MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

Ariana Grande fans were puzzled after her voice weirdly changed mid-interview: "She sounds so..."

During a podcast interview, Ariana Grande’s voice suddenly shifted, leaving fans completely confused and sparking a heated online debate

Ariana Grande has once again found herself at the center of internet discourse, but this time it’s not about her music, her role in the 'Wicked' movie, or even her personal life—it’s about her voice. Fans were left baffled after the singer’s vocal register seemingly shifted mid-interview during an appearance on the 'Podcrushed' podcast. The unexpected switch ignited a wave of reactions online, with many questioning why her voice changes so drastically in different settings. During the podcast, Grande, who was discussing her experience playing Glinda in 'Wicked', initially spoke in a noticeably lower register. However, at one point, her voice suddenly shifted to a much higher pitch, a tone that longtime fans are more accustomed to hearing.

The abrupt transition caught the attention of many listeners, leading to social media buzzing with reactions. As per Unilad, one user wrote, "Literally why does she do this." In agreement, another user remarked, "I knew she did this but to hear it in one setting made it more jarring I LOVE her." Someone else joked, "This is me talking to my coworkers then switching to customers." Another user echoed a similar sentiment, "Isn't she all about her vocal cords health? She always talk[s] about it." Reddit users had a lot to say about this. One Reddit user wrote, “I'm asking here as there are people with much more knowledge than me, but right now I'm just not buying it. I feel like it's true to the extent that speaking raspily low like she did in some interviews can be really bad for the voice and damaging, but I don't feel as if you need to raise your voice THAT MUCH. I feel like it's just playing up for her Glinda persona now.” Another said, "She sounds surreal...Her real voice is SO cute tho I like it sm better."

Another user chimed in, “I knew a professional singer, male, who did exactly this. It was exaggerated to a ridiculous degree as even when he spoke into a microphone it was very quiet and so soft textured it was difficult to understand.” In agreement, one Reddit user remarked, “Sometimes when you’re trained to talk in a certain way especially for a movie role that shoots for a WHILE you get stuck in it. I’m pretty sure from the isolated vocals I’ve heard (sorry I’m an arianator) that her inspiration was Kristen Chenoweth and I also know she trained a lot vocally for this role probably with her in mind. So I just think she’s stuck in that voice right now (listen to how Kristen Chenoweth talks) like how Austin Butler was stuck talking like Elvis after he played that role and trained a lot to sound like him.”

Grande herself has addressed the ongoing conversation. She remarked, "I intentionally change my vocal placement (high / low) often depending on how much singing i’m doing. I’ve always done this BYE." In an interview with Zach Sang, she noted, “I trained every day with Nancy [Banks] and with Eric [Vetro] to transform my voice, even — like, my singing voice — everything about me, I had to deconstruct to prove to them I could handle taking on this other person.”

Grande also pointed out the double standards that exist in the entertainment industry. She noted, "There is a part of the world that isn’t familiar with what it takes to transform your voice, whether it’s singing or taking on a different dialect for a role or doing a character voice for something. When it’s a male actor that does it, it’s acclaimed. There are definitely jokes that are made as well, but it’s always after being led with praise: ‘Oh, wow, he was so lost in the role.’ And that’s just a part of the job, really.” As per NPR, in another interview, she asserted, “And it's so funny 'cause 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.”