Vanity Fair offers first look at Ariana Grande and the Wicked cast

When you see Ariana Grande sing on the big screen in the upcoming movie musical Wicked, know that she’s not lip-synching.

Vanity Fair has a first look at the cast of the film — Ariana, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang and more — in full costume. In the accompanying article, director Jon M. Chu says that while filming the movie, Ariana and Cynthia insisted on singing while on set, instead of miming to a pre-recorded vocal.

“These are live vocals,” Chu says. “When we were shooting it, those girls were like, ‘F*** the pre-records. We’re going live.’” He recalls not knowing if they could do it and asking, “There’s going to be a lot of wind in your air pipes. Is that okay?” And they said, “Yeah. That’s what we do.”

“I’m literally never going to forget you jumping on a chandelier over my head whilst singing,” Cynthia tells Ari in the article. Ariana laughs and, referring to her character, Glinda, she says, “She was just so excited to perform for her new friend. She wanted to do a trick.”

“I don’t think people realize how brilliant this person’s brain and voice and talent is,” Cynthia tells Vanity Fair of Ariana.

Ari, who calls Cynthia “my favorite female voice,” returns the compliment: “When I was watching [her] sing at the Oscars, I said, ‘I hope someday I get to sing with her.’”

The first installment of Wicked hits theaters November 27. Part two arrives in 2025.