Ariana Grande took the stage with her Wicked costar Cynthia Erivo on Sunday at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood for the 96th annual Academy Awards.
The songbird looked as spectacular as ever in a massive strapless pale pink gown with huge pink diamond earrings and an $85K Jared Atelier choker.
But there was something different about the superstar: her voice.
When the blonde beauty spoke she did so with a very soft lilt as she could barely be heard.
‘That is NOT how she usually sounds!’ said one fan on Instagram as another added, ‘Is that Ariana? What happened to her voice?’
Some thought she was using her Glinda the Good Witch voice from her movie Wicked guessing she was not out of character yet.
Ariana Grande took the stage on Sunday at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood for the 96th annual Academy Awards. Her voice sounded very different which shocked fans
She presented two categories with her Wicked costar Cynthia Erivo
The 30-year-old Grande plays Galinda Upland (a.k.a. Glinda the Good Witch) and the 37-year-old Erivo plays Elphaba Thropp (a.k.a. Wicked Witch of the West) in Wicked
One wrote: ‘Someone needs to make Ariana Grande stop speaking in her Glinda voice. It’s too soon for another Austin Butler situation.’
A second posted: ‘Wtf happened to Ariana Grande??? I really thought everyone was exaggerating about her constantly changing personas. THE VOICE OMG THAT IS NOT ARIANA GRANDE.’
Another went on: ‘Did Ariana Grande adapt a new voice?’
‘Ariana Grande really got rid of her previous accent in favor of a 60s transatlantic accent,’ another wrote.
She presented with her Wicked costar.
The 30-year-old Grande plays Galinda Upland (a.k.a. Glinda the Good Witch) and the 37-year-old Erivo plays Elphaba Thropp (a.k.a. Wicked Witch of the West) in Wicked.
While fans have to wait until November 27 to see this Broadway musical adaptation come to life on the big screen, the stars reunited on the Oscar stage.
They both presented two awards – Best Original Score and Best Original Song – and made a few Wicked jokes along the way.
Erivo began, ‘We’re here to present the Oscars for original song and original score. A great movie song can set the mood, reveal something about a character, and help us tell a story.’
The songbird looked as spectacular as ever in a massive strapless pale pink gown with huge pink diamond earrings and an $85K Jared Atelier choker
But there was something different about the superstar: her voice. When the blonde beauty spoke she did so with a very soft lilt as she could barely be heard
Grande added, ‘And a great film score can even leave a handprint on our hearts forever. It can ignite wonder and astonishment, make us feel sadness and longing, and can even transport us to new worlds.
Erivo added, ‘Or somewhere over the rainbow, where the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.’
Grande continued ‘Oh. How wickedly subtle of you,’ as Erivo added, ‘I do try,’ before revealing the nominees for Best Original Score.
Oppenheimer composer Ludwig Goransson ended up winning the award, besting Laura Karpman (American Fiction), John Williams (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), Robbie Robertson (Killers of the Flower Moon) and Jerskin Fendrix (Poor Things).
They also presented the Best Original Song award, which Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell won for What Am I Made For from Barbie.
They beat out I’m Just Ken, also from Barbie, The Fire Inside from Flamin’ Hot
‘It Never Went Away’ from American Symphony and Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People) from Killers of the Flower Moon
Wicked is set just before the arrival of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, following one-time friends Galinda and Elphaba.
The story is adapted from the hit Broadway musical of the same name, which is adapted from the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.
‘That is NOT how she usually sounds!’ said one fan on Instagram as another added, ‘Is that Ariana? What happened to her voice?’ Some thought she was using her Glinda the Good Witch voice from her movie Wicked guessing she was not out of character yet
They presented the Best Original Song award, which Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell won for What Am I Made For from Barbie
Later Ariana and Billie chatted backstage
Oscar winners 2024 full list – see who received trophies for this year’s Academy Awards
Best Picture
American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Oppenheimer was the biggest winner of the night with seven including top honor Best Picture; Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan, and Charles Roven are seen
Best Director
Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall
Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer – WINNER
Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest
Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening, Nyad
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Huller, Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Emma Stone, Poor Things – WINNER
Emma Stone earned a shock win in the Actress in a Leading Role category for Poor Things
Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer – WINNER
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Actress in a Supporting Role
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
America Ferrera, Barbie
Jodie Foster, Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers – WINER
Da’Vine Joy Randolph triumphed in the Actress in a Supporting Role category for The Holdovers
Actor in a Supporting Role
Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer – WINNER
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
Animated Feature Film
The Boy and the Heron – WINNER
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Cinematography
El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer, Hoyte van Hoytema – WINNER
Poor Things
Original Screenplay
Anatomy of a Fall, Justine Triet and Arthur Harari – WINNER
The Holdovers, David Hemingson
Maestro, Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer
May December, Samy Burch (Story b Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik)
Past Lives, Celine Song
Adapted Screenplay
American Fiction, Cord Jefferson – WINNER
Barbie, Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach
Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan
Poor Things, Tony McNamara
The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer
Cord Jefferson won Adapted Screenplay for American Fiction
Achievement in Production Design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things, Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek – WINNER
Achievement in Sound
The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest, Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn – WINNER
Original Song
‘The Fire Inside’ from Flamin’ Hot
‘I’m Just Ken’ from Barbie
‘It Never Went Away’ from American Symphony
‘Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)’ from Killers of the Flower Moon
‘What Was I Made For?’ from Barbie, Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell – WINNERS
Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell earned Original Song for Barbie’s What Was I Made For?
Original Score
American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer, Ludwig Göransson – WINNER
Poor Things
Live Action Short Film
The After
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, White and Blue
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Wes Anderson and Steven Rales – WINNER
Animated Short Film
Letter to a Pig
95 Senses
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko – WINNER
WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko won Animated Short Film; Dave Mullins and Brad Booker pictured
Documentary Feature Film
Bobi Wine: The People’s President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol – WINNER
Documentary Short Film
The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Island in Between
The Last Repair Shop – WINNER
Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó
International Feature Film
Io Capitano, Italy
Perfect Days, Japan
Society of the Snow, Spain
The Teachers’ Lounge, Germany
The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom – WINNER
The Zone Of Interest took home two Oscars including International Feature Film; Jonathan Glazer and James Wilson are pictured
Makeup and Hairstyling
Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things, Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston – WINNER
Society of the Snow
Achievement in Costume Design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things, Holly Waddington – WINNER
Achievement in Film Editing
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer, Jennifer Lame – WINNER
Poor Things
Visual Effects
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One, Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima – WINNER
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Godzilla Minus One won the Visual Effects award as Masaki Takahashi, Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya and Tatsuji Nojima are pictured
The Broadway musical has been running strong for just over 20 years, becoming the fourth-longest-running Broadway show in history.
The film adaptation has been in the works for just as long, with several different actors, writers and directors attached over the years.
Wicked will actually be the first of a two-part movie, both directed by Jon M. Chu and also starring Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Keala Settle and Jeff Goldblum.
The first movie hits theaters November 27, with Wicked: Part Two now slated for release on November 26, 2025.