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Ariana Grande was quite selfless throughout the Wicked audition process, according to her longtime vocal coach Eric Vetro.
Grande, 32, worked with Vetro, 69, to prepare for her role as Glinda in 2024’s Wicked and 2025’s Wicked: For Good, but the vocal coach tells PEOPLE she also helped other actresses ahead of their auditions for the same part.
“She actually encouraged some of the other girls and said, ‘You really should go see Eric and work on it with him,'” says Vetro from his Los Angeles home. “She brought one of the girls over and they sang together here. Isn’t that amazing?”
Ken Sawyer
Ariana’s mom, Joan, was surprised by her daughter’s choice to help other actresses vying for the same film role. “Her mom said, ‘Is she crazy? Why is she bringing people over for you to help them?’ And I said, ‘Well, because I think that’s just who she is. She’s very generous like that,'” explains Vetro.
“She was very confident in herself, too, but I think she also loved [Wicked] so much that she wanted the right person to get it,” he continues. “But I couldn’t believe it.”
Vetro then got a call from another actress whom Ariana suggested should work with him. “I was like, ‘Damn, I can’t believe she’s encouraging other girls who are auditioning for this role.’ But that speaks to who she really is as a human being,” he says.
Of course, the role of Glinda ultimately went to Ariana, who earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards earlier this year for the first film installment of Wicked.
Ken Sawyer
The “Eternal Sunshine” singer’s generosity to other actresses in the audition process is a testament to her character, according to Vetro. “She’s confident, but not arrogant. She’s confident, but not entitled,” he says. “She’s just confident. But it’s a confidence that has been built by working hard.”
“There is no ego involved with it, which is really unusual in a lot of ways and really special. And that’s what makes her so much fun to work with,” adds Vetro. “Even though she works really hard and takes it seriously, she also is a lot of fun to be around. She has a great sense of humor.”
