Ariana Grande says she absolutely has to “earn” the right to play Glinda in the upcoming two-part big-screen adaptation Evil. In conversation with Sentimental men Grande told podcast hosts Quincy Born and Kevin Bianchi this week that she has “always been one Wizard of Oz Person,” but despite her worldwide pop fame – including nine No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits – and her deep knowledge and love of the original 1939 Judy Garland film The Wizard of Oz and the 2003 Tony-winning Broadway production of EvilIt wasn't a given that she would get the gig in director Jon M. Chu's fantastic new production.

“Sometimes people say to me, 'You had to audition?' Of course, are you over the moon?” she said about landing the beloved role opposite Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba. “It is Evil! And it requires a completely different skill set than people who know me and have ever seen me do something like that,” she explained. “It is Evil! That's the most respectful thing! It has to be earned…period!”

If anything, Grande said her pop star status could have worked against her in some ways. “If you have this signature personality out there and people know you very well as this one thing, is that person going to be able to erase that and disappear into a character?” she said, emphasizing that there is nothing about her Role as Glinda is about herself, but only about inhabiting the beloved character.

During the pod recording, during which the singer apologized multiple times for her dog Myron's incessant barking, Grande told the hosts that she often turned to Broadway Evil Original cast album for comfort and a “safe space” when she's nervous or needs to warm up her voice.

Grande also remembered what she saw for the first time Evil When she was just 10 years old, she hit the stage on Broadway and felt “very, very, very happy” to see the original cast at a time when it was the show “everyone was talking about.” After overbidding for a backstage tour at a Broadway Cares Equity Fight AIDS auction, the budding star not only saw the show repeatedly on the Great White Way, but also received a “little magic wand” from star Kristin and a “magic body wash” gifted to Chenoweth.

How obsessed was she? At one point, Grande deleted every single song on her iPod except for Evil Soundtrack, further proof that this dream performance could have always been written in the stars. And when the first rumors about the film version reached her desk before the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the singer says she told her team she was ready to immediately cancel her 2019 Sweetener world tour so they could go home and get started could on the subject of singing and acting lessons.

“'I'm going to get this done,'” Grande said she told her team more than a year before her August 2021 audition. “‘That’s all I want. It's done.'” Although they appreciated her enthusiasm, Grande said her management politely said it wasn't possible to cancel the tour at a time when the singer thought she could be hired for both lead vocal roles become.

However, she knew that Glinda was the part where she was meant to live. When Chenoweth gave her the thumbs up, Ariana said she lost it. “We had been talking about it for years, but when I finally confessed to her that I wanted to stand in for Glinda, it was something completely different,” Grande said as she asked Chenoweth for advice on how to really nail the role making it your own without resorting to changing your identity.

“I said, 'Hey, I think they're doing this now, and I think I want to choose Glinda,' and she went into the bathroom, closed the door and started crying,” Grande said, starting to relax to burst into tears at the memory. “It was the sweetest thing in the world. Oh my god, it makes me emotional. It was so sweet. She just said, “I was hoping that would happen. 'I love you and I trust you with this, baby.' She was like, “Just do your thing.” Just do your thing. You’re so funny and have great instincts and no one knows that.”

The first part of the film, which also stars Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Jonathan Bailey and Marissa Bode, hits theaters on November 22nd.

Watch Grande speak Evil below.