Cynthia Erivo Says Working With Ariana Grande On Wicked Is “a Little Bit Addictive” – ryan

Sounds like Cynthia Erivo is just as addicted to the dynamic duo as Wicked’s fans are!

During Canva’s annual Canva Create event on April 10, the “Defying Gravity” singer, 38, let audiences in on a little secret: singing with Ariana Grande is “really exhilarating — a little bit addictive.” (She’s had plenty of experience, filming the two-part Wicked movie as Elphaba alongside Grande’s Glinda.)

The conversation between Erivo and host Jessica Williams took place at SoFi Stadium for Canva’s “Uncharted” event. The conversation followed Canva’s biggest launch to date with the introduction of their Visual Suite 2.0 in one design.

“There’s a wonderful synergy when you’re working with a person who gets it, and they can look in your eyes and know exactly what you need, when you need it, without you having to say it,” Erivo said of Grande.

The “vulnerability and good listening” between the two is what led to the songs being on the top of everyone’s replay lists for months, she said.

“When your voice comes together, that means that they are listening to you and you are listening to them,” Erivo said, describing singing with Grande. “It’s got nothing to do with ‘What do I sound like?’ It’s actually ‘What are you doing?’”

“If you’re both doing that at the same time, anything is possible,” Erivo explained.

That connection continued even after the cameras stopped rolling: Erivo said they became close not only in their roles, but as friends off camera.

“We could always have this ongoing conversation about what we needed as the days went on,” the “Wizard and I” singer told Williams.

When the two female vocal powerhouses went on their press tour, Erivo said that she and Grande had a BFF language that allowed them to support each other even on the longest of days.

“There were days where it’s like, ‘I’m exhausted and I don’t really have it today,’ and she’d be like, ‘Well, I’ve got it. What’s the word we need to use?’” Erivo recalled from their press tour. On other days when Grande needed some extra support, Erivo would say, “I’ve got you. What do you need?”

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And their connection began even before the film, when the two spoke openly about their contracts to allow them to start the film on the same footing. Erivo said that discussing finances with Grande was “really helpful” because it broke boundaries and created a bond of strength.

“To know where we are together allows us to walk into a room hand in hand, and really strongly, it gives us a particular kind of strength that allows us to one, be really trusting of each other and that level of transparency means that whatever you put on screen is real,” Erivo told Williams.

Erivo and Grande recently attended the CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas with Wicked’s director Jon M. Chu and producer Marc Platt to present new footage from the upcoming sequel to 2024’s Wicked: Part One. The women promised less tears during their next press tour when it eventually kicks-off this fall to promote Wicked: For Good.

“We can’t wait to get back on the road again,” Erivo said. “Yes, we already have our tissues packed,” Grande added, as Erivo continued, “And I promise less waterworks this time, but I’m not sure we can live up to that.”

“Me neither, but you’ve seen it, so you get it, right? You cried,” Grande added, to laughter from the audience. “You cried. Don’t lie. We know. We saw,” Erivo said.