Last awards season, Austin Butler couldn't seem to shake his "Elvis" character, with twinges of the King of Rock 'n' Roll appearing in his voice.
This year, it's Ariana Grande who seems to have undergone a vocal same transition. After listening to her present at the 2024 Oscars, fans think she's may have taken on twinges of her "Wicked" character, Glinda.
Grande took the stage with Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, Glinda's rival-turned-friend in the movie musical adaptation, set to release in November.
Wearing a pouffy pink dress, the singer's delivery was very soft spoken.
Fans immediately took to social media to point out that it seemed Grande's voice was higher pitched than her natural one. They also questioned whether this might be a similar effect to Butler adopted Elvis Presley's voice. Butler worked with a vocal coach for the movie and said in interviews that he actually struggled to shake off the voice even after filming.
"Austin Butler Elvis voice but it’s Ariana Grande Galinda voice," writer Esther Zuckerman wrote on X.
"Oh no Austin Butler look what you did to Ariana’s voice," another X user wrote.
"Someone needs to make Ariana Grande stop speaking in her Glinda voice. It’s too soon for another Austin Butler situation," another wrote.
Grande has not spoken on whether she has deliberately adopted a speaking voice like Glinda, a soprano. However, she did say that she "transformed" her singing voice for the role.
She said she worked "every day" to "transform my voice, even — like, my singing voice — everything about me," she said in an interview with Zack Sang. "I had to deconstruct to prove to them I could handle taking on this other person.”
Fans have tracked the evolution of Grande's speaking voice since she rose to prominence as a public figure. Other Oscar viewers who didn't connect the voice with "Wicked" still noticed a change.
"Did Ariana Grande adapt a new voice?" an X user wondered.
Regardless of whether she's taken on her character's voice, she's definitely showing off her character's love for the color pink, as evidenced by her Oscars outfit.
Is it possible there's a new Barbie in town, and her name is Glinda?