As noted in today’s open, the Karla Sofía Gascón scandal has upended award season. Emilia Pérez is plummeting, Zoe Saldaña’s chances are in jeopardy, and other nominated films and actors are gaining momentum – that includes Ariana Grande. It was once thought that the nomination would be a win for Ari. But now? She has a real shot at the Oscar, the race is far from over. So with all that going on, Ariana showed up yesterday for a Q&A, following a Wicked screening at the DGA theatre where members of the Academy and the guilds were in the audience, moderated by Billie Eilish. 

 

First of all, there was the audience that was present and the audience online. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that this was a marriage of two massive fanbases who are extremely active on social media. Seeing their two faves together resulted in fans popping off across platforms, and a great boost for the Wicked campaign. Knowing this, Ari and Billie gave them what they wanted – a lot of mutual fangirling, and some teasing about a collaboration. 

@highvoltagemag

A very magical moment in time with Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande 💖 Billie Eilish moderated a Q&A with Ariana Grande following a Wicked FYC screening in Los Angeles. The mutual love and respect between these two runs deep. #arianagrande #billieeilish #wickedmovie

♬ original sound - High Voltage
@wigconicc

THAT SONG WILL WIN EVERY GRAMMY OMG😭 #billieeilish #arianagrande #grammys #grammys2025 #foryou #fyp @BILLIE EILISH @arianagrande

♬ original sound - ᶜ ʰ ˡ ˡ ˣ ᵉ ᵈ ⁱ ᵗ ˢ - chllxedits
 

The caption on that second TikTok KILLS me. “Confirmed possible collaboration” …? How can something that is only just “possible” be “confirmed”???????

Sorry, I don’t mean to be an old c-nt constantly dumping on the youth but, like, this is how information is compromised. 

 

As for the audience that was actually in the theatre, what they heard from Ariana was how extensive the audition process was, how many times she auditioned, how long the auditions were (one of them was three hours), and hard she worked to get the role. Ari told Billie that:

“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?” (Source) 

 

And then, of course, they made sure to remind people that the singing we see in the movie was done live on set during filming while staying in character and emoting as their characters in the process:

“When it comes to the singing side… you know what it’s like to do a tour? We’re doing so many shows in a row. And Cynthia and I are both Broadway girls. We know what it’s like to do eight shows a week. So it’s imperative, I think, for the emotional integrity of what happens in the scenes [to maintain] the ability to improv. Like, you can’t be married to a track; you can’t be sort of married to certain choices. You have to be able to have the freedom to surprise each other and play and make things up on the spot.

“Or, if it’s an emotional scene, you’re not gonna sound perfect,” Grande continued. “Your voice is gonna crack, and that’s really special to preserve that and to have that option available. It’s just sort of what we love to do — we love to sing … There are so many amazing Glindas and Elphabas who do it eight shows a week, so if we have to do it 27 takes in a row, we’re gonna do it in solidarity with our sister witches.”

 

This is an important point to hit, especially for Ariana, who is a first-time nominee unlike Cynthia Erivo who’s been here before in roles that weren’t necessarily musical, because there may be voters out there who might assume that the work was easier for Ariana since she’s already a vocalist. And musicals are already an uphill climb at the Oscars. For her, with her campaign, this is one of the things she’ll have to overcome. 

Having Billie there with her, though, was an asset. Because Billie is already an Oscar winner for Best Original Song. She is in fact a TWO-TIME Oscar winner, the youngest ever to do it. So the Academy voters in the room were looking at a person they’re already familiar with (and their kids and grandkids are VERY familiar with) endorsing one of this year’s most high profile nominees (probably the nominee their kids and grandkids are the MOST familiar with, other than Timothée Chalamet) in a category that’s actually been quite friendly to musical performances: Jennifer Hudson, Ariana DeBose, Anne Hathaway, Catherine Zeta-Jones). And it’s not like the (former?) frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress isn’t also in a musical (Zoe Saldaña). 

 

So Ariana definitely did some good hustling last night. Even the wardrobe choice worked – not a hint of pink but a suit that’s giving “serious” contender.