Ariana Grande Says ‘Wicked’ Made Her Feel a ‘Genuine Spark’ and ‘Reconnection’ to Working on Her Music

Wicked changed Ariana Grande for good — and inspired her to continue making albums.

“I felt like a genuine spark, like a reconnection and inspiration and something I mean, maybe I missed it,” Grande, 32, said of filming Wicked in a new interview with Evan Ross Katz on the Shut Up Evan podcast, published on Friday, Oct. 24.

Maybe it’s as simple as I missed it,” she continued. “But I do feel like you have to miss things in order to learn how to become better, you know what I mean? And I think I learned so much. And then also I genuinely wanted to do it. I just felt like I couldn’t not. It was an inspired moment and I had to write an album and I had to do it.”

Grande went on to reveal that the Wicked production team warned her of the reshoot schedule in January — but she did not let the demands of making the film deter her creative passion.

“I said, great, that’s fine. I’ll finish it before then, or I’ll finish it after,” Grande said of her rigorous recording and filming schedule.

Eternal Sunshine saw Grande work with acclaimed producers Max Martin, Ilya, and more. The album was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards.

Grande stars in the film adaptations of Wicked as Galinda “Glinda” Upland. When she mentioned pausing filming amid the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Katz chimed in and asked her about returning to set after such a long hiatus, and if she had to “find” herself in the role again.

“No, it was there. There was nothing to find. It was so strange, I was like ‘Oh I wonder if this will feel weird.’ And as soon as I got there it was like, done. She was right there, it was wonderful, thank god,” Grande said of stepping back into Glinda’s shoes.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Wicked was released in November 2024, with Wicked: For Good, the second part of the film adaptation, set to hit theaters on Nov. 21.