Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo insisted on singing live in ‘Wicked’ movie

Elphaba might be green, but Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo‘s vocals are golden in the upcoming Wicked musical movie.

Director Jon M. Chu has revealed that both performers insisted on singing live during the production of his big-screen adaptation of the beloved stage show, and their vocals — recorded during their respective takes — will be used in the finished version of the film.

“These are live vocals,” Chu told Vanity Fair. “When we were shooting it, those girls were like, ‘F— the pre-records. We’re going live.'”

Chu said that he was initially skeptical of making the movie that way, and told the duo that there would be “a lot of wind” in their air pipes as they performed the movie’s complex sequences while maintaining their singing voices, though Grande and Erivo persisted, telling the filmmaker: “‘Yeah. That’s what we do.'”

Wicked‘s process of recording the stars’ vocals on set falls in line with similar techniques employed by other recent movies, including Les Misérables, La La Land, and A Star Is Born — all of which were nominated and/or won for Best Sound at the Oscars.

Grande has long expressed interest in starring in a Hollywood version of Wicked, a Wizard of Oz prequel based on Gregory Maguire’s novel. She was so connected to the project that she admitted to “stalking” the audition process, which Chu noticed.

“It was literally 10 years of being like, ‘Knock, knock, any developments? Is there an audition coming this year, or next year? I would like to start preparing today.’” Grande said.

Chu later recalled that she’d “be there at least 30 minutes early” across the audition cycle.

“I’d see her car circling. I’d be like, ‘Who is that?’'” Chu said. “‘That’s Ariana Grande.’ ‘Why is she here so early?’”

The first of Chu’s two Wicked movies debuts Nov. 27 in theaters.

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