In particular, I know I’m not the only one who’s become obsessed with Ariana Grande’s performance as Glinda. There’s a reason she’s been : Ariana didn’t just PLAY Glinda. She WAS Glinda.
It’s no wonder Ariana was so perfect for the part — Glinda has been in the cards for her since she was a little kid. Like, there’s a shocking number of Wicked-related moments in Ariana’s past.
It’s so glaringly obvious this was written in the stars for Ariana, and the internet is now Ariana “manifested” the role. So let’s go through some of the most notable examples, shall we?
1.
Ariana went to see the original Wicked on Broadway at age 7 or 8. She met Kristin Chenoweth at the show, who is (of course) the original Glinda, and baby Ariana sang “Popular” to her.
3.
Ariana called Glinda her in a 2011 tweet, after seeing Wicked on Broadway again.
4.
And in 2013, Ariana released a song with MIKA called “Popular Song,” which samples “Popular” from Wicked.
5.
We all remember Ariana played Cat Valentine on — but you might not recall that she actually dressed as Dorothy on the 2013 episode “April Fools’ Blank.”
6.
And in a with Kidd Kraddick, when asked if she was more Elphaba or Glinda, Ariana replied that she was “Glinda, for sure,” without any hesitation. She proceeded to play a “Wicked singing trivia” game.
8.
…and she also sang the same song at the Wicked 15th Anniversary Concert on NBC in 2018.
9.
In 2018 on the , Ariana said she’d “do anything” to be in Wicked, and gushed over how much she loves it. “Whenever I’m nervous about anything, I listen front to back to Wicked,” she said.
10.
She did a whole photoshoot dressed as Dorothy for makeup artist ‘ book, “Glitter and Glam,” in 2011…
11.
…and attended the premiere of Wicked at The Pantages Theatre in Hollywood that same year.
12.
Ariana posted a video of herself singing “For Good” in 2018.
13.
And before that, she also sung a portion of “Popular” in a with fellow Victorious actress Liz Gilles in 2010.
14.
In 2016, she posted a “No One Mourns the Wicked” to her social media — the song Ari would go on to open the Wicked movie with eight years later.
15.
Meanwhile back in 2009, she joined her brother and Miranda Sings (yes), on stage to sing the Wicked duet “As Long As You’re Mine.”
16.
When Ariana was judge on The Voice in 2021, she had to pick a special “battle advisor” for a few episodes — so she chose none other than OG Glinda Kristin Chenoweth to help her coach.
17.
And the reason she partnered with her? They were co-stars in Live!, where Ariana revealed she from watching Kristin work — “I learned everything from watching this woman.” (Which tbh, we can tell after watching Wicked, that’s for sure).
18.
In a very Ariana posted in 2007 (of her and her friend dancing to “Ain’t No Other Man” by Christina Aguilera), you can see a framed Wicked poster in the background!
19.
And on in 2017, she sang “What Is This Feeling” with Seth MacFarlane (complete with green skin and all!).
Anyway, in case you didn’t already worship Ariana as Glinda, there you go — it was meant to be. That, or she was just obsessed. Either way, we love to see it!
Any thoughts on Ariana’s performance as Glinda in Wicked, or all these *manifestations*? Tell us in the comments below. And make sure you follow BuzzFeed Canada on and for more!
Credit: buzzfeed.com
