Ariana Grande 'persuaded' Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo to 'follow her dreams'

Daily Mirror

07-06-2025

Wicked fans have gone wild after the trailer for part two of the musical was released last week, with triple Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo opening up on her friendship with co-star Ariana Grande
Wicked star Cynthia Erivo has revealed how Ariana Grande persuaded her to follow her dreams and become a popstar - unlike her first career choice to become a surgeon.
Speaking as the trailer for Wicked: For Good is released, giving fans a taste of what to expect in part two of the musical, Cynthia - who plays green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba - will be releasing her second album, I Forgive You on June 27.
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The triple Oscar nominee, who has won Grammy, Emmy and Tony awards, says of her pal and Wicked co-star Ariana: 'At the very beginning when we were doing rehearsals, that's when I sort of decided that, okay, time to write this album. Coaxed by Ariana because she wouldn't let me get away with it!'
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Wicked was the box office hit of the winter, surpassing Mamma Mia! and taking over $750 million worldwide - catapulting Cynthia to fame.
Singing with Ariana on the chart-topping soundtrack to the film, which shot to number one in the UK album charts, critics praised Cynthia's powerful vocals and emotional acting.
Yet the star originally wanted to be a surgeon, not a singer.
She says:' I decided I wanted to be a spinal surgeon, randomly. Because I was good at biology and I was starting to get the hang of it.
'I was one of those kids that was good at reading, good at doing all those things and good at class work, but I could also sing. So my left and right brain were sort of like, doing a battle.'
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But music won the war.
'I started enjoying singing when I was about eleven,' Cynthia tells Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett on the Dish from Waitrose podcast.
'Music was in my household all the time. My mum would sing along to everything and it would end up being a family sing along.
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'My sister and I would sing together while we were doing the dishes. I think I was about fourteen and I was like,' oh, I think I wanna do this. And then I changed my mind randomly when I was about sixteen, because there were no performers in my class.'
But when she embarked on a musical career, she received advice from high places - with Oprah Winfrey going out of her way to be helpful.
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Cynthia says: 'I have had advice from Oprah before, which is really nice.
'Right at the very beginning of my career, I was saying yes to absolutely everything. She was the one that was like, 'You should say no sometimes.'
''It's really good to say no. Sometimes you need to leave space for yourself'. So I took that to heart and began to really be discerning about what I said yes to.'
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Born to Nigerian parents and growing up in Stockwell, south London, Cynthia has now finished filming for the second Wicked movie - which is out in November - apart from a couple of re-shoots, and would like to star in more films.
'I hope I get the chance to do the things that I'm wishing for - more film, more TV, more music. I hope to get to do a little tour.
'In my head I've been dreaming of doing some of the biggest stages in the world.'
Already receiving shining reviews, her new album, I Forgive You, which opens with a cover of No More I Love Yous - a tribute to her hero Annie Lennox - it is a mainly original and deeply personal exploration of romantic relationships.
'The good parts of the relationship, bad parts of a relationship, new relationships, letting go, saying goodbye, and forgiving both parties, yourself and, and the other person,' she says. 'And it just sort of wrote itself.'