Why Ariana Grande Chose to Use Her Real Name in Wicked Credits

Originally appeared on E! Online

For Ariana Grande, filming Wicked felt like turning back time.

The singer—who plays Glinda the Good Witch in the upcoming film—is credited as her full name Ariana Grande-Butera, E! News confirmed Nov. 1. (Her hyphenated last name incorporates the last names of her mother Joan Grande and father Edward Butera.)

Ariana explained her decision to not go by her stage name in the film’s closing credits, revealing that it’s a nod to her younger self and a reflection of how she felt making the musical.

“Technically, it’s my little girl name,” she said in a preview of her appearance on The Streaming Service with Justin Hill alongside costar Cynthia Erivo released Nov. 4. “Technically it’s little Ari’s name.”

“But, no, I just feel like this experience was such a homecoming for me,” Ariana elaborated. “I feel like I came home to myself in a lot of ways through what I learned from Glinda, from [Cynthia’s character] Elphaba and, you know, that was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old—and it felt like a really lovely way of honoring that.”

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The “One Last Time” singer added that the decision “felt really full circle, and it just felt like something I really wanted to do.”

Indeed, when the interviewer called it “a love note to” the younger version of herself, Ariana agreed.

Deciding to be credited with her full birth name isn’t the only change that Ariana made for the Broadway adaptation, either. The “thank u, next” singer also raised the pitch of her voice for her performance.

“There is a part of the world that isn’t familiar with what it takes to transform your voice,” she explained to Vanity Fair in September, “whether it’s singing or taking on a different dialect for a role or doing a character voice for something.”

Ariana Grande — Saverio Marfia/Getty Images

Ariana pointed out that such creative licenses are taken differently when done by men and women.

“When it’s a male actor that does it, it’s acclaimed,” she said. “There are definitely jokes that are made as well, but it’s always after being led with praise: ‘Oh, wow, he was so lost in the role.’ And that’s just a part of the job, really.”

And, ultimately, the Grammy winner stands by her work in Wicked, which is already generating Oscar buzz.

“It’s something that I’m just really proud of,” Ariana added. “Part of why I did want to engage [with critics] is because I am really proud of my hard work and of the fact that I did give 100 percent of myself, including my physicality, to this role. I am proud of that, so I wanted to protect it.”

Keep reading for more about Ariana.