Why Ariana Grande chose to use her real name in ‘Wicked’ credits
As Ariana Grande’s fans flock to theaters to see her interpretation of Glinda in “Wicked,” they might notice that the actor’s name will appear slightly different in the credits.
While Grande has gone by her famous name for years, stemming back to her Nickelodeon days, she decided to use her real name for “Wicked”: Ariana Grande-Butera. Grande comes from her mother’s maiden name, Joan Grande, and Butera is her father, Edward Butera’s, last name.
The 31-year-old pop star explained the significance of using her full name for “Wicked” while appearing on “The Streaming Service with Justin Hill” podcast alongside co-star Cynthia Erivo.
In a snippet from the interview shared on Australian host Justin Hill’s TikTok account, Grande said, “Technically, it’s my little girl name. It’s technically little (Ari’s) name.”
She continued, “I just feel like this experience was such a homecoming for me. I feel like I came home to myself in a lot of ways through what I learned from Glinda, from Elphaba. You know, that was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old. It felt like a really lovely way of honoring that.”
Grande has repeatedly expressed that she has been a fan of the Broadway musical for years. Hill chimed in and pointed out that using her full name is a “love note” to the performer’s younger self who was in awe of the show.
She agreed, adding, “It felt really full circle. It just felt like something I wanted to do.”
Fans in the comments praised Grande for her emotional attachment to the role, which is the biggest in her career so far.
“I just know that playing this role, it healed so many parts of Ari,” one said.
Another noted that Grande seemed emotional talking about using her real name. “Ari was holding her tears,” the fan wrote.
A third joked, “I think I will want to change the spelling of my name after I see this musical.”
During the episode, Grande also shared that she will hold onto the feelings she experienced making the movie and the relationships she built with the cast and crew.
Erivo echoed that sentiment and said the friendship she built with Grande was “at the center” of every scene they filmed.
“It just felt really intimate,” Grande said, adding that the movie was a “warm space” for her.
Audiences will get to see Grande and Erivo portrayal Glinda and Elphaba’s unbreakable friendship and catch the “Yes, And?” singer’s full name in the credits when “Wicked” hits theaters Nov. 22.
