?
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, it's funny because I feel like it's like, yes, but also I feel like working with Jason Robert Brown at the age of 13 was my preparation for that.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I was like, oh my goodness, the only reason I can keep up with this tour where I'm singing all of these songs live for two and a half hours every night or however long it is or whatever it is, that it's very demanding and then traveling on a dry bus or in a dry plane or whatever it is and the only reason I can keep up with that I credit to being on Broadway. So it goes back and forth kind of.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
It's like just this stamina that I am so grateful that I got to build at a young age because, you know, Jason gave me the hard, like I couldn't, I love Jason Robert Brown because he is like, can you do that? And it's like, I don't know. And he's like, you got it. And it's just like, okay, great, I'll figure it out.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, it's like a second longer of a note than you think you can hold or a higher note, one note higher than you think you can sing. And he's like, perfect, you take that harmony. And I think that trained me to be able to do the singing that I was doing and then it went back and forth, I suppose.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
No, I know what you mean.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Well, you know, it felt really wonderful to kind of have a little surprise. And so it was really special for me.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Well, I think it just kind of, I followed it in a way. Because, you know, the whole time I was a cat on Nickelodeon, I was also writing like pop R&B music on the side. I would go from set to the studio and I would be like making these songs that I was probably too young to put out yet. And, you know, it was just a funny, interesting thing. And I remember there was a blurry time when
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Nickelodeon kind of wanted the music that I was writing to potentially be for the show. So there was a moment where I actually put out a song with a red hair and it was very kind of in the Cat Valentine mindset because I didn't know if I was supposed to be myself yet or not.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
And then someone that I was very close to that was very supportive and a really, really, really loving, wonderful person in my life was like, hey, they're going to love you as you, with brown hair, singing R&B-inspired pop, and just fucking wing it and put that out. And I did, and it was really cool. It was cool to see the people not...
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
It's definitely been a fun experience, and I definitely love creating in all capacities and storytelling in any capacity. I really do love my fragrance and my beauty brand and that stuff. It's really fun, and I think it's a totally different part of my brain. My mom is a CEO, and she's very much a business person.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
And my dad is an artist, so I think I kind of sit— exactly in between the two of them. And these two parts of me are very hungry in very different ways. And I enjoy it. I enjoy creating. But I think, obviously, my loves of my life are acting and music. It's not even a comparison. I feel grateful for every area in which I can be a creative person who makes stuff. But it's not necessarily the same.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
But it's something I love very much. Yeah.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
No, it makes total sense. And it's also something that I have to be so protective of. Because I think, like, as an artist, the most important thing is authenticity and kind of making the records that I want to make.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Totally. But, you know, I also, I also am like a cancer and a recovering people pleaser. And I like in the past. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Hi. Hello.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I am. I wish there were a group. Oh, my God. I'm needing.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
to phrase this but no that is such a great term but it's true it's such a thing that we have to fight to protect as people who like have a connection with our our listeners our fans and also remaining true to ourselves and what's in our hearts and i feel like i've been
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
doing a really great job at that recently but it's just such a it's such a hard line to to walk it's like no i'm gonna write the songs i want to write i have to make the album that i want to make and i have to um kind of tune as much of the noise out so that i can just be an honest person which has been hard work especially when you come into it at 19 sorry
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Long-winded. I'm like so long-winded.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I'm kidding. My whole presence. Cut the whole presence.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I don't know. I mean, I try not to look at spikes or for them or monitor them. I think I'm a person who wasn't meant to be famous, but I love the art of making and
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
creating so much that I think like my insatiable need to just kind of make things and create and try to push myself to grow in different directions and you know learn new things and see what I can yeah I just I kind of try to focus on that as much as possible and I think it helps me survive otherwise I really think if I paid more attention that I would like not I would go away I think it's just too scary chase it yeah
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
That's such a scary thought to even think like, oh, what are they doing? thinking right now. Like the healthiest thing for me is to disconnect as much as humanly possible. Of course I have like the internet and I'm on my phone, you know, I, whatever, love Instagram. But you know, I'm a person who tries to maintain a healthy distance from it because I think
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
It's like the same thing I would tell a young person who's like, what do you do when you hear no all the time? Those spikes feel like big no's again. It feels like I didn't get a call back for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and I'm eight years old or something.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Oh my goodness. First of all, all of you have to answer this hard-ass question after I'm done. Everyone has to answer. We're taking turns. This is the first official meeting of people pleasing recovery.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, I suppose it's like, yeah, I mean, amen to that. I mean, how can we find that balance, maintain that balance, but also like is the work that I'm taking on something that can challenge me, that I can grow from, that I haven't done before, that I'm learning from, that I'm giving like to the character in the same way that it's maybe going to teach me or feed me? I don't know.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Um, no, I mean, yeah, I mean, here's the thing.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I mean, that's very generous and kind. I just feel like it's kind of a really specific and strange thing to become a public person at, like, a really young age and then to have kind of all this normal growth that happens in...
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
in everyone's 20s and young teen years and whatever it is, in front of an audience and in front of people who, you know, don't have to have every mistake that they've ever made flashed in front of them and, like, reminded every two seconds. It's, like, it's interesting. It's, like, a funky thing. But, you know, all we can actually do is grow and, like... be human, become more and more human.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I think in the face of being dehumanized and objectified, we can just become more and more human, I guess.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, I mean, I'm a very sensitive person. So I can't say it's something that I have done particularly well with.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
But it's also something that I have had the help of, you know, my loved ones and therapy and time and art and just like a love for and also like a deep sense of gratitude for people. What I am so privileged to be able to do, like, that has kind of gotten me through it. Every time I kind of experienced that, like, I just kind of had to disconnect, I suppose, for a little.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Because, you know, again, back to the cancer people pleasing, there was always a part of me that wanted to kind of explain or do a big... You know, come talk to the world and come talk to everyone about what the truth is and whatever it is that I'm experiencing, that whatever, or explain things and overshare, you know, for the sake of being understood by a humongous thing of strangers.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
And it's just a strange thing to feel at such a young age and what is the boundary there and what's a healthy relationship to it and how do you protect yourself for the sake of being able to continue
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
They fucking killed it. It pushed me off a goddamn boat.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I didn't want to die. Jesus Christ. But I guess I'm dead. Oh, my God.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
No? Well, okay, so different things call for different kind of routines and tools, I guess. This is like, I feel like, so, I don't know, I feel like a nerd, but, you know, if you need the extra, like, you can have a little vocal box where there's, like, all of the lozenges and sprays and hydration things and whatever, but that's mostly if you're, like, fatigued or have a cough or whatever it is.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I don't usually, I don't know, usually I can... But I think 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. It's like, if I have a long day of press or if I have to sing, I'll place it a little higher. So I'll change my vocal placement to kind of preserve that.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
But that is just kind of something that's healthy for the voice and whatever. That's something I need.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, so it's just like basically pitching your voice up a tiny bit.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, but 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 because all of it is natural. And it's so funny because we'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. So it's just interesting.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
No. I mean, casually, yeah. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm kind of insufferable to be around because I do sing all the time every day. And yeah, the answer is yes, not no.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Oh, I love this. Well, I love to wake up early. I do. Like if I need it, I feel like my body will tell me and I get like one sleep in a month. Like the whole month is relying on this one day where my body just decides that it's going to sleep and then it sleeps. You know what I mean? Like a really scary slumber. Like knock, knock. Is everyone okay? Yeah, I'm good. I'm good. I'm good.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, I like to get up and I like to do my steps. I like to pace on the treadmill with my little iPad and I either like I'm playing a game, a virtual game, or I'm texting my team and like whatever. I'm very creative when I'm on the treadmill. So I have ideas and I'll sound like crazy. Crazy voice notes to Christian Breslauer, the director that I work with on all my music videos. I don't know.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I always have ideas on the plane. I'll either be texting him or my stylist Mimi or my team. I'll be like, oh my God, we forgot to talk about this. It gets my brain going. I love to get my steps done early. And then I'll hang out. You're laughing at me already. I haven't even said anything. I like to cook.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I like to cook on the treadmill.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Well, I'm vegan, so I like to make, yeah, I love to roast like mushrooms of different variants and make like a vegan pesto and make like, why? I hate mushrooms.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Tofu, sweet potatoes.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I'm back in. I'm Italian, so we have to have that, you know.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
No, no, actually. I haven't been since I was on tour, and I would love to in a more meaningful, because I have more time way.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I am a little bit of a germ freak. I do maintain the mask stuff.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I love a mask. I've always been a little bit of a germ person. A little bit of a, like a OCD germ person. Not like, more with mask than it is like obsessive compulsive Purelling. But like, just kind of, I like to stay it.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
No, it's not that far, but I also would do that now that you mentioned it. I'm going to start doing it tomorrow.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I can do that. Oh, boy.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Today you might. That is a scary thing to me with all of the travel and all of the meeting.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Wait, do you want to know my secret? I do it all the fucking time. I literally walk around for hours and hours and hours whenever I'm off. That was my next part of my schedule that I was going to tell you on my off day. I meander and I shop and I walk and I go and I go to the movie theater and I see movies and I wear like a little hood and a cap and I'm just like, I have to be able to like...
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Explore, otherwise I'll fall apart. I really love it. And then also, I really do enjoy meeting people. So it's fine and I love it. It's really nice. I met the cutest waiter the other day. He was so sweet and he had a little tattoo, a little sweetener tattoo. It made my day. I love meeting people.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
But no, he was just like...
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
And they're like, oh, my God. Well, first of all, I don't always have a mask on. I just mean like if I'm like, you know, meandering around Broadway.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
And I said, when I said butt, this was the butt, was I've always loved masks. I think they are so cute. And like, I used to sell them as merch on my tour with like a little moon on them because it was like a cute thing that me and my fans like always wore. And it was like a cute thing. And it was like a fashion thing. We liked it.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
And then when the pandemic happened, all of my fans were like, we are prepared. We have plenty of these.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yes. Thank you. Sorry. That was what I was going to say.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Or can you talk about it yet? I would love to continue acting. I feel so connected to it. I really would love to find the right thing that challenges me in a new way. I love it so much. I love it for different reasons than music. It's just so nice to take a break from playing yourself.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Like a caricaturized version of yourself that isn't really yourself, but it kind of is because parts of it are in the songs. So it's just a confusing little thing. And I think what a cool thing it is to find characters that you can kind of jump into.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, I suppose. I mean, you can heal little parts of yourself through them and with them and for them that you didn't know needed to be looked at. Because when you're, you know, finding commonality.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I love both, I think.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
You know, Glinda had a... The biggest gift of Glinda is that there's a little bit of both, you know. Yeah. Especially with, you know, part two, you get to see more of her and get to know more of her. And she goes through a little bit more. But, you know, it's... The combination is really special. I think I love roles that have room for all of it. Right.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
And that's what I love so much about her is that... The comedy plays so well because it's just truth, and underneath it is a very real person with very real insecurities and fears and things, and it just gets to live there. So hopefully both, and if I'm lucky, both in one. Yeah.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Oh, thank you. Thank you. I really feel like I found my lifelong music video collaborator in Christian Breslauer, who I just started working with for the Eternal Sunshine era. He did Yes And, he did We Can't Be Friends, he did The Boy's Mind, he did all of those things. And not that you have any idea what those are, but I just plan on continuing with him forever.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
When there's something to do, it will be with him. I love him. And I love it. It's so collaborative. We speak the same language. We love all the same references. We just kind of were destined to meet. You know when you meet a creative person and you're like, where have you been my whole life? And it's just kind of this cosmic collision.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Holy fuck. Yes. I mean, well, I have different relationships to them both because I feel like with acting, I love to just kind of be... The character and go away and not have, like, I don't want to know what the playback looks like. I don't want to know or be aware of what my face is doing or my body is doing. I just want it to happen and then hopefully it'll make sense later. Right.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Which is a huge risk. Yeah. I realize I'm saying that, but also, you know, I just don't want to be aware of it because I just want to be honest. And then if I'm judging what I look like or whatever, I won't have the ability to just be a character. And that's my own thing in my head. But with vocal producing, I'm like... It's my favorite thing in the world. So yes, the slidey thingies, of course.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
It's my number one favorite thing to do even more so than singing is vocal production and comping vocals and stacking and vocal arranging. I'm like a huge nerd in that way.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
being able to vocal produce. Literally, that is just a dream. If someone calls me and is like, I want you to record me, I absolutely have done it, will do it, love it, will take that call any day. Actually, wait, I have a fun story. I got to vocal produce some of the Wicked soundtrack. I got to vocal produce Cynthia and some of my stuff too, so that was really cool and such a treat.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
to anyone who questions the live element of the vocals in Defying Gravity, in that second verse, when she's going up the stairs in Defying Gravity, if you solo that vocal, you can hear her little boots on the stairs.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, heaven on earth is being able to sift through a bunch of Cynthia Erivo vocal takes. You know what I mean? Because it's not about finding the good one. It's about finding which perfect, amazing one is the choice that you want.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yes. I saw several videos of that. Yeah.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Oh, yes. I can't believe that that's how I would have ever said anything, ever. And I actually do remember that cast party. That was so funny. And I remember...
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
It was a long time ago.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
He's amazing and he loves you.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I realize you all probably have a hard out of right now. No, no, no. You do. I feel like I'm having tea with the dames and I'm in heaven. No, no, no. It's yours.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
So my best friend, Aaron Simon-Gross, who I actually grew up in Boca with, and he and I auditioned for 13 on the same day together, and we both got cast, which is like never happens crazy. He was playing Archie, which was the character in the show, and he has these spontaneous nosebleeds that are just really fucking... Yeah, but it's the kind from a scary movie. It's not good.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
It's aggressive, and it's not the kind of thing that is like...
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah. You know when you see something and it takes you out of body for a second?
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Because you're not supposed to be happening at all. So he's in the wings waiting for his entrance, and we used to have this cute moment in the opening number where I was on stage, and I would sing one of the lines into the wings, so we would lock eyes and have a cute little moment, and then go back to the choreography.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
And one day, because it was right before his entrance, so I'm like, okay, 13, and I look over to lock eyes with Aaron and do the choreography his way, and then I turn back. And I see him covered in blood, just covered in blood. And I was like, oh my God. And he had to enter and get through his entire first scene.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, he was looking at me like he had no idea what to do. And also his character, he was using crutches in the role, and he couldn't wipe himself.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, they were like, and then when they realized it wasn't a part of the plot at all, that this just like blood-covered man was entering, and then he was singing, and he's like singing, and he's like, there's the cool kids, there's... And he's like singing his first number... spitting blood onto Graham Phillips, who was playing the lead role.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
It was just like the craziest thing, and it never ended.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
There was nothing to do. How? Just keep your distance, right? I had to exit.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Holy fuck. Thank you so much for having me.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I will. Love you guys.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I'm so happy to be here with you guys.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I love you all so much and I love the show so much. I am so happy to be here.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Oh my God, that's so nice. How is everyone? How are you guys?
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I'm good. I'm currently in London, and I just got here, so I'm just, yeah, adjusting to the time.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
No, it's like it's fine. You know, you get to a point where you're just kind of like, whatever. Whatever needs to be will be.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
And then coming back is really fun because then you're a morning person for a while.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, we just got here. So I'm excited.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I mean, I feel really grateful for the balance that I have found. I mean, this whole wicked journey has been quite different for me. And it's been obviously full steam ahead, but it's been so beautiful and so fun.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I really feel like maybe when I was younger and it was like sort of during my first few years as a pop star, I really struggled with boundaries and not being able to say no when I needed to because if I was like running on empty. But I really do feel like I've been able to find a balance and also a team who's really protective and amazing. And I love it.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I really feel like I've thoroughly been able to enjoy this wicked insanity. I feel so present and grateful, and that's been so beautiful.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
There's a lock on the door.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I haven't. I love it. Where does it end? Where does one end?
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yes, second one is done. We haven't seen it yet.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yes, the same time next year. So November 22nd, but next year.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Thank you for telling me. Thank you for having my back.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I mean, I suppose so. I think maybe there will be a little bit of space in the summer. Let it breathe for a second. But it's very exciting. I mean, the response has just been so insanely not what you expect or ever would anticipate ever.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
But you never know. I'm just kidding.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Wait, what weird talk show did we do?
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
It's not you. It was The Boundaries. Remember?
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I'm missing a couple of years. I'm super serious from that time. I'm literally missing a few years.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I think I was 19 when my first single off my first album came out. Or 20. I was either 19 or 20.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, I was... Yeah, I was a total theater nerd. I did Broadway first when I was 14, and then I was acting for a little bit, but I was always simultaneously writing songs and doing music. I just never expected it to kind of take over the way that it sort of did in like, you know, a beautiful way. I just think that there was no way to kind of prepare for that, especially, yeah.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yes, I mean, I was, I am a theater nerd through and through. And, you know, this very insane journey with music kind of took over my life for a very long time. And it was extraordinary, but very challenging and very not what I expected it to be in certain ways, but so beautiful and gratifying in others. And, yeah, it was just crazy because...
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
When I was younger, especially after doing 13 on Broadway, I was kind of like, how cool, I get to be part of the theater community. I can't wait to be like, you know, the understudy for the Thoroughly Modern Milli revival and maybe be in the ensemble on the days when I'm not being the swing.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
And then I'll do music on the side and hopefully someone will listen to it and that can be like a little side thing and hopefully someone will be into it.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I mean, it was life-changing. It was literally life before and after seeing Wicked. My life in two chapters.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I did. I was very spoiled. I can't believe I got to. I saw the original Broadway cast.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I was 10. Was it like 10 years ago? Yeah.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yeah, it was crazy. I mean, it changed my life. I was so obsessed.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
Yes, that's putting it very lightly. I was stalking Mark Platt. I actually was literally in the bushes outside his house. No, I wasn't, but maybe I was. No, I was on tour. I was on the Sweetener tour, and I had... I heard murmurs of, okay, this thing is gearing up to happen. And I told my team, I was like, hey, we're going to have to have a plan. I don't know what to do.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
But if God forbid, if God forbid I'm still on the road when this thing starts happening, we are going to have to like, you know. Refund some tickets. Pay everyone working on the tour. Yes. To just like, you know, here's whatever, go away. I have to figure this out. I have to give my everything to this and I have to start training.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I have to make sure I'm in classes to train my voice every day and with an acting coach every day just to get back into it. And also Glenda requires a whole new skill set that I didn't have a connection to anymore because I was on the road for 10 years. And I was just like, I have to make this my full-time gig. I have to... do everything in my power just to get a chance to earn it.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
I want to make sure that when my audition, if I get an audition, that I'm fucking ready. Did they make you audition? Yeah, I mean, of course it's wicked. Of course it's wicked.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
MFM Minisode 421
On your phone? I mean, it was such a, it was a thorough experience as it should be. I mean, I think, you know, there's just so much that is required of Glinda that's so different from what I usually do.