"Ariana Grande"

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Speaker 1 Hey, whoa, hi. Hey, what are you doing? Are you busy right now? Because I'd love to do a podcast for you.
Are you free? What are we doing? I think we're going to be doing it.

Speaker 1 Let's call Will really quick. I think it would be better with three.

Speaker 1 Will?

Speaker 1 Hello. You've reached the messaging of Will our name.
Gosh, we missed them. Feel free to start an all-new Smartless.

Speaker 1 Smart.

Speaker 1 Smart.

Speaker 1 Smart.

Speaker 1 You know, I've been thinking about

Speaker 1 going, not changing, it's not really changing my name, but I'm thinking about just going with just will

Speaker 1 like kind of like share the words just will just and will no just will yeah but just will would be clearer like too close to it's too close to just jack um from that show

Speaker 1 i'm not familiar me neither um

Speaker 1 i don't know what the show but so so nobody and nobody's got nobody picked will yet just the no i'm just gonna go will like you know you know how like brazilian soccer players just go with like pepe or whatever on the back of their so I just want to do that.

Speaker 1 You know what to forever? I want to say yeah, Sean. You don't know what the hell he says.
No, I don't. But you know what took me forever to realize? You remember that? Oh, hang on.

Speaker 1 Can I have a crack at this? Because the list is long. That the world might not be flat? No.
That

Speaker 1 Will period I period M period. You know, the rapper, singer, guy, whatever he is.
Will I. Yeah, Will I.
M? Yeah. That is William, you stupid bastard.
I didn't realize that. You're kidding.

Speaker 1 You're kidding. I swear to God, till like a year ago, it was like, I looked at it.
I was like, oh, it's William. When you say you didn't realize,

Speaker 1 how is that possible? Well, nothing's going to beat Beatles, right? No, that'd be

Speaker 1 a big shock to know. Lots of people are on my side, guys.
Lots of people on my side.

Speaker 1 I think Willie, Will Am beats Beatles. Yeah.
Will, I like that the hair is still growing.

Speaker 1 You got a real Carol Brady kick out on the back. I love it.

Speaker 1 Are you going to, what are we going to do with it? Have you, have you

Speaker 1 settled on what the look's going to be for the big film?

Speaker 1 No, I mean, I think you're kind of looking at it. Am I looking at it? All right.

Speaker 1 Are you going to put gel in it?

Speaker 1 Well, it's going to be all over the place, and it's going to be, you know,

Speaker 1 this is going to be what it is, man. You know, I'm kind of freewheeling.
You know, me. You're freewheeling.

Speaker 1 Free willing again. Did you guys know anything about me?

Speaker 1 You're talking to Will, simply. Just Will.
Yeah, he's really easygoing and freewheeling. Free.

Speaker 1 You know, Scotty and I, I said to Jay, we missed you last week, Will. I know, I know.

Speaker 1 How was it? It was fun. It was really small.
There was some good laugh. It was plenty of oxygen for everyone with you not there.

Speaker 1 Wow. This guy.
And our audience will agree.

Speaker 1 No, we did. Now you were still in town or you had just left Sunday?

Speaker 1 I left Sunday night. Yeah.
Yeah. And now you're in New York and you're there for the haul, for the long haul.
You're not going to come back.

Speaker 1 I'm going to come back in a couple of weeks for a weekend.

Speaker 1 Yeah. Grab some toiletries.

Speaker 1 Grab a few misplaced items. Yeah.
Some sundries.

Speaker 1 And then, yeah, no, no, go back and see the kids. And

Speaker 1 then they're going to come out here. It's going to be great.
So you got the whisper booth all set up, don't you? Look at that. Yeah, I got it all set up.

Speaker 1 You're leaving soon. I'm leaving in three weeks, I think.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 I got to start doing some homework, goddammit.

Speaker 1 I've really been putting it off. I'm like that, though.
I just kick it all down the road and then I try it. What do you mean, memorizing lines?

Speaker 1 Yeah, well, just like rereading and rereading the scripts and like I got to figure out my look. You know, I'm playing this St.
Louis weatherman and I'm I think you got it. I think you got it too.

Speaker 1 Yeah. No, hey, don't be default.
No, I've got a

Speaker 1 like it's going to be a mustache and

Speaker 1 maybe parting the hair, but I need some glasses, but I don't want to get too anchorman with it, you know?

Speaker 1 Sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You don't want it to be a cartoon of caricature. You know, the other thing, JB, if you do happen to.
Guys, that's my ride.

Speaker 1 If you do happen to, by the way, our guest is in Times Square. I'm so excited for this.

Speaker 1 I'd be selling pretzels.

Speaker 1 JB, I will say this, and we can get your guest, but if you do go the parted, I'm excited if you go parted because it'll mean you're finally put like a comb or a brush in your hair.

Speaker 1 Exciting for you. I might actually blow dry it too.
Wait, are you going to look so terrible? It's going to be gigantic. It's going to be like that.

Speaker 1 Wait, I want to tell you, Willie, that I said to Jay on Sunday, we got a turntable, Scotty and I, for Christmas. You know, did I turnt? Two turntables and a microphone.
No. Dude, each too.

Speaker 1 Did I tell you? I got a stack of wax here that I'm just looking to put on somewhere. No, seriously, it's so fun.
We put it on at night and we just listen to like soundtracks or whatever.

Speaker 1 Like, I haven't listened to vinyl since I was a.

Speaker 1 So even when you're on vinyl, you're listening to Star Wars? Yeah.

Speaker 1 And even when you're on a record,

Speaker 1 he's got a vinyl of the Star Trek and Star Wars soundtracks. Hey, Sean, when TikTok went dark, did you and Scotty make your final promises to each other?

Speaker 1 Can you imagine Sean and Scotty putting on a record, putting the needle down the record and just dancing around the

Speaker 1 house there just like they don't care? They're not dancing. They're going like, it's the part.
Remember when Elliot gets on his bike and he puts him in the basket? Do a dance for that.

Speaker 1 Do a dance for that.

Speaker 1 This is when he comes and he's in the closet and he puts his finger out and he says, E.T. Wongoho.
Do you remember that? All right. And he's got to shake your hands.

Speaker 1 Today.

Speaker 1 Today. We've got a guest.
who's just starting to get a little momentum in show business. We're excited to have her here at the beginning.

Speaker 1 So far, she's off to a good start, though, with the singing stuff. She's sold over 90 million records.
She's got 50 billion streams and she's got a couple of Grammys. What are you talking about?

Speaker 1 Yeah, with the acting, latest film's just gone past 700 mil.

Speaker 1 What? She happens to be the seventh most followed person on Instagram with 700 or sorry, 376 million followers. And she's got a cosmetic line and fragrance line that's earned just over a billion.

Speaker 1 Well, so she's got a little bit of wind at her back. Now she's stopping by for a little advice and encouragement from us geniuses before she officially gets out there and gives it a go.

Speaker 1 Please give an incredible hello to the incredible Ariana Grande. Oh, come on out.

Speaker 1 This is very silly.

Speaker 1 Hi, guys.

Speaker 1 Hi, Ariana.

Speaker 1 Oh, my gosh. This is expensive.
I'm so happy to be here with you guys. I am so happy you said yes.

Speaker 1 Wait, where are you, Ariana? In New York? Big get JB. What did you do? What's the best?

Speaker 1 Very expensive guest right here, guys. So use your time well.

Speaker 2 I love you all so much, and I love the show so much.

Speaker 1 I am

Speaker 1 so happy to be here. It's very nice to say that.
Even for a podcast, you look gorgeous. I mean, even just for showing up.
Thank you. Yeah,

Speaker 1 you didn't have to.

Speaker 2 Oh, my God. It's so nice.

Speaker 2 How is everyone? How are you guys? Everyone is good.

Speaker 1 We're all good. We're all really good.
How are you is more to the point. My gosh, you got so much going on.
How are you? Yeah.

Speaker 2 I'm good. I'm currently in London, and I just got here.
So I'm just, yeah, adjusting to the time.

Speaker 1 Yeah, the jet lag's no good.

Speaker 2 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, we'll be.

Speaker 1 I feel like it's worse coming back, right? It's worse coming back to the states. No, no, from LA to London or anywhere in Europe is the worst on the planet, I think.

Speaker 2 And then coming back is really fun because then you're a morning person for a while.

Speaker 1 Yeah. Right, right, right.
I love that. Did you just get in there today?

Speaker 2 Yeah, we just got here. So I'm excited.
Right.

Speaker 1 It's like a very fun way to start the trip. But let's start there.
So like, you're okay with the amount of

Speaker 1 things you take on and the way you fill your day. I mean,

Speaker 1 or I mean, I guess I should put that in the form of a question. Are you okay with it?

Speaker 1 How much time do you sort of allocate to just hanging out?

Speaker 2 I mean, I feel really grateful for the balance that I have found.

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 I really feel like maybe when I was younger and it was like like sort of during my first few years as a pop star, I really struggled with boundaries and

Speaker 2 not being able to say no when I needed to because if I was like running on MD, but I really do feel like I've been able to find a balance and also like a team who's really protective and amazing.

Speaker 2 And

Speaker 2 I love it. 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.

Speaker 1 Well, Sean, Sean, you had a tough time with boundaries when you first were introduced to, right, to Oreos.

Speaker 1 Like you.

Speaker 1 I still do. I have to have them locked away.
There's a lock on the door. There's a lock on the door.
So dumb. So dumb.
So dumb. So dumb.
Oh, there's lots of dumb here. Oh, where do we get to it?

Speaker 1 Ariana, what if this was your, what if this was your press junket for this sequel to Wicked right now? You just started down.

Speaker 2 I love it.

Speaker 2 Where does it end? Where does one end in my life?

Speaker 1 You'd be like, why is it so low rent?

Speaker 1 We love, by the way, we love Wicca. We love the great Mark Platt.
He's a friend, a long time friend. Love Mark and all the people involved with it.
And you guys did an amazing job. Incredible.

Speaker 1 Tears, real tears in my eyes. And

Speaker 1 you've already shot the second one, right?

Speaker 2 Yes. Second one is done.
We haven't seen it yet.

Speaker 1 Really? It's done. Yeah.

Speaker 1 And it comes out maybe like this time next year? I have seen it.

Speaker 2 Yes, the same time next year. So November 22nd, but next year.

Speaker 1 I have seen it. and he's got no.
It's not good. Ariana, you're barely even in.
All your stuff can be reshot. I don't want you to worry about it.
Okay, we have to go to the next one.

Speaker 1 Thank you for telling me. Thank you for having my back.
My God. So then you're set to start that junket like in a few months.

Speaker 2 I mean, I suppose so. I think maybe there will be a little bit of space in the summer.

Speaker 2 Let it breathe for a second.

Speaker 2 It's very exciting. I mean, the response has just been so insanely not what you expect or ever would.
I know. Could you imagine

Speaker 1 if it was just a big turd and you already, you had the second one already ready to go and you just knew you had to go. Well, that could still happen.

Speaker 2 God forbid, but you know, you never know. I'm just kidding.

Speaker 1 I've done that. I'm sure we all have.
We've got to talk about something that just didn't work. Wait, so Ariana, the last time I saw you was Hairspray Live.
Yes.

Speaker 1 And we would share a trailer, and you told me the funniest stories that I cannot repeat. We would giggle.
Wait, wait, wait. Go back, go back.
So the last time we saw each other, and

Speaker 1 try not to slur your way through your words, Sean.

Speaker 1 Was where?

Speaker 1 hairspray live on nbc hairspray live okay

Speaker 1 and we were you were sharing a uh a a a single trailer or we were in a double banger no the hair and makeup hair and makeup oh gotcha okay so we've chairman so you did i didn't even know you used to do her hair and makeup so talk a little bit about that oh my goodness were you just doing a blowout i think she looked so good

Speaker 1 are you we did it we did a weird talk show in the uk like 10 years ago do you remember that to get at the same day wait no yeah what wait what weird talk show did we do? It was called. Chatty Man.

Speaker 1 Yes. Yeah,

Speaker 1 with the drink, with the drink cart. And like, I'm not sure.
Oh, my God, it's light.

Speaker 2 It's back.

Speaker 2 It's not you. It was the boundaries.
Remember?

Speaker 1 Maybe. Was it, was there boundaries?

Speaker 2 It was just me. It was, I'm missing a couple of years.
I'm super serious from that time. I'm literally missing a few years.

Speaker 1 You were, well, so let me remind you. It was.
Disgraceful, your behavior.

Speaker 1 No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You were great.
Me. You were great, but no, no, you were great.
Okay, good. You were great.
But what I wanted to...

Speaker 1 So, but we met at the time and you were,

Speaker 1 how old were you when you first released your first record

Speaker 1 as a pop star?

Speaker 2 I think I was 19

Speaker 2 when my like first single off my first album came out or 20. I was either 19 or 20.

Speaker 1 And had you been, you, had you been making music like since you were a kid and then that was the first time. She was in the musical 13 up there.

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 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 there was no way to kind of prepare for that, especially, yeah.

Speaker 1 So you were a theater, you were a theater nerd and then you were like, oh, wait a second, the world wants me to be a pop star, and you just kind of went that way for a while.

Speaker 2 Yes, I mean, where I was, was, I am a theater nerd through and through.

Speaker 2 And, you know, this very insane journey with music kind of took over my life for a very long time. And

Speaker 2 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

Speaker 2 yeah, it was just crazy because

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 I can't wait to be like, you know, the understudy for the thoroughly modern Millie Revival and maybe be in the ensemble on the days when I'm not being the swing.

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 1 These are all things that are on Sean. Yeah, they're all on Sean's vision board.
You just named everything that's on his vision board. Well, then speaking of theater then,

Speaker 2 what musical theater was there what was it like the first time you saw Wicked on on Broadway was that I mean it was life-changing it was literally life before and after seeing Wicked my life in two chapters you seen it with Adina Menzel and Chanoith I did I was very spoiled I can't believe I got to I saw it with the original Broadway cast when was it and I was 10 it was in yeah 20 years ago 20 years ago 21 21 years ago wow and crazy yeah it was crazy I mean it changed my life I was so obsessed.

Speaker 1 And it's going to be so surreal. Like, yeah, seeing that.
And then now you're in it. Like, Glinda, let's watch.
So then, can I ask then,

Speaker 1 did you hear that they were making a movie of Wicked and you threw your hat in the ring?

Speaker 2 Yes, I, that's putting it very lightly.

Speaker 2 I was stalking Mark Platt. Like, I actually was like literally in the bushes outside his house.
No, but I wasn't, but maybe I was. But

Speaker 2 no, I was on tour. I was on the sweetener tour and I had

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 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,

Speaker 2 you know, refund some tickets. Pay everyone working on the tour to just like, you know, here's what you, whatever, go away.
I have to figure this out.

Speaker 2 I have to, I have to give my everything to this and I have to start training.

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 I have to do everything in my power just to get a chance to earn it. I want to make sure that when my audition, if I get an audition, that I'm fucking ready with everything.

Speaker 1 I'm going to make you audition.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, of course it's wicked. Of course it's wicked.

Speaker 1 Would you have to do like a self-tape or did you go in

Speaker 1 person?

Speaker 1 You go in.

Speaker 2 I mean, it was such a, it was a thorough

Speaker 2 experience as it should be. I mean, I think, you know,

Speaker 2 there's just so much that is required of Glinda that's so different from what I used to do.

Speaker 1 I am Ariana. I'm five foot six.
I'm from New York. And this is my first.

Speaker 2 Wow, five's six. Do I present five six? I wish.
Oh my God. Wow.

Speaker 1 Wait a minute.

Speaker 1 What's amazing? You're 5'6 ⁇ , presenting.

Speaker 2 5'6 presenting. No.

Speaker 1 What's amazing, though, about what you just said about having to audition and show up and show your.

Speaker 1 I was just blown. Everybody knows you can sing and sing really well.
Thank you. But to be able to legit sing like that, like you, like,

Speaker 1 we both go, we both see Eric Vitro. Eric taught me how to sing and he coaches you and he's

Speaker 1 the greatest vocal coach ever.

Speaker 2 In the world, yeah.

Speaker 1 Yes. And to watch you, like, I was talking to Jason and Will about the athleticism of your voice and Cynthia's voice and like what that requires.
I'm watching you on screen, like

Speaker 1 breathing with you.

Speaker 1 And then the legit like diaphragm, like the power you have is so

Speaker 1 incredible. And

Speaker 1 you can't teach it, you know? Thank you. That is pretty good.
Yeah. Yeah.
You just think of something, Sean. Is it Arianne?

Speaker 1 Is there the, when you're dancing and singing at the same time, do you constantly have to monitor

Speaker 1 not running out of breath because you're dancing? Like you need the breath for singing, but you also need to, you're like, you're exercising with dancing, too. Is that a challenge?

Speaker 2 Well, yeah, I thought

Speaker 2 it's just kind of something that you build up to. So there's a lot of physical training.

Speaker 2 There's like, you know, whatever you can do, cardio Pilates every morning, then before the rehearsals, hopefully it feels like a little easier.

Speaker 2 Like the more you do ahead of it, the more it's easier to, you know, singing on the side.

Speaker 1 Do you sing on the treadmill to get used to it? Sometimes, yeah. Yeah, I do.
On the the treadmill.

Speaker 1 You know, I was thinking that like all that training that you did, again, you started in the theater and then you kind of, you know, became this huge pop star, but maintained that love for theater.

Speaker 1 I wonder if, and I'm asking, I guess, being on tour and singing and performing in front of big, huge audiences must have been all those years, turns out was maybe great preparation, was it?

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 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, at that, you know, it's very demanding and then traveling on a dry bus or in a dry plane or whatever it is.

Speaker 2 And the only reason I can keep up with that, I credit to being on Broadway. So it goes back and forth, kind of.

Speaker 2 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 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

Speaker 2 yeah it's 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 it trained me to be able to do the singing that I was doing and then it went back and forth, I suppose.

Speaker 1 And forgive the term legit because it's all legit. Even pop singing is legit.

Speaker 2 No,

Speaker 2 I know.

Speaker 1 You know what I mean. So

Speaker 1 do you want to do more of that? Because I'd never seen you do that until Wicked. I'd never seen you sing legit like that.

Speaker 2 Well, you know, it felt really wonderful to kind of have a little surprise. And so it was really special for me.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 And we will be right back.

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Speaker 1 And now back to the show.

Speaker 1 Backing up a little bit,

Speaker 1 the start of your career was great. So you do like this big musical on Broadway.

Speaker 1 You start doing some acting

Speaker 1 and that really takes off as far as

Speaker 1 kid success goes. Like you're killing it because you're on a big series, I think on Nickelodeon, perhaps.

Speaker 1 And all the while you're thinking and dreaming and trying for some singing as well. And that's really the passion.

Speaker 1 And your team is probably, I'm assuming, kind of of supportive yes but not really sure well should we throw the baby out with the bathwater can we do both like what was the thing in singing what was the big success that gave you comfort and your team comfort that you could kind of transition away from acting a little bit more and really pursue this musical career well I think it just kind of I followed it in a way yeah because you know I was the whole time I was cat on Nickelodeon, I was also writing like pop R B music on the side.

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 And I

Speaker 2 remember there was a blurry time when Nickelodeon kind of wanted the music that I was writing to potentially be for the show.

Speaker 2 So there was a moment where I actually like put out a song with a red hair and it was very like kind of in the Kat Valentine mindset because I didn't know if I was supposed to be myself yet or not.

Speaker 2 And then

Speaker 2 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 gonna love you as you with brown hair, singing RB-inspired pop.

Speaker 2 And, you know, just fucking wing it and put that out.

Speaker 2 And

Speaker 2 I did. And

Speaker 2 it was really cool.

Speaker 2 It was cool to see the people not

Speaker 2 know the connection or discover that and then realize the connection.

Speaker 1 They accepted you.

Speaker 2 It was just cool. Yeah, it was scary but cool.
And I've learned a lot along the way.

Speaker 2 It's weird.

Speaker 1 What you've done, and again, like you've

Speaker 1 done so much in this, you know, in the music space and the acting space and the combo with the musicals.

Speaker 1 And now, as Jason said when he introded you, you're getting into other businesses and cosmetics, I guess, and a lot of other other things. Like you're taking on a lot of,

Speaker 1 are those other things giving you that same,

Speaker 1 are you getting that same sort of like

Speaker 1 hunger for success in those other areas? Are you finding them rewarding getting into business and doing stuff like that? Has that been a fun experience?

Speaker 2 It's definitely been a fun experience. And I definitely love creating in all capacities and storytelling in any capacity.

Speaker 2 I really do love

Speaker 2 my

Speaker 2 fragrance and my beauty brand, and that stuff is like it's really fun.

Speaker 2 And I think it's a totally different part of my brain. I, my mom is a CEO, and she's very much a business person.

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 I enjoy creating, but I think obviously my loves of my life are acting in music. It's like not even a comparison.

Speaker 2 I feel grateful for like every area in which I can be a creative person who like makes stuff, but

Speaker 2 it's not necessarily the same, but it's something I love very much.

Speaker 1 You know, when you said earlier about

Speaker 1 with the music, you weren't really sure if you were allowed to be you. And

Speaker 1 this is sort of a weird question, but like with all of the success that you are having and have had in all of these different areas, all of those things can be really affecting on

Speaker 1 who you are, obviously to the public, but really who you are internally, because they can kind of pull you and push you into areas of yourself you would like to be or areas that you really didn't think that you were or at least the perception of you.

Speaker 1 So excuse me, how are you managing keeping a natural sort of progression of who you are, who you would like to be, as far as letting these outside things identify who you are? And

Speaker 1 does that make any sense?

Speaker 2 No, it makes total sense. And it's also something that I have to be so protective of.

Speaker 2 Because I think, like, as an artist,

Speaker 2 the most important thing is authenticity and kind of making the records that I want to make or making.

Speaker 1 Talking about the things, singing about the things that mean something to you, right? Yeah.

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 1 I am, I am, I am.

Speaker 2 I wish there were a group. Oh, my God, a meeting.

Speaker 1 Let's start, just me and you.

Speaker 2 Let's go, please.

Speaker 1 Hang on, one second. So, Jason, pleasing people is something.
Okay,

Speaker 1 how do you phrase this?

Speaker 1 But no, I think that's what I'm saying. That is such a great term.

Speaker 2 But it's true. It's such a thing that we have to fight to protect as people who

Speaker 2 have a connection with

Speaker 2 our listeners, our fans, and also remaining true to ourselves and what's in our hearts. And I feel like I've been doing a really great job at that recently, but it's just such a

Speaker 2 hard line to walk. It's like, no, I'm going to write the songs I want to write.
I have to make the album that I want to make, and I have to

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 1 No, that's great. You know,

Speaker 1 I was thinking too, like, totally by the way exact same person i'm long-winded i'm like so long-winded sorry no same no that's what i'm here for no yeah um and we're gonna cut all of it out so

Speaker 1 yeah kidding my whole just my whole presence cut the whole presence no no get ready sorry he's gonna ask you questions so get ready think of your favorite colors right now go ahead

Speaker 1 or something something weird happening in the color something weird happened in the theater go yeah anybody ever get lippy in the audience i could talk to you for 17 000 hours about that go ahead check then do it i could no ariana like in the back of your head get like a great theater story ready because I love those, like things that go wrong.

Speaker 1 Like I have so many of them.

Speaker 1 But

Speaker 1 I did it anyway. I have.
Well, you get it ready. So

Speaker 1 I want to talk about like getting, do you have a, what is it like with the, how do you handle the ups and downs of being, I hate saying this, but relevant.

Speaker 1 Because for example, like Taylor Swift, like

Speaker 1 I don't remember anybody talking about her five, six, seven, eight, nine years ago. I mean, sure, she had many, many fans and she was very famous and popular, but she wasn't like she is now.

Speaker 1 And it goes up and down and up and down for everybody in this entire entertainment business.

Speaker 1 And so for me, I've always been a huge fan of yours, but wicked really like, oh my God, there's Ariana Grande again.

Speaker 1 And everything.

Speaker 1 And it's not that people didn't think that when you had an album come out or a tour come out, but the ups and downs where you're, when you're quiet, there's like, how do you, yeah, there's those spikes.

Speaker 1 How do you handle or what do you do during the low spikes?

Speaker 2 I don't know. I mean, I try not to look at spikes or

Speaker 2 for them or monitor them or like.

Speaker 2 I kind of try to, I think I'm a person who like wasn't meant to be

Speaker 2 famous, but I love the art of making and

Speaker 2 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

Speaker 1 I can, yeah.

Speaker 2 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 not not, I would go away.

Speaker 2 I think it's just too scary.

Speaker 1 Yeah, well, you're adding layers to it too, which is really cool. Like you're adding different dimensions to what you do.
So it's like people can't just go like, what is Ariana Grande?

Speaker 1 They're not like

Speaker 1 just a pop story. No, she's an actor.

Speaker 2 That's such a scary thought to even think like, oh, what are they thinking right now?

Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 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.

Speaker 2 But, you know,

Speaker 2 I'm a person who tries to maintain a healthy distance from it because I think it's like the same thing I would tell like a young person who's like, what do you do when you hear like no all the time?

Speaker 2 Those spikes feels like feel like big no's again. It feels like I got a, I didn't get a call back for chitty chitty bang bang and i'm eight years old or something like it's the same thing

Speaker 1 but but as you

Speaker 1 but as you add but as you add those as you add those layers and you have those moments what are the things then now as you kind of look forward and go like okay i've done that like i what are the what are the new targets do you have new targets in yeah how do you define success nowadays yeah yeah exactly how do you find success Oh my goodness.

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 1 I bet it's somewhere around, like, are you able to maintain happiness and calm and peace and harmony each day amidst so much

Speaker 1 complicated, challenging kind of stuff annoying? I suppose it's like,

Speaker 2 yeah, I mean, amen to that. I mean, how can we find that balance, maintain that balance?

Speaker 2 But 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 gonna teach me or feed me.

Speaker 2 I don't know.

Speaker 1 And maybe success is the experience of creating and not the result of.

Speaker 2 Right. Totally.
Maybe it's like

Speaker 1 so.

Speaker 1 Okay.

Speaker 1 Yeah, I mean, it's probably true with anybody on the planet, no matter what industry or occupation they're in, if you can maintain happiness each day, because it's such a, it's such a slippery thing, right?

Speaker 1 But JB, we talk about it all the time, which is this notion of,

Speaker 1 look, we have the benefit, I'm going to say benefit of being a lot older than you are. And I think that

Speaker 1 for me, in the last couple of years, it's been really eye-opening in the sense that I, first of all, I don't measure my personal success is not a reflection of what I do professionally.

Speaker 1 So how I feel is not a reflection of what I do. I've really been able to separate those things up because

Speaker 1 I try as hard as I can to not be at the effect of circumstances. If I'm only happy if it's sunny out, then what the fuck happens when it rains? Then I'm fucked.

Speaker 1 So I got to figure out a way to be happy no matter what. And those are sometimes just the smallest things.

Speaker 1 And family, we all have kids, you know, so it's like my relationship with my kids, my, you know, if my kids are happy, then I'm happy. All that kind of stuff.

Speaker 1 Those are the things that really come to the forefront and become important. My relationship with my friends.
Yeah, stuff you can control.

Speaker 1 Something you can control, but also stuff that's really that's for real important. You know, my relationship with these guys is very important.

Speaker 1 Staying connected, talking about what's going on, all that kind of stuff. And everything else,

Speaker 1 when you kind of right-size all that other stuff, it feels so much better. I don't know if you guys agree, but it does for me.
Sure.

Speaker 1 I fully agree. Yeah.

Speaker 1 And Ariana, I know you didn't ask for this, but

Speaker 1 you have gotten it because

Speaker 1 you are

Speaker 1 seemingly such

Speaker 1 a kind and easily likable, lovable person, not to mention your success, but the youth

Speaker 1 really looks up to you and follows you.

Speaker 1 And so how do you manage that sort of

Speaker 1 responsibility that, again, you didn't sign up for, but you've got it?

Speaker 1 Do you think about that like when you're writing lyrics or when you're taking on roles? Or does is any of that factor in?

Speaker 2 No, I mean yeah I mean it's here's the thing.

Speaker 1 Probably not an effort because you're just naturally sort of a decent person and they're going to follow a good example.

Speaker 2 I mean that's very generous and kind. I just feel like it's a it's kind of an a

Speaker 2 really

Speaker 2 specific and strange thing to

Speaker 2 become a public person at like a really young age and then to have kind of all this normal growth that happens 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

Speaker 2 be human, become more and more human, I think in the face of being dehumanized and objectified, we can just become more and more human, I guess.

Speaker 1 Well, Well, that's interesting.

Speaker 1 Again, it sounds like there's some kind of international incident going on. Yeah,

Speaker 1 is somebody going to? They're going to find you, are you?

Speaker 1 But you bring up a, that must be interesting in a very unique situation

Speaker 1 and something that's been talked about. And obviously, JB was a, Jason was a performer when he was young and grew up in that world as well, in a different way.

Speaker 1 Singing and dancing. Singing and dancing.

Speaker 1 If you wanted Jason to die on on the spot, tell me he's going to sing and dance and he will expire in front of you. Give a toast.

Speaker 1 Well, giving a toast. Yeah, giving a toast.

Speaker 1 But Ariana,

Speaker 1 to go through your 20s with that kind of scrutiny, talk a little bit about that.

Speaker 1 I can't imagine, I think about, you guys, think about all the dumb shit you did in your 20s. And then imagine growing up in this world, in the digital era,

Speaker 1 where everything is, people got an opinion on it. It gets broadcast.
I mean, yeah, people got phones to record you when you're not looking.

Speaker 1 Yeah, it must be really hard to get your head around it and get your heart around it and all of it.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, I'm a very sensitive person. So I can't say it's something that I have done particularly well with.

Speaker 1 Well, that's okay.

Speaker 2 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 what I am so privileged to be able to do.

Speaker 2 Like that has kind of gotten me through it. Every time I kind of experienced that,

Speaker 2 like I

Speaker 2 just kind of had to disconnect, I suppose, for a little 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,

Speaker 2 you know, come talk to the world and come talk to everyone about what the truth is and whatever it it is that I'm experiencing that, whatever, or explain things and overshare, you know,

Speaker 2 for the sake of being understood by a humongous thing of strangers. 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?

Speaker 2 And how do you protect yourself for the sake of being able to continue?

Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 Continue and just to live.

Speaker 1 For what it's worth from the outside, you know, it seems like you've done a fantastic job. I agree with that.
Yeah. You know, I agree with that.
So nice. And speaking of continuing, you know, like.

Speaker 1 Sean does not agree. No, I do.
Sean does not agree about you. I actually texted you.
Ariana, I texted you a bunch of thoughts.

Speaker 1 So,

Speaker 1 no, but speaking of continuing, like you, what I love about you, amongst many things, is your ability to surprise people with choices and things you do.

Speaker 1 So you have, so you go from Broadway, then you go to a pop, be a pop star, and then you're an actress, and then you, you know, do all of these things.

Speaker 1 But one of the things that was so surprising was I don't think anybody knew how unbelievably hilarious you are. Like, like, and your Saturday Night Live, we like died laughing.

Speaker 1 And your Jennifer Coolidge impression, like all of your impressions are so incredible.

Speaker 1 How, where in the world, nobody knew you could do that.

Speaker 1 And so it's like, if we don't know you can do that, imagine the next hundred things you're going to do over the next, you know, 50 years or whatever.

Speaker 1 But I've been so nice. I'm so excited.

Speaker 1 Can you give us a little Jennifer Coolidge? Hey, Jen, what Jennifer, what

Speaker 1 do you think? Did she visit with us real quick? Are we gonna do it?

Speaker 1 Why weren't you on the White Lotus, the sequel? What the White Lotus, Jennifer?

Speaker 2 They fucking killed me off.

Speaker 2 They pushed me off a goddamn boat.

Speaker 1 Oh, my, it's so good.

Speaker 1 I didn't want to die. Nice.

Speaker 2 But I guess I'm dead.

Speaker 1 Oh, my God. That's creepy.
It's bad too.

Speaker 1 Oh,

Speaker 1 good.

Speaker 1 I love her too. That's fucking flat out.
Oh, my God.

Speaker 1 Sean, that must make you want to have talent, right? I mean, just hearing her too.

Speaker 1 All I want is a hot dog. I can't do that.
Jesus Christ.

Speaker 1 Ariana, so that reminds me of the whole voice thing. And like,

Speaker 1 what... What is the weirdest thing you do to prep your voice when you're about to go do a concert?

Speaker 1 Are you like breathing a bunch of like steam? Are you gargling milk? What are you doing? Maple syrup in your mouth.

Speaker 2 Oh my god, never milk.

Speaker 1 What goes on?

Speaker 2 No. No?

Speaker 2 Well, okay, so

Speaker 2 different

Speaker 2 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

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 But that's mostly if you're like fatigued or have a cough or whatever it is. I don't usually,

Speaker 2 I don't know, usually I can jump in. But I think the thing that I do that perplexes people so much and it's just so funny because like if you're a person who uses their voice, you know about this.

Speaker 2 It's like. If I have a long day of press or if I have to sing, I'll place it a little higher.

Speaker 2 So I'll change my vocal placement to kind of preserve.

Speaker 2 But that is just kind of something that's healthy for the voice and whatever. That's something I do.

Speaker 1 Because staying higher gives less stress on it than talking in a lower register.

Speaker 2 Yeah, so it's just like basically

Speaker 2 pitching your voice up a tiny bit.

Speaker 1 I do the same thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 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 because it's

Speaker 2 all of it is natural and it's so funny because i've talked about it a zillion times and people are still like where's your real voice and i'm like well they're all they all are so it's just interesting yeah do you do you sing every day no uh sometimes i mean

Speaker 2 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 the answer is yes i sing in the i sing in the shower all the time yeah i wouldn't dare all the time what do you sing sean i sing the national anthem.

Speaker 1 Can we get a little taste of it? Yeah. Can we have a ton of taste? Go ahead.
Go ahead, Sean. Just a little taste.
The Rocket Red May.

Speaker 1 The water trying to get back. Hit the next one.
I want to go to this. That's how it goes.

Speaker 1 Oh, wait.

Speaker 1 Right. You're welcome.

Speaker 1 So speaking of proof. Wow, wow, wow.

Speaker 1 We'll be right back.

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Speaker 3 The family that vacations together stays together. At least, that was the plan.
Except now, the dastardly desk clerk is saying he can't confirm your connecting rooms. Wait, what?

Speaker 1 That's right, ma'am. You have rooms 201 and 709.

Speaker 2 No, we cannot be five floors away from our kids.

Speaker 1 Eh, the doors have double locks, they'll be fine.

Speaker 3 When you want connecting rooms confirmed before you arrive, it matters where you stay.

Speaker 1 Welcome to Hilton.

Speaker 2 I see your connecting rooms are already confirmed.

Speaker 3 Hilton, for this day.

Speaker 1 And back to the show.

Speaker 1 Speaking of routines,

Speaker 1 walk us through a typical day for you if nothing's on your plate. You have a completely free day.

Speaker 1 Are you one that sleeps in?

Speaker 1 Do you like to read? Are you watching dumb movies?

Speaker 1 If you've got nothing on your plate, plate, what's the day look like?

Speaker 2 Oh, I love this. I love to, 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.

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 You know what I mean? Like a really, a really scary slumber. Like knock, knock.
Is everyone okay?

Speaker 1 Okay. Yeah, I'm good.
I'm good. I'm good.
Otherwise, you're up at the crack of ice.

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 I'm very creative when I'm on the treadmill. So I have ideas and nice and I'll send like crazy voice notes to Christian Breslauer, the director that I work with on all my music videos.
I don't know.

Speaker 2 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. I waited to talk about this.
It gets my brain going.

Speaker 2 I love to get my steps done early, and then I'll hang out.

Speaker 1 I'll either like,

Speaker 1 you're laughing at me already.

Speaker 2 I haven't said anything.

Speaker 1 I like to cook.

Speaker 1 Cook. What do we cook? What's on the treadmill? She likes to cook on the treadmill.

Speaker 2 I like to cook on the treadmill.

Speaker 1 What's your go-to dish?

Speaker 1 What do you cook best?

Speaker 2 Well, I'm vegan, so I like to make,

Speaker 2 yeah,

Speaker 2 I love to roast like

Speaker 2 mushrooms of different variants and make like a vegan pesto and make like, why do you hate mushrooms?

Speaker 1 I like it. So I don't eat mushrooms.
I can eat mushrooms. Well, you're not invited.

Speaker 2 I like sweet potatoes.

Speaker 1 So then you can have pasta as a vegan, right? Yeah, yes.

Speaker 1 Yes. So then you're doing the pesto with the pasta.
Oh, I'm back in.

Speaker 2 Oh, yeah. I'm Italian, so we have to, we have to have that, you know.

Speaker 1 Do you spend any time over there in Italy? No, no, actually.

Speaker 2 I haven't been since I was on tour, and I would love to in a, you know, more meaningful way because I get to, I have more time away.

Speaker 1 Because so much is required of you every day of your life in so many areas. Are you a germ freak? Are you like, I can't get sick? I can't get sick.

Speaker 2 I am a little bit of a germ freak.

Speaker 2 I do

Speaker 2 maintain the mask stuff. Oh, you do? I love a mask.

Speaker 2 I've always been a little bit of a germ person, a little bit of a... like a OCD germ person.

Speaker 2 Not like more with mask than than it is like obsessive compulsive purelling. But like just kind of, I like to stay at the bottom.

Speaker 1 Or like when you go in an elevator, do you take your sleeve and press the button with your sleeve?

Speaker 2 No, that's like, it's not that far, but I also like would do that now that you mentioned it. I'm going to start doing it tomorrow.

Speaker 1 Wait,

Speaker 1 what about bare feet on a hotel floor?

Speaker 2 That's Jason's.

Speaker 2 I can do that, but also.

Speaker 1 I said to Jason,

Speaker 1 we were just on vacation, and he was like, of course, every time you sit down to eat with Jason,

Speaker 1 he sits down, he orders, and then he gets up and he leaves. And he comes back and he's holding his hands like he's going into surgery, like a surgeon does.
He's washed them.

Speaker 1 He's washed them. And then he says, like, oh, did you sit there? You got your hand.
And I go, do you see, is everybody else here? And there were like 20 of us.

Speaker 1 I go, is everybody else falling down on the ground sick? Is everybody going to, do we all get in? You might. Yeah, you might.
Today you might. Yeah.

Speaker 2 That is a scary thing to me with all of the travel and all of the.

Speaker 1 Yeah, it's a lot.

Speaker 1 Now, speaking of masks um i bet you really enjoy the anonymity of walking around with a mask and you you can you can get away with it now because masks are so sort of uh ubiquitous right so yeah so are you have you taken like a big risk with a mask lately like have you done like the like gone to disneyland with a with a mask on yeah or a murder um because you could because you could you could walk into a really

Speaker 2 really huge public place that you probably otherwise wouldn't be able to get through 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.

Speaker 2 That was my next part of my schedule that I was going to tell you on my off day.

Speaker 2 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

Speaker 1 explore, otherwise I'll fall apart.

Speaker 2 I really love it. And then also, also, like, I really do enjoy meeting people.
So like, you know, it's fine and I love it. Like, it's like really nice.

Speaker 2 I met the cutest, the cutest waiter the other day. He was so sweet and he had a little tattoo, a little sweetener tattoo.
It was like made my day. I love meeting people, but I...

Speaker 1 So did you pull the mask down and go, hi.

Speaker 1 Oh, I didn't have a mask on that day.

Speaker 2 Oh, yeah. But no, he was just like, but I do love it.

Speaker 1 But do you give people that treat? Like, you're in a store and like, and you're like, they're helping you. You're like, oh, this person's cute.
And pull the mask down, give them a little treat.

Speaker 1 Like, look who it is. And they're like, oh, my God.

Speaker 2 Well, first of all, I don't always have a mask on.

Speaker 2 I just mean like if I'm like, you know,

Speaker 1 meandering around Broadway.

Speaker 1 It's the best. I'm here now.

Speaker 1 And I was walking around. and I went and got coffee and they asked me to put a mask on.
Oh,

Speaker 1 yeah. Yeah, they said cover.

Speaker 1 They said you don't want to see it.

Speaker 2 That is so, so true.

Speaker 1 All right. So then

Speaker 1 what's next on the dream board for acting?

Speaker 2 Wait, I never got to tell you my thing about the masks.

Speaker 1 I promise.

Speaker 2 And I said, when I said, but 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.

Speaker 2 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.
That was cool.

Speaker 2 And then when the pandemic happened, all of my fans were like, we are prepared.

Speaker 1 We have plenty of these. We have moon masks.

Speaker 2 Yes, thank you. Sorry, that was what I was going to say.
No, I love that.

Speaker 1 Good. I love that.

Speaker 1 Next up is an acting thing or a music thing. What do you think?

Speaker 1 Can you talk about it yet?

Speaker 2 I would love to, I would love to continue acting. That's my, that is my, I feel so connected to to it.
I really would love to find the right thing that challenges me in a new way. I love it so much.

Speaker 2 I think it's,

Speaker 2 I love it for different reasons than music. I mean, it's just so nice to kind of take a break from playing yourself.

Speaker 2 Yeah. 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.

Speaker 2 And I think what a like cool thing it is to find characters that you can kind of jump into and right which which are other parts of yourself that the outer reaches yeah 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 it's yeah comedy versus drama do do you lean one way or the other do you think i love both i think um

Speaker 2 you know glinda had a the the biggest gift of glinda is that there's a little bit of both you know yeah especially we with you know part two there's you get to see more of her and get to know more of her

Speaker 2 and she goes through a little bit more but you know it's I the combination is really special I think I love roles that have room for all of it right 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's it just gets to live there.

Speaker 2 So, I hopefully both, and if I'm lucky, both in one, you know?

Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it's Sean, you've always you, I have always thought that you should try comedy because you know, truly, yeah, give it a shot, buddy.
Yeah, you should.

Speaker 1 I'm gonna really well, you know what? Thank you for the push. Thank you for the push.
Here's an improv class or something just to sort of see that would be a really good exercise for you, actually.

Speaker 1 Well, should we do one now? Give me a place, let's do one now. Give me a place.

Speaker 1 What about the music videos?

Speaker 1 Sorry, go ahead.

Speaker 1 Do you love getting involved with the music videos and the whole design of them and the concept of them and the shooting of it and all that? Or I love the Yes And one.

Speaker 1 Oh, thank you. Thank you.

Speaker 2 I yeah, I really feel like I found my like my like lifelong music video

Speaker 2 collaborator in Christian Brezauer, 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 boisma he did all of those things and not that you have any idea what those are but but you know I just plan on continuing with him forever you know when there's something to do it will be with him I love him

Speaker 2 And I love it. It's so collaborative.
We speak the same language. We love all the same references.
Like we just kind of were destined to meet.

Speaker 2 You know, when you meet like a creative person and you're like, where have you been my whole life? And it's it's just kind of this cosmic collision.

Speaker 1 But, like, so when you're in the recording studio, and let's say you're let's say you're not in the recording area, whatever that's called, but you're back where the, where the, where the board is with all the slidey things on it.

Speaker 1 Do you love sitting there and playing with those buttons?

Speaker 1 Yeah, or do you like it? Or do you like being on a movie? Or do you like being on a movie set and like talking about lenses and or

Speaker 1 the acting stuff, the light, the shiny stuff?

Speaker 1 Do you do you like both of those with those those workplaces

Speaker 1 evenly?

Speaker 2 Yes. I mean, well, I have different relationships to them both because I feel like

Speaker 2 with acting, I love to just kind of be the character and go away and not have like I don't wanna know what the playback looks like.

Speaker 2 I don't wanna know or be aware of what my face is doing or my body's doing. I just want it to happen and then hopefully it'll make sense later.
Right. Um which is a huge risk.

Speaker 2 I realize in saying that, but also, you know, I just don't want to be aware of it because I just want to be honest.

Speaker 2 And then, if I'm judging what I look like or my whatever, I won't have the ability to just be a character. And that's my own thing in my head.

Speaker 2 But with with vocal producing, I'm like, it's my favorite thing in the world. So, yes, the slidey thingies, of course.

Speaker 2 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.
So, I.

Speaker 1 So, what about like taking on a young performer and producing that performer and making he or she, you know, really sweet?

Speaker 2 I love being able to vocal produce. Literally, like that is just a dream.

Speaker 2 Like if someone calls me and is like, I want you to record me, I absolutely have done it, will do it, love it, we'll take that call any day. I got to actually, wait, I have a fun story.

Speaker 2 I got to vocal produce some of the

Speaker 2 Way Kid soundtrack. I got to vocal produce Cynthia

Speaker 2 and some of my stuff too. So that was really cool and such a treat.

Speaker 2 And to anyone who questions the live element of the vocals in Define Gravity, in that second verse, when she's going up the stairs in Devine Gravity, if you solo that vocal, you can hear her little boots on the stairs.

Speaker 2 Oh, wow.

Speaker 1 Oh, wow. That's amazing.
Yeah, it's so cool that you guys sing it live. It's crazy.

Speaker 2 Yeah, Heaven on Earth is being able to sift through a bunch of Cynthia Arrivo vocal takes. You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 Because

Speaker 2 it's not about finding the good one. It's about finding which perfect amazing one is the choice that you.

Speaker 1 Did you hear that thing that was going around for a while that on New Year's Eve,

Speaker 1 if you started watching the movie at a certain time,

Speaker 1 by midnight, you would hit the... Whoa!

Speaker 2 Yes. I saw several videos of that.

Speaker 1 Yeah. Yeah.
I read that, Will, right, on the website?

Speaker 1 Yeah, I saw that too. Yeah, it came up on your video.
That was my next. I was about to, and Sean cut me off and took my fucking.
Remember what the New Year is?

Speaker 1 And I was like, right at it. He was like, whoa.
And I was like, fuck.

Speaker 1 why'd you miss it? Why'd you missed out? You missed out. You missed out.

Speaker 1 Wait, so Ariana, I don't know why I'm remembering this, but one of the cutest, greatest things you ever did, this is 10 years ago when we were around 10 years ago, when we were doing hairspray live, we were sitting there in the makeup trailer, and you said to me,

Speaker 1 and you said, just a little off the top,

Speaker 1 just tease up the top a little bit more. I'm so scared.
No, no. You said, you turned to me and you said, hey, there's just a few of us going over to my house after later on tonight.

Speaker 1 We're going to get totally wasted and then sleep over wait and then sleep over and in the morning my mom's gonna make us pancakes and i say that yes and that was so sweet you invited me and i turned to you and i go ariana you said yeah you go i'm 45 years old

Speaker 1 it was so sweet though it was so sweet you said i'm 45 years old i'll see you for the pancakes

Speaker 1 oh yes

Speaker 2 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 like so funny and I remember like

Speaker 1 yeah you believe that was almost 10 years ago isn't that wild it was a long time ago and and I just wanted to bring up that um your boyfriend is one a very good friend of mine yes he loves you so much I love him too Ethan Slater he's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet in your life he did good night oscar with me in Chicago come on yes and then he was in wicked yeah and uh and now you guys are dating and I love that because you guys make a perfect couple damn he's amazing and he loves you what part did he play He was the PA guy with the, you know.

Speaker 1 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, right.
But Ariana, next time you're on or whenever, I want to hear a horrible theater story gone wrong in 13 or some other theater show because they're my favorite stories.

Speaker 1 I have a thousand of them. I have some.
Yeah, tell me one. We've got time for one.
We've got two for one. We're going to let you go.

Speaker 2 Yeah. No, that's totally fine.
I realize you all probably have like a heart out of like right now.

Speaker 1 No, no, no. You don't know.

Speaker 2 I feel like I'm having tea with the dames and and I'm in heaven. I'm not gonna be able to do it.
But no,

Speaker 2 I was, 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.

Speaker 2 He was playing Archie, and he,

Speaker 2 which was the character in the show, and he was, he has these spontaneous nosebleeds that are just really fucking.

Speaker 2 Yeah, but it's, but it's like, it's the kind from like a scary movie. It's like not it's not good.

Speaker 1 Oh wow.

Speaker 2 Yeah yeah it's really it's aggressive and it's not the kind of thing that is like

Speaker 1 aggressive no.

Speaker 2 You know when you see something and it takes you out of body for a second

Speaker 2 because you're like not supposed to be happening at all.

Speaker 2 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 we're like, I would sing one of the lines into the wings we would like lock eyes and have a cute little moment and like hi and then go back to the choreography.

Speaker 2 And I one day, it was because it was right before his entrance. So I'm like, okay, 13.
And I like look over to lock eyes with Aaron and do the choreography his way. And then I turn back.

Speaker 2 And I see him covered in blood.

Speaker 1 Just covered in blood.

Speaker 1 And I was like, oh, my God.

Speaker 2 And he had to enter and get through his entire first scene.

Speaker 1 Was he aware that he was bleeding?

Speaker 2 Yeah. He was looking at me like he was.

Speaker 2 had no idea what to do. And also his character, he was using crutches in the role and he couldn't wipe himself.

Speaker 1 and

Speaker 1 did the audience gasp yeah they're like

Speaker 2 and then when they realize 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 the and he's like singing his first number spitting blood onto

Speaker 2 graham phillips who's playing the lead role it was just like the craziest thing and it never ended good one did you try to help him out there was nothing to how

Speaker 1 would

Speaker 1 that

Speaker 2 I had to exit.

Speaker 1 One time I was at the end of Promises, Promises. Thank you.

Speaker 1 I would

Speaker 1 create space and put the applause in there. We were coming out.
Me and Kristen Shenowith were coming out for our bows. And we would do the same thing.

Speaker 1 We'd be in the wings from opposite sides of the stage and lock eyes before we'd come out and meet at the middle to come downstage for our bow. And one night,

Speaker 1 the audience is clapping. Everybody's taking their bows.

Speaker 1 And where I'm supposed to see her, she's on the ground, passed out with her feet under the curtain curtain like the wicked witch of the west on the house yes and i was like oh my god what so i took my bow by myself people are like what happened to the audience is like where's she did she fainted no way no you know what the thing is uh this just reminded me this is true story on sunday i was shooting this thing in california and we were at lunch and there were a bunch of us sitting around in in the in the in the trailer and this girl works in costumes uh uh all of a sudden comes out of the bathroom and she's going like

Speaker 1 like waving her finger And my friend, Eli goes, you can't talk. And she goes, uh-uh.
And she goes back and I go, you can't breathe. And she goes, uh-uh.
And I've never done it before.

Speaker 1 And I jumped up and I put my arms around her and I three times and she barfed on my hands and she and it got it out. Oh my gosh.
I've never done it before.

Speaker 1 But it just, I was like, I think this is what you, if you have to do it like aggressively or did you have to like, yeah, because you got to get it out of there. Well, I guess we can't count on Eli.

Speaker 1 He just was like, oh, and he just hit it.

Speaker 1 Well, he, and then when I grabbed her, he ran out to get the paramedic. And the the paramedic came in and she was like, I'm fine now.
And I'm like covered and threw up. I'm like, she's fine.

Speaker 1 She was choking. She was choking.
Yeah. Oh, my God.
Will, that's

Speaker 1 it. It was pretty wild.
I've never, I don't even know if I was really doing it right. It worked, but I didn't know what I was doing.
And I thought, oh, shit, I should learn

Speaker 1 to learn that and

Speaker 1 learn that CPR. Yeah.
And CPR.

Speaker 1 And I've been asking people on the street here if they want to do practice CPR.

Speaker 1 And all these dudes are like, no, and whatever. But anyway,

Speaker 1 can can I get your number? I'll try later. I'll let you try later.

Speaker 1 But isn't that crazy?

Speaker 1 I'm surprised you didn't include that in coffee chat at the top of the episode. I forgot about it until we were just talking about crazy things.

Speaker 1 And I was like, oh, yeah, this just happened three days ago.

Speaker 1 Well, on that note, Ariana, we hope you don't choke. Thanks for being on.

Speaker 1 Thank you.

Speaker 2 Holy fuck, this is a good one.

Speaker 1 This was delightful.

Speaker 1 I hope I don't ever have to save your life, I guess is my point. Oh, my goodness.
We'll see you in six months in London.

Speaker 1 Continued great luck you are the best thank you for having me for saying yes to this uh enjoy the rest of your day uh continue

Speaker 1 all thank you and love and love to ethan too please i will love you guys bye thank you so much bye bye

Speaker 1 that was ariana grande the ariana grande of pure delight great um yeah she's so funny man you know that's what i said like people don't know she's funny how funny she is like she's like

Speaker 1 i mean they do now because glinda was really funny wrong I can't wait for people to discover how funny you are.

Speaker 1 If you take that intro off class and you get yourself an agent, I bet you get a guest spot or two or three.

Speaker 1 And then people are going to say, hey. Well, at the very least, I think you'll get an agent.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 Hey, guys.

Speaker 1 Did you ever get this when you were younger? Can you hook me up with your agent? Right. Can you get me?

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 1 No.

Speaker 1 But yeah, I would love to see her do tons more acting. Yeah.
I think that's what's going to happen. I think she's going to do a straight acting gig.
We'll be next. Yep.
Is my prediction. Yep.
Yep.

Speaker 1 And she's going to kill it. And she's just starting, right? She's 30, 31, something like that.
I'm kind of on

Speaker 1 all of that success already. Yeah.

Speaker 1 But has a great head on her shoulders, clearly, and seems well-suited for all that's a coming. Yeah.
And you know what a music, a great musical.

Speaker 1 Hang on a second, Sean.

Speaker 1 Hang on, Sean.

Speaker 1 Do you want to cut in with something? Because

Speaker 1 you're ready to get on it and to get on the

Speaker 1 great one.

Speaker 1 I just thought maybe like a.

Speaker 1 You know, if there's... Have you ever heard the expression, like, smell the roses or just fucking just exist and not act out in the moment to get stuff done as quickly as possible?

Speaker 1 I thought that you were saying that I was going to say bye. Yeah.
Yeah. Shut the hell up.
No, I'm teaching you a lesson. Sean, thank you.
Sean, did you say Sean? What do you got? I was going to

Speaker 1 say what a musical that I'd really like to see here in our life. Bye-bye, Bertie.
Yes, shiny motherfucker.

Speaker 1 Sorry, I meant to say, bye, bye, Bertie. Bye.

Speaker 1 There's something about your face, and hopefully we're still recording. There's something about your face when you go, yeah.
And I'm like, okay, here we go. Smart.

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