Ariana Grande explains “perplexing” higher speaking voice

nme.com:

Ariana Grande has explained “perplexing” changes to her speaking voice which, after starring in Wicked, fans noticed seemed higher than normal.During an appearance on the SmartLess podcast on Monday (February 3), the ‘Eternal Sunshine’ singer was asked by co-hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett about techniques she employed to protect her voice on tour.Grande explained that she sometimes shifts to a higher pitch when required to talk for long periods of time, as has happened over the course of the infamously emotional Wicked press tour, which saw Grande and co-star Cynthia Erivo regularly breaking down in tears.“The thing that I do that perplexes people so much – and it’s just so funny because if you’re a person who uses their voice, you know about this – is if I have a long day of press or if I have to sing, I’ll place [my voice] a little higher,” she said.“I’ll change my vocal placement to kind of preserve.

But that is just something that’s healthy for the voice. It’s just basically pitching your voice up a tiny bit,” she continued.“It’s just a normal thing for vocalists.

But people are like, ‘That’s not her natural voice.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, it is actually, but it’s just a little higher.’ All of it is natural.”The singer and actress admitted that it draws negative feedback on social media, saying: “It’s so funny because I’ve talked about it a zillion times, and people are still like, ‘Where’s your real voice?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, they all are.'”She has previously had to defend her tendency to “voice switch”, and last year responded to comments under a viral clip of her on Podcrushed, writing: “I’ve been speaking in a slightly higher placement than I usually speak in because I’ve been doing a lot of.