We break down Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s Oscars duet from a classical music perspective

3 March 2025, 14:48

Wicked, a fan favourite at the Oscars, may have only won two of the 10 awards it was nominated for, but there was ‘Unlimited’ love in the room for the movie’s star sopranos and their wickedly skilful duet. We take an analytical look at Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s vocals…

Despite doing their best to keep it quiet ahead of the ceremony, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo delivered what ended up being a much-anticipated performance at the 97th Academy Awards.

And, defying expectations that they would perform only famous songs from Wicked, they instead opted for three songs with adjoining themes of dreams, hope and home (there’s no place like it).

Let’s take a look at the musical choices they made...

Grande starts with her own interpretation of Harold Arlen’s ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ from The Wizard of Oz.

From a classical perspective, taking a breath in the middle of the word ‘over’ in her first line seems like an unusual technical choice. But, after accepting that this is a pop-R&B take on Arlen’s classic song of hope, filled with Grande’s personal stylings, it makes more musical sense.

As typifies many of her performances, Grande might not have the same breath control of a classical soprano, but she never throws a breath away – instead, using it as a technique to communicate emotion and add texture to her sound.

Her frequent switches between head voice, mix and full belt registers are skilfully done, producing a profoundly effective and emotive performance.

Oscars Awards | Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo Open Oscars 2025 With A Duet Of Defying Gravity

Grande passes the mic to Erivo, who sings a passage from Diana Ross’ ‘Home’, showing off the rich, mellow sounds of her lower range and driving home that message of a place of comfort (“When I think of home, I think of a place where there’s love overflowing…”).

This was an elegant way to honour the legacy of The Wizard of Oz. The song, which was adapted for The Wiz in 1978 by Quincy Jones, was made famous by both Ross and American singer-songwriter Stephanie Mills, who played Dorothy in the film adaptation and the Broadway show respectively.

Back to the Oscars stage, and it’s time now for Erivo to bring it home, the crowd roaring as she sings ‘Unlimited’, introducing the musical anthem to rule them all, ‘Defying Gravity’.

As Grande joins her in unison, and then with a harmony line, we witness in a live setting the exceptional blend they managed to achieve on the Wicked soundtrack. Their vocals, despite having their own sounds and nuances, appear to be one voice, the two singers’ tones and timbres complementing each other perfectly.

Erivo told Classic FM in an interview last year that a seamless blend all comes down to simply “listening to what the other person is doing”.

“Apart, our voices sound so very, very different,” she added. “But when we sing together you can’t tell which is which, and that’s because there’s a wonderful, generous listening happening at the same time.”

Cynthia Erivo on singing, stunts and Defying Gravity in 'Wicked'

Erivo’s final solo packs a serious punch. While a few high notes fall ever so slightly flat, her support is flawless with every note grounded as Elphaba leaps into the unknown, and the way she uses different colours and dynamics to paint the text perfectly blends drama with lyric.

Both singers have great command and control over their voices.

As for their vibrato, it never sounds forced, and their respective vibrato frequencies complement each other well. They use a great balance of straight tone and vibrato, which suits the genre perfectly. There is no jaw or tongue tension to be seen, and their voices sound free, healthy and resonant throughout.

Grande and Erivo prove once again that they are masters of their craft, vocal technician wizards and two of the best pop-musical theatre sopranos of our age.

'Wicked' composer Stephen Schwartz breaks down his iconic 'Defying Gravity'