FRESH FROM THE 'WICKED' PREMIERE - ARIANA GRANDE

ON HER CLOSE BOND WITH 'WARMEST HUMAN' CYNTHIA ERIVO

- JENNY DAVIS

When the year's most hotly anticipated movie premiered in Los Angeles last week, the film's stars were out in force on the red carpet. Leading the stellar cast of Wicked was Ariana Grande, the diminutive pop star who plays Glinda the Good Witch opposite Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba.

Adapted from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical - also a huge hit in the West End - the film tells the back story of the witches of Oz and their unlikely friendship, which is, eventually, torn apart. It is being released in two installments, the second part scheduled for next year.

Here, Ariana talks about working with Cynthia, singing live, and why she regards it as the role of a lifetime.

Ariana, you have been acting and performing for most of your life. What did it mean to you to land this role? And how different is it to anything you've done before?

"There were so many reasons why I wanted to do this, but I wanted to earn it. Vocally it's very different to what I usually sing, so I started training every single day with my vocal coach and my acting coach.