Why Ariana Grande Will Be Credited Under a Different Name for ‘Wicked’

When the highly-anticipated Wicked film hits theaters on Nov. 22, moviegoers may be shocked to see Ariana Grande credited under a different name. The Grammy Award-winning singer, who portrays Glinda Upland in the film, is credited onscreen with her birth name, Ariana Grande-Butera, in a move that Grande says pays homage to her younger self.

“Technically, it’s my little girl name! It’s technically little Ari’s name,” Grande, 31, told Australian reporter Justin Hill in a recent interview.

The pop star was born Ariana Grande-Butera, with the surname Grande coming from her mother’s maiden name, Joan Grande, while Butera come from her father, Edward Butera, per Today. Grande’s parents split when she was around 8, according to Us Weekly, with Grande seeing the original Broadway cast of Wicked perform in New York City with her mother two years later.

“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,” she shared. “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.”

Directed by Jon M. Chu, and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, Wicked is a film adaptation Stephen Schwartz and Holzman’s stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel of the same name. The film is set in the Land of Oz before Dorothy’s arrival and center’s around Grande’s Glinda Upland (aka Glinda the Good) and Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba Thropp, students at Shiz University who become unlikely best friends. The film documents their paths to becoming s Glinda the Good Witch of the North and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Grande said taking on the role of Glinda was a “challenge,” noting that “it has to be earned. Anything on this scale, being a part of anything, it’s not just given because they know for one thing.” She also revealed that she changed her vocal placement for her performance.

Along with Grande and Erivo, the film also stars Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard, Ethan Slater as Boq, Marissa Bode as Nessarose and Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond.

Wicked, the first part of a two-part film adaptation, hits theaters on Friday, Nov. 22.