Ariana Grande is coming to Australia ahead of the premiere of her highly-anticipated screen adaptation of the musical Wicked.
The We Can't Be Friends hitmaker, 31, will be jetting to Sydney alongside her fellow Wicked co-stars Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey and Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater and director Jon M. Chu for the premiere.
The trip Down Under will be the first stop on their global tour for the upcoming release, which will premiere at Sydney's State Theatre November 3 before hitting cinemas November 22.
'Hi Australia! We've got something exciting to share,' Erivo began in a social media video.
'We are heading to Australia to unveil our new movie, Wicked!' Grande added, before Goldblum and Chu appeared.
'Hey Sydney! We're thrilled that Australia will be the first stop on our global tour. We can't wait for you to experience the magic of Wicked on the big screen,' Chu said.
'We have a few more surprise guests that will be joining us Down Under, so keep an eye out.'
Ariana Grande is coming to Australia ahead of the premiere of her highly-anticipated screen adaptation of musical Wicked
The exciting announcement comes after Grande finally addressed the ongoing criticism surrounding her 'changing voice' and has suggested she wouldn't have received such backlash if she was a man.
Earlier this year, the singer shocked fans by speaking in two distinctly different voices during an appearance on Penn Badgley's podcast, Podcrushed, in June while delving into her childhood and her experiences working for Nickelodeon.
One clip in particular ignited social media shock, as it showed Grande dipping into a lower, huskier voice in an unguarded moment, before suddenly pitching her voice considerably higher.
Grande, 31, will be jetting to Sydney alongside her fellow co-stars Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey and Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater and director Jon M. Chu for the premiere
The trip Down Under will be the first stop on their global tour for the upcoming release, which will premiere at Sydney's State Theatre November 3 before hitting cinemas November 22. Pictured: Wicked director Jon M. Chu, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Jeff Goldblum
Addressing the furore in an interview with Vanity Fair, Grande said: 'There is a part of the world that isn't familiar with what it takes to transform your voice, whether it's singing or taking on a different dialect for a role or doing a character voice for something.
'When it's a male actor that does it, it's acclaimed. 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,' Grande claimed.
'Tale as old as time being a woman in this industry,' she added. 'You are treated differently, and you are under a microscope in a way that some people aren't.'
At the time, Grande responded to criticism and indicated that part of the issue was that she had gotten used to speaking in her higher voice for Wicked, in which she stars as Glinda.
'Habit (speaking like this for two years) and also vocal health,' she explained in her TikTok comment.
'I intentionally change my vocal placement (high / low) often depending on how much singing I'm doing,' she continued, adding an emoji with tears streaming down its face.
'I've always done this BYE,' she added to abruptly end the speculation.
Following the release of part one this November, the second film is scheduled to be released in Australia November 21, 2025
While Grande did not specifically mention it, several fans speculated that she switched back to her higher voice to avoid using vocal fry — a slightly croaky vocal tone that occurs when people speak in low, relaxed tones — as many people believe that vocal fry can damage a person's vocal cords or singing voice.
In Jon M. Chu's upcoming two-part film adaptation of the 2003 Broadway hit musical, the two starlets appear as unlikely friends - with Grande as Glinda The Good Witch, while Erivo stars as Elphaba Thropp, The Wicked Witch Of The West.
Elphaba is a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power while Glinda is a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart.
Following the release of part one this November, the second film is scheduled to be released in Australia November 21, 2025.
