Are Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo friends? Singer's Wicked co-star gushed about their "special" connection

Ariana Grande, who is a globally renowned pop singer-songwriter, has recently completed shooting for her role as Glinda, the good witch, in the upcoming movie adaptation, Wicked.

Grande also gained a close friend while shooting for the movie: Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba. Both the actresses and singers developed a strong bond while shooting for Wicked.

In December 2023, when the movie was nearing completion, Erivo was invited as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Talking to Fallon about her bond with Ariana Grande, the actress admitted:

"The connection we've made is really special. She's got a family member for life now."

Erivo also talked about how, despite their voices being so different, it worked so well when they sang together.

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Cynthia Erivo sent Ariana Grande flowers soon after their first virtual meet

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo share several similarities - both of them have worked in Broadway musicals in the past. Grande started her career with 13, the musical, while Cynthia gained prominence for her performance in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple. She also won a Tony and a Grammy award for her performance.

Both of them are actors as well as singers and have had a past connection with the film. Erivo took herself to see the musical show Wicked as a gift for her 25th birthday, and said, it made her feel "really alive." Grande, on the other hand, had first watched the original Broadway cast of Wicked when she was 10, and felt "an immediate bond."

When Jon M Chu, the film's director, cast the actresses as the stars in the movie, they were both in tears. Soon after that, Erivo sent Ariana Grande flowers, with a note, reading:

"Pink Goes Good With Green. Congratulations Miss A, The Part Was Made For You, I Look Forward To Sharing This Musical Journey With You. Love, Cynthia"

According to Capital FM, the Side to Side singer was all too happy to return the gesture, with the note, attached to the flowers she sent to Erivo, reading:

"Dear Cynthia, Honored doesn't even begin to cover it. I cannot wait to hug you. See you in Oz."

Long after the exchange, Grande and Erivo first met each other in person in July 2022, when they started rehearsing for the movie. They quickly became friends, and began to feature in each others' stories and posts frequently.

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Grande and Erivo got matching tattoos

In April 2023, when Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were still shooting for Wicked, the duo decided to get matching tattoos to commemorate their experience and bond. In the spirit of the friendship they developed on the sets of the movie, Grande and Erivo got two matching tattoos that they flaunted on their Instagram stories.

The first one was of a poppy flower, which they got inked on the sides of their palms. This is a reference to the field of poppies in The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy falls asleep while on her way to find the wizard.

Their second tattoo was the phrase "For Good", inked across their palms. It was symbolic of the For Good song from the movie, which is an emotional duet, that highlights Glinda and Elphaba's friendship.

In their exclusive Vanity Fair interview for Wicked in March 2023, the co-stars were full of praise for each other. Erivo said about Ariana:

"I don’t think people realize how brilliant this person’s brain and voice and talent is."

The r.e.m. beauty founder, for her part, highlighted how amazed she was with Cynthia's voice, and said:

“She’s my favorite female voice. When I was watching you sing at the Oscars, I said, ‘I hope someday I get to sing with her.’ ”

In May 2024, when Ariana Grande was invited to perform at the Met Gala, the Bang Bang singer expressed a desire to sing a duet with her friend, Erivo, on the stage. Towards the end of her performance, Grande invited Cynthia to the stage, and they performed Mariah Carey's When You Believe, together.

While the first part of Wicked is set to hit the US theatres on 22nd November, its concluding part is slated for release in 2025.