Billie Eilish interviewed Ariana Grande last night after a screening of Wicked at the Directors Guild of America’s theater in Los Angeles. The Q&A, held for Academy and guild members, saw the singers sharing their mutual fandom.
“My team was like: Who would be a cool person to do this? Who’s your dream person?” Grande explaining of the pairing (via Variety). “I was like, Billie, [but] she’s not gonna say yes. She’s too busy. She’s too fabulous. It’s too much. But she said yes, and I was like, ‘Oh, shit.’ Now I’m so nervous.”
Eilish confirmed that she similarly admires Grande. “I love this girl so much and I love this movie so much and I love you,” she said. “And I still use the YouTube channel that… has been my personal channel since I was about 11. I was just in the car telling my mom that you can find old interviews of you from like 2014 with Billie Eilish comments like, ‘I’m Team Ari.’ I didn’t realize that they were still up, but there’s many things where I commented like, ‘God, I just love Ariana so much.’”
She added, “I used to call you Ari to my brother, and he’d be like, ‘Don’t call her Ari, you don’t know her!’”
During the interview, Eilish asked about Grande’s audition process for Wicked, which was intense. “I went in for my first audition, and I think at the time they weren’t sure what part I would sing or be right for,” Grande said. “So they did have me sing four songs: ‘No One Mourns the Wicked,’ ‘Popular,’ ‘Wizard and I’ and ‘Defying Gravity.’ But, like, I was in all pink. It was obvious! No one was hiding anything. I just think that they were very thorough, so they had me do all of those multiple times. And then I had my callback, which had scenes, and we did dialogue and more Glinda songs — just for Glinda at that point.”
She continued, “My final chemistry test was three hours, and I was a basket case by the end. And I remember I was like, ‘I’ve left everything else in this room. You know what, I’m gonna stick my lashes on the mirror.’ And I just left them because they were poking up, because I’ve been crying so much. It was long and thorough — as it should have been, because these roles have to be earned. And we worked really hard and it was the most gratifying work ever. And, yeah, it’s like, the right thing won’t pass you by, you know?”
“You earned it, dude,” Eilish replied. Eilish added, “I remember finding out that you got the job through the Internet and I was like, ‘Fuck yeah, that’s so sick, she’s wanted that for so long.’ I didn’t even know you then, at all. I was so excited.”
Grande also described her vocal preparation process, noting that “just like any other muscles in your body, your vocal cords just get used to what they’re trained slowly and surely and taught to do.” Eilish told Grande that she was initially skeptical when she heard most of the film’s singing was done live on the set.
“I got into an argument before I’d seen the movie,” Eilish said, “because I saw the trailer and I was like, ‘Somebody said they’re singing live. What are [they] talking about? There’s just absolutely no way that they’re singing live.’ And I got scolded, and my friend was like, ‘No, no, dude. They are singing live and it’s amazing.’”
Later, Grande acknowledged of the Q&A, “This is so much fun. I’m very content.” Eilish replied, “OK, a few more songs. And then we go, because we’re only allowed a few more songs. Did I say songs? Oh my God. I meant questions. I’m on tour, you guys. I’m used to saying that. Sorry.”
“We do need to do that, though,” Grande replied, resulting in a few audience members calling for the duo to sing an impromptu duet. The pair refused to sing in the moment, but Eilish confirmed, “I would love to do that.”
Grande is nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Wicked, while her co-star Cynthia Erivo is nominated for Best Actress. A sequel to Wicked, Wicked: For Good, is set for released on Nov. 21. Eilish and her brother Finneas won the Oscar for Best Original Song for Barbie tune “What Was I Made For,” accepting the award onstage from Grande and Erivo.
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