Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo know what Glinda and Elphaba mean to badass fans

The emotional press tour for Bad continues to awards season as the film hits its digital release. And listen, at this point complaining about Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s sisterhood shows is tired of the one who doesn’t have shot two films back to back and sang the musical’s iconic songs live.

These women have become Elphaba and Glinda for the fans and it shows. In an interview with VarietyThe stars discuss their transformations – especially Grande. As one of the world’s most recognized pop superstars, she had to become completely unrecognizable in the role and perhaps reach the roots of who she really was: a theater child at heart with a dream to play a role of a lifetime.

“Maybe people underestimate how much time we spent finding and disappearing in these women,” Grande told the trade. “So, when certain inflections or mannerisms take time to dissolve, sometimes people joke. But we had a job to do, and we had things to lose, because that’s what the piece required.

She added that she was likely to keep Glinda with her in her next evolution. “I think I could stay,” he said, specifically referring to his new old Hollywood. “Galinda needed a lot of vocal work for me. Some things maybe won’t melt. Some, but I’m really grateful for the pieces that stay with us forever. What a beautiful thing to be left, and to hear the ghost every day” .

For Erivo, becoming Elphaba meant taking on a visible representation of all those who felt marginalized. In the days following the film’s release, Erivo was touched by the love for the Ozdust Ballroom scene. Anyone who has ever felt otherwise would know exactly what Elphaba felt the moment she arrived at the social gathering between Oziani and Shiz students. “I was talking to a friend earlier this week,” Erivo said, “and he said, ‘I just want to confirm for you that you are bullied.’ This moment gave me the opportunity to revisit, process, feel it again, and share. And he made the moment where Galinda joins her in the dance to accept her the heart of the message of the film of belonging.

To Grande, that moment combined with the opening of the film says a lot about the importance of brotherhood and alliance. The opening of the film is his character lighting up an effigy of his friend, the wicker man –style “Like how hard Ozdust felt for you, that’s how it felt to light you on fire a million times in a row!” she said of the emotionally challenging task.

Like a real one Bad fan, Grande recalled how the story has always been somehow radicals notion that we need to stand together with those we love, no matter how different they are, in the face of the glossy facade of the Emerald City of fascism behind the curtain. “By the time Bad before it came to Broadway, I remember the people in my life having a precise discussion,” shared Grande. “It’s the time when people say, ‘Oh, how can I be a better ally?’ Because that’s how we’ve always survived. We have always been able to survive with these friendships and those allies.”

Erivo added: “The thing that always comes back to me is how much people need it,” he said. “Give people permission to think of themselves as people who can help. It may not be easy, but it’s not impossible. That’s the kind of thing that permeates.”

Bad out in theaters now and it is too available digitally.