Since her very earliest days in the spotlight, Ariana Grande has faced tons of scrutiny over the sound of her speaking voice. Like, there are literally “Ariana Grande voice evolution” videos on YouTube with over a million views — it’s that serious.
For the past decade or so, she’s been accused of speaking in different pitches and accents, including an apparent “Blaccent” at one point during her peak pop-star era.
However, the scrutiny surrounding Ari’s voice really ramped up a few years ago after she began playing Glinda in the Wicked movies, at which point she noticeably began speaking in a higher-pitched voice in videos and interviews.
Her post-Wicked speaking voice has been compared to a transatlantic accent, which is a blend of English and American accents previously used by actors in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Ariana — who is still known to typically speak like this today — has previously addressed accusations that she’s been putting on a “fake” accent, explaining that she changes her “vocal placement” to help “preserve” her vocal cords for singing and speaking.
“It’s just something that’s healthy for the voice. It’s just basically pitching your voice up a tiny bit. It’s just a normal thing for vocalists,” she said on the SmartLess podcast last year, responding to comments about her “real voice.” “People are like, ‘That’s not her natural voice.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, it is actually, but it’s just a little higher.’ All of it is natural.”
Well, if you’re someone who’s missed hearing Ari’s deeper speaking voice, I have some good news for you…
In November, fans will see Ari return to acting in Focker-In-Law, the latest Meet the Parents sequel, which also stars Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller. Ari plays the titular in-law, Olivia Jones, who is marrying into the Focker family — and, based on the brand-new trailer, it sounds like she’s tapped into some of her deeper tones for the role.
After the trailer dropped yesterday, one fan tweeted: “Genuinely gasped hearing her speak without the Glinda voice for the first time in 3 years.”
“her normal speaking voice is so tea oh how i’ve missed her,” echoed someone else, while another user joked that she “put some bass” into her speech. “THE REAL VOICE IM GAGGING,” one excited user commented.
I can’t lie, I still hear the “Glinda voice” a little…but there’s no doubt that she taps into her “old voice” when she delivers the line: “Would you like to ask me some questions, Greg?” Yep, that’s 2020 Ariana all over.