Ariana Grande Talks Eternal Sunshine and Wicked, Teases Penn Badgley Music Video Cameo (Extended) — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:01-Can you feel the love in the building for Ariana Grande?!
2. 0:03[ Cheers and applause ] Come on.
3. 0:06-Thank you so much! Thank you.
4. 0:08I miss you, bud. -I miss you!
5. 0:10-I miss you. How is everything? How's life?
6. 0:12-It's great. It's been so many years
7. 0:13since I've been actually physically here.
8. 0:15Last time, you did me a favor. It was during Zoom.
9. 0:18You helped us out. Yeah, you did me a nice, solid.
10. 0:21-You did me a favor. -You know, and then --
11. 0:23But you had gotten "Wicked."
12. 0:25-Yes, but I couldn't tell you yet.
13. 0:27-No, you couldn't. [ Cheers and applause ]
14. 0:31So we're talking, and I'm going like,
15. 0:33"Are you gonna do any more acting?"
16. 0:34and you're like, "Uh-huh."
17. 0:35-This was the sweetest thing ever.
18. 0:37Because Jimmy was being such an amazing friend to me.
19. 0:40He knew about my audition process
20. 0:42that I was going through
21. 0:44when we were filming our music video for "Masked Christmas"
22. 0:45that we did for your Christmas special.
23. 0:47-Right. Thank you for doing that.
24. 0:48-That was so much fun.
25. 0:50But, um... -It was the best.
26. 0:52-I had so much fun with you. -I had so much fun, too.
27. 0:53That was the best day.
28. 0:55But he knew that I was going through this audition process,
29. 0:57and I couldn't tell anyone that I had the role yet.
30. 1:00I was, like, sworn to secrecy.
31. 1:02And, um, two days before our interview,
32. 1:05I had gotten the call, and I was like, "I can't --
33. 1:08Are you sure I can't tell..." -You must have --
34. 1:10-Yes, but I was trying to subliminally,
35. 1:12like, tell you through the screen that I got it.
36. 1:15So I was wearing -- so I wore this big pink, um,
37. 1:17embellishment, this big pink choker sparkle thing.
38. 1:20I was like, "Maybe he'll think that's the fact that I got it."
39. 1:23-Yeah. -It didn't work.
40. 1:25-Here's the thing. No. -You were so sweet.
41. 1:26We're like, "You should do more acting,"
42. 1:27and I was like, "I got it! It's okay.
43. 1:29You don't have to say that." -No, I knew it in my head.
44. 1:33I kept the secret, as well.
45. 1:34[ Laughter ]
46. 1:36-Perfect. -I'm so happy for you.
47. 1:38I found a tweet that you, uh -- you put out in 2011, by the way.
48. 1:43It said, "Love seeing Wicked again.
49. 1:44Amazing production.
50. 1:45Made me realize again
51. 1:47how badly I want to play Glinda at some point.
52. 1:49Dream role." [ Cheers and applause ]
53. 1:52Bud, you did it! You did it!
54. 1:55It's -- Come on!
55. 1:57[ Cheers and applause ]
56. 2:00Buddy, buddy, buddy. Can you believe it?
57. 2:02-It's so great.
58. 2:04-I know how much work went into this
59. 2:06because I would check in with you and go,
60. 2:07"How's it going?" and blah, blah, blah.
61. 2:09-[ Sneeze ] -Bless you.
62. 2:10-God bless you. See how nice --
63. 2:11[ Laughter ] Someone sneezed, and --
64. 2:12Yeah, of course. But you get this role,
65. 2:17and now it's -- now it's -- the trailer's out.
66. 2:19Everyone got to see it. Are you relieved?
67. 2:20You're like, "Yes! I can talk about everything"?
68. 2:22-It's just so surreal to see, of course, the response.
69. 2:25You know, this is something that Cynthia
70. 2:26and I lived every single day. The brilliant Cynthia Erivo.
71. 2:29-Cynthia Erivo. Oh! She's so good.
72. 2:31[ Cheers and applause ]
73. 2:33-And, you know, it was ours for so long.
74. 2:37And it was just every single day for such a long time.
75. 2:39And to share it with people
76. 2:41and to feel the love that we've received in response
77. 2:43has been really overwhelming.
78. 2:44But the funniest thing is, people saying,
79. 2:46"It must be so weird to see it with all the VFX now.
80. 2:49Isn't that weird?" And I'm like,
81. 2:50"Well, yes, they did add some flying monkeys
82. 2:52and some -- some animals,
83. 2:54but these were really practical sets
84. 2:57that we were so blessed to be a part of.
85. 2:59-That world is -- -Yes.
86. 3:00-That's real? -Yeah.
87. 3:01Nathan designed these incredible sets
88. 3:02and spent months and months building them.
89. 3:04So what you're seeing is where we got to be for two years.
90. 3:07It was just so special. Yeah, it's really so --
91. 3:09-That's wild. -Yeah. Thank you.
92. 3:10-I remember once we talked about that you --
93. 3:12I think it was "Wicked" we were talking about.
94. 3:13And you met Kristin Chenoweth.
95. 3:15-Yes, I did! -You were like 10 or something?
96. 3:18-So, I was 10 years old, and I was so lucky.
97. 3:22My mom spoiled me.
98. 3:23I got to see the original Broadway cast,
99. 3:25and they were doing
100. 3:26the Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids auction,
101. 3:28where you can bid to go backstage and win a tour
102. 3:33and meet the cast.
103. 3:35And I kept raising my hand, and my mom was like,
104. 3:37"Ariana, that's enough, that's enough."
105. 3:39And I kept bidding.
106. 3:40-"Ariana, we don't have Ariana Grande money yet.
107. 3:42Okay? We are -- we are living in our world right now.
108. 3:45Yeah, stop -- stop bidding on this."
109. 3:47-But she spoiled me, and I --
110. 3:49and I got to go backstage and meet the cast.
111. 3:52I met Norbert Leo Butz. I met Idina Menzel.
112. 3:54-Oh! -Norbert Leo Butz is great.
113. 3:57-Oh, my God, I love everyone so much.
114. 3:58But we got to Kristen's dressing room,
115. 4:01which was at the very end of the hall,
116. 4:03and she invited me in and let me overstay my welcome.
117. 4:07Her dog peed on the couch.
118. 4:08We cleaned it up together. -No way!
119. 4:10This isn't even part of the auction.
120. 4:12"I didn't know this was part of the prize!"
121. 4:14-Yes. [ Laughter ]
122. 4:16I was like, "Oh, my gosh. Was that a part of the bid?"
123. 4:17-Yeah, "This is amazing. I love this."
124. 4:19You got to clean up Kristin Chenoweth's dog's pee.
125. 4:22-So we cleaned up the pee,
126. 4:23and then she gave me a little, um, wand.
127. 4:25-Yes! You told me -- This is what you told me.
128. 4:26She gave you a wand and, like, glitter or something?
129. 4:28-Oh, yes. The shower gel.
130. 4:30She gave me this little tiny thing of magical shower gel.
131. 4:33And I remember, like, every single day,
132. 4:36dipping a tiny little pinky in and using a little bit.
133. 4:38I used other soap, as well.
134. 4:40-Yeah. No, no. You're very -- No.
135. 4:42If you can smell Ariana, she's --
136. 4:43You're one of our best-smelling guests.
137. 4:45-Oh, thank you. -You're always clean and fresh.
138. 4:47-Thank you so much. -Beautiful smell.
139. 4:48-But, yeah, I really think it was magical now.
140. 4:50I'm, like, looking back,
141. 4:51I'm like, "Maybe that was real. I don't know."
142. 4:53-Congratulations on everything.
143. 4:55And then, the album, which kind of came --
144. 4:56[ Cheers and applause ]
145. 5:01"Eternal Sunshine."
146. 5:03It kind of came as a surprise to the fans, including me,
147. 5:06who I study every move that you make.
148. 5:08I'm like, "When are you going to put an album out?"
149. 5:10I thought you were gonna do it after "Wicked."
150. 5:12-I did, too. I thought that, as well.
151. 5:14Um, I didn't, but, you know... [ Laughter ]
152. 5:17When the strike happened, I went home to see my family,
153. 5:20of course, first and foremost.
154. 5:22I went to see Nona and my dad and my family.
155. 5:24And, um, after that, I just --
156. 5:27I booked a week in the studio,
157. 5:29and I asked the brilliant Max Martin
158. 5:31if he wanted to come be with me.
159. 5:32-Love Max Martin. -Yeah.
160. 5:34And we had this week in the studio.
161. 5:35It was just the two of us.
162. 5:36And by the end of the week,
163. 5:38we had, you know, five songs that are on this album.
164. 5:41And he was like, "Just keep going,
165. 5:42and I'll come back in a month," and it just came out that way.
166. 5:46-You can't stop, though. It's part of you.
167. 5:48It's in you, and you got -- you're such a pro.
168. 5:50When we did our song, our comedy song together,
169. 5:52I was like, "Oh, what do you think of this?"
170. 5:54and you took it to the next level.
171. 5:55You're a pro. You just got in the studio,
172. 5:57you're like, "Is this okay?"
173. 5:58You're harmonizing with yourself.
174. 6:00I'm like, "Are you kidding me?" You're the most talented person
175. 6:02I've ever met in my entire lifetime.
176. 6:03-That's very nice. -And then you put this out,
177. 6:06and it went number one.
178. 6:07Of course. Obviously. There you go.
179. 6:08[ Cheers and applause ]
180. 6:13-Which also --
181. 6:15Which also you broke the record.
182. 6:18You became the the first female artist
183. 6:20to have 14 songs surpass 1 billion streams on Spotify.
184. 6:24Yes. -I feel like that's not true.
185. 6:27-40 billion. -That can't be possible.
186. 6:29-40 billion with a B. -That's so strange.
187. 6:31-Isn't that the most bizarre? I know you don't do it
188. 6:34for these awards. -That is so insane.
189. 6:35But come on, just keep going, buddy.
190. 6:37You're so great.
191. 6:38And "The Boy is Mine," you're doing that tonight?
192. 6:40-Yes, we're doing that tonight. [ Cheers and applause ]
193. 6:43And -- And the video comes out tomorrow morning,
194. 6:47directed by Christian Breslauer. -Well, now, no --
195. 6:50no spoilers, obviously, about the video for "The Boy is Mine,"
196. 6:53but I heard rumors -- -Too late.
197. 6:55It's on the tip of my tongue. Go ahead.
198. 6:56-Oh, really? -I'm kidding.
199. 6:57-All right. There's cameos.
200. 6:58-Yes, yes. -People we know.
201. 7:01-Yes, definitely. Yeah, there are a couple little things.
202. 7:04[ Cheers and applause ]
203. 7:06The video stars Penn Badgley, who I've been a fan of --
204. 7:10I've been a fan of my entire life,
205. 7:11so it was just so amazing to work with him.
206. 7:13I'm such a fan. -He's a good guy.
207. 7:14-Yeah. -Super honored to have him.
208. 7:16-"Boy is Mine," that comes out tomorrow,
209. 7:18and call all of your favorite radio stations
210. 7:19and request the song, as well. -Oh, wow.
211. 7:21-Yeah. -Thank you.
212. 7:22-Uh, I wanted to show you something --
213. 7:25I know. Isn't that good that I didn't have --
214. 7:26-Are you my mom or my publicist?
215. 7:28[ Laughter ]
216. 7:30-I'm your mom. Yeah.
217. 7:31I wanted to tell you that tonight.
218. 7:32I don't know why. I just felt like saying that.
219. 7:34'Cause I love radio.
220. 7:35And I listen to you on Sirius XM and all the stuff,
221. 7:38and so why not call them up and talk to your DJs?
222. 7:41-Wow. -"What do you want --
223. 7:42What do you want to hear?"
224. 7:44I want to hear -- -"The Boy is Mine"!
225. 7:46-"There you go. No problem.
226. 7:48I'll play it for you right now on Z107!
227. 7:52-Wow. That's incredible. Thank you for that.
228. 7:54-No problem. -Jimmy Fallon!
229. 7:56-Thank you. No, I mean, I'm trying.
230. 7:57In character. Now I'm out of character.
231. 8:00I've known you for years and your awesome family,
232. 8:03and Nona and your mom, Joan, who I love, and your brother.
233. 8:06And years ago, you gave me one of the nicest things ever.
234. 8:08I don't know if you remember even giving me this.
235. 8:10You gave me a sweatshirt with your baby picture on it.
236. 8:12[ Laughter ]
237. 8:13It's so cute.
238. 8:16And I loved it so much that I --
239. 8:17-I look exactly the same. -You really do, yeah.
240. 8:19-That's exactly -- -I wanted to give you
241. 8:21a little something, too. This is a sweatshirt for you.
242. 8:24This is -- This is me. [ Laughter ]
243. 8:25-Oh, my gosh! -I was 5 years old.
244. 8:28I was 5. I was in the Navy.
245. 8:31I was 5 years old, and I was in the Navy.
246. 8:33And, uh -- [ Laughter ]
247. 8:35And it was -- it was a rough time for me, but --
248. 8:37Yeah. So this is -- that's a gift for you
249. 8:39because I love you so much. -I'm gonna cherish this.
250. 8:40I love it so much. -Congratulations on everything.
251. 8:42"Eternal Sunshine." [ Cheers and applause ]
252. 8:44It's out! -Thank you.
253. 8:46-And Ariana's performing for us later in the show.
254. 8:49Come back more!
255. 8:50We have Ron Howard on tonight's show.
256. 8:52Stick around, everybody. Come back.