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Cynthia Erivo is an alien superstar — according to Beyoncé!
In a Wednesday, June 4 interview with the LA Times, the Wicked star opened up about her 2025 Grammys performance and Queen Bey’s unexpected reaction.
During the February 2 award show, Erivo — joined by Herbie Hancock on piano — performed “Fly Me to the Moon” as part of a tribute to the late Quincy Jones, who arranged the 1964 version of the song made famous by Frank Sinatra.
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“They asked if I could do it, and I was like, ‘I can, but I’m not Frank,’” she told the outlet. “Frank did ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ how it was supposed to be done for him, so I had to find out how to do it for me.”
Ervio’s version was a mesmerizing departure from the original that still managed to honor what Jones created. Celebrities in the audience, like Queen Latifah and John Legend, were notably in awe while the 38-year-old vocalist was on stage.
“When I went out into the audience afterward, I bumped into Beyoncé,” the Color Purple star told the outlet. “She was like, ‘You’re an alien, and I love it.’”
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The Grammys wasn’t the only award show where Erivo took the stage. The Tony Award-winner and co-star Ariana Grande opened the 97th Academy Awards with a highly anticipated Wicked medley, months after the musical film and press tour took the world by storm.
The movie’s sequel, Wicked: For Good, hits theaters on Nov. 21, and Erivo is staying busy until then with the upcoming release of her second solo album, I Forgive You.
Recorded during breaks from filming Wicked, Erivo described the album to the Associated Press as “a collection of stories and songs that are both personal for things that are happening now, things that have happened in the past, and I think some of which I have had to forgive people for.”
“And honestly, some of which I’ve had to forgive myself for,” she added.
I Forgive You comes out Friday, June 6.
