While many actors and actresses have stage names, most of them don't make the choice to use their birth name publicly during their career as a one-off.
But Ariana Grande made the rare choice to use her birth name – Ariana Grande-Butera – in the credits of Wicked for a very personal reason, she explained in the new episode of Awards Chatter podcast.
The Oscar-nominated actress, who grew up a big Wizard of Oz fan, said being a part of the musical's prequel on the big screen felt like a "homecoming" to her.
Watch the video above.
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"It's my birth name, and that was my name when I first saw Wicked when I was a young girl," she told host Scott Feinberg during The Hollywood Reporter's podcast.
"And I feel like this experience was such a homecoming to myself, my young me, that maybe little pieces of her got lost along the way."
Now 31, the pop star has been through a divorce, reconnected with her once estranged dad and is riding the award season wave after starring in the musical's movie adaptation as Gahlinda or Glinda the good witch.
And as a result, the moment feels almost full-circle to the actress.
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Ariana Grande, now and Oscar-nominated actress, grew up a big Wizard of Oz fan, and said being a part of the musical's prequel on the big screen felt like a "homecoming" to her. (Instagram/ @arianagrande)"It felt like a homecoming to her, so this felt like a beautiful celebration of that homecoming and way of including my full me," she said.
It's not the first time she's spoken about the decision, which includes the joint surname of both her parents – mother Joan Grande and father Edward Butera.
While in Australia, Grande spoke to radio personality Justin Hill about her choice to use her "little girl name".
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"Technically, it's my little girl name. It's technically little [Ari's] name," she told the Hit Network presenter.
"I feel like I came home to myself in a lot of ways through what I learned from Glinda, from Elphaba," she added of the other main character in the film, played by Cynthia Erivo.
"That was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old, and it felt like a really lovely way of honouring that. It felt really full-circle."
While in Australia, Grande spoke to radio personality Justin Hill about her choice to use her "little girl name". (Getty)Grande as a child got to met Kristin Chenoweth, Broadway's original Glinda, backstage in 2003 and told the actress she one day hoped to play the role herself.
"I get emotional when I think about it or talk about it because when she was 10, she came to my dressing room when I was playing Glinda and said, 'I wanna play Glinda' in her same voice, and I said in my same voice, 'And you will'," Chenoweth recalled on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen late last year.
"When she got the audition [for the movie], we both squealed like dolphins ... and then she got the part."
Grande (right) as a child got to met Kristin Chenoweth (left), Broadway's original Glinda, backstage in 2003 and told the actress she one day hoped to play the role herself. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Uni)Chenoweth said after the film's premiere, Grande asked if she was "proud" of her to which she replied she was "beyond proud".
"She did homage to me but she made that part her own too," Chenoweth told Cohen.
The two have crossed paths a number of times over the 20 years since their first meeting, with Chenoworth a mentor to Grande both on-screen and off.
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