Ariana Grande says 'Wicked' was a gift — and she's proud to be in a 'beautiful coven'

Ariana Grande initially auditioned for both witch roles in Wicked, but "I knew I was Glinda," she says. Katia Tempkin

Wicked star Ariana Grande grew up in a musical family and can't remember a time in her life when she wasn't singing. "As soon as I could speak, I was singing," she says.

The family's karaoke machine was a fixture in the living room, obstructing the furniture. As soon as she got home from school, Grande would pick up the microphone, and her parents did the same at the end of the workday. From the Beatles to Sinatra, Celine Dion to the Spice Girls, Grande's family, including her grandparents, sang it all.

"I always loved the divas [with] the big, big voices," Grande says. "I looked up to Whitney and Mariah and Celine endlessly. I think that's a large part of the reason why I learned to sing was just because that's who I was singing along with."