Ariana grande details her grueling 6-month prep for wicked auditions: 'i trained every single day'

If Ariana Grande hadn’t been cast in the _Wicked_ movie, she would have been green with envy.  In Jon M. Chu’s stage-to-screen adaptation of Stephen Schwartz’s hit Broadway musical, the

actress-musician, 30, plays Galinda a.k.a. Glinda the Good — a role she says she coveted over any other.  “I have never wanted something as badly as I did this,” Grande said in a new

interview on Amazon Music's _Zach Sang Show._ “I had no expectations, I was just thankful to go in at all, I was so excited to have the opportunity to audition.” The “Yes, And?” singer

added that she had “been hunting” Marc Platt, producer of both the Tony-winning stage musical and its two-part screen version, for almost a decade. “Since I was 20, I was like, ‘Hey, I

don't know when this is happening, but when it's happening, may I please at least just audition?’ That's all I wanted, was an audition. I've never wanted anything more.”

[embedded content] Grande added that “prepping for the auditions was six months.” Her _Wicked_ preparation involved “voice lessons every day, acting lessons every day” — all while she

appeared as a judge on singing competition hit _The Voice. _ “I am a person who started on Broadway and I’ve always been a musical theater person,” said the New York native, who launched her

theater career in the musical _13_. “It all happened absolutely as it was meant to be.” Host Zach Sang recalled Grande’s dedication to winning the part, saying, “It was like you were

training for the Super Bowl. I remember you’d show up early to the auditions and you’d circle the block.” “I trained every single day,” remembered the Grammy winner, “to prove to [_Wicked_

producers] that I could handle taking on this other person.” Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer,

from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The day she landed the role, alongside Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba a.k.a. the Wicked Witch of the West, was “the best day of my

life,” said Grande. Grande is inheriting the role of Glinda from Broadway originator Kristin Chenoweth, who gave her a stamp of approval when the movie’s casting was announced in 2021.

Sharing a throwback photo on Instagram, Chenoweth wrote that Grande was “destined for this role” and said, "I'm not sure if I've ever been this proud.” Other actresses

reportedly in the mix for Glinda were Amanda Seyfried — who said in 2022 that she “bent over backwards” to earn the role — and _Schmigadoon!_ star Dove Cameron.  “I learned so much from

Glinda,” Grande told Sang. “I kind of healed a lot of parts of myself alongside and through her. And it actually helped me heal a lot of my own personal, weird stuff that I had with my

relationship with music and to being an artist.” Joining Grande and Erivo as the movie’s green-skinned anti-heroine are Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, Marissa Bode

as Nessarose, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, Keala Settle as Miss Coddle, Ethan Slater as Boq and Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible. _Wicked: Part One_ is in theaters Nov. 27. _Part Two_ will follow

on Nov. 26, 2025.