Cynthia Erivo joins Sidetracked with Annie and Nick to discuss the moment she discovered her voice, her demanding Oscars performance, and much more

BBC News

01-05-2025

Oscar nominated singer, songwriter and actress Cynthia Erivo has the voice of a generation. She joins Annie and Nick to talk about the art of singing, the impact it has on her body physically and physiologically, and what it was like writing her new album alongside her starring role in Wicked.
Listen to Cynthia Erivo on Sidetracked with Annie and Nick
Cynthia speaks about her powerful performance of Defying Gravity at the Oscars, and how she had to dig deep, mentally and physically…
Cynthia: And for that song, it needs grounding…Like Home and Defying Gravity strangely need you to like hunker down a bit. Like in that moment, there's no other way to say it, but I had to like sing from my vagina…You know what I'm saying? You gotta dig in….But there are some times where I feel like I could actually take off. And the last concert I did, I ended up lying on the floor on my back. Because I was just like, I felt like I could frigging fly. I was like, oh my God, I'm just, this is insane. Like that kind of view for it, right?'
If Cynthia had five minutes left on earth, which song would she sing? Cynthia reveals it has to be Nothing Compares 2 U:
Annie: You know everyone talks about death row meals. If you had one song left to sing what would you choose? You have five minutes left on earth.
Cynthia: So you know what? And I just said {Sinead O'Connor}, but it's also because she's done it and Prince has done it… It's been seven hours and 16 days. I nearly wore the t-shirt today, I should have worn it. It's my... Nothing compares, nothing compares. That song – every single time.
Cynthia describes the physiological effect singing has on the body:
Cynthia: What's really insane is, it doesn't matter how much of a song, I could sing one song or 15, it will feel like I've done a full-on workout. Like I'm drenched by the end of it, sweating… it is a bodily experience, it's a physical thing that you have to do. So your body is using all its muscles you're applying your diaphragm, you're applying your lungs, your stomach muscles are going, your breathing muscles are going, your vocal cords, the way you use your face, everything is being used at once. And because of the way I sing and the connection I have to make, I think it becomes a really like physically taxing thing for me. But I feel like I'm on fire, literally.
On Synesthesia, or seeing colour when she sings:
Cynthia: I have synesthesia, so I see colour when I sing. So when I'm with an orchestra, I see like a colour when they start playing. And so I get like a visceral reaction from the music… it's very interesting because I don't see my own voice in colour, I can hear, see the colour that's being played for me to sing with.
Cynthia reflects on the first time she knew she could sing:
Annie: When did you know you could sing?
Cynthia: I think I knew intellectually that I could sing about age 11. Emotionally, it was probably when I was about five. I knew I was making a sound that people liked.
Annie: Yeah, you could sense people, you were bringing joy to a room.
…
Nick: That process of getting there, is that a gift, something you were born with or something that you've worked at? Or is there a ritual that you do beforehand to get there?
Cynthia: I think it's a combination. I think it's something I was born with or I had access to and then learnt to use. And the thing I do before I go on stage, I always, It's either a prayer or a meditation before I get on stage and the request is to be used as a conduit to get to whoever needs it. So I always want my singing to move someone, to connect with someone or many people. Never just for me.
Cynthia reveals that she realised the singers who inspire her all sing from emotion.
They include: Brandy Norwood, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Sinead O 'Connor, and Annie Lennox.
Listen to the full episode of Sidetracked with Annie and Nick to find out more.
Listen to Sidetracked with Annie and Nick on BBC Sounds