Ariana Grande Explains Why She Used Her Full Name In Wicked Credits, And Its Sweet

It seems Ariana Grande wanted to pay homage to Ariana pequea. 

During a recent interview, the Thank U, Next singer explained to Australian radio station Hit 104.7 Canberra  why she decided to use her full legal name Ariana Grande-Butera in the credits for her upcoming film, Wicked, in which shell play good witch Glinda.

Technically, its my little girl name! she explained. Its little Aris name.

I just feel like this experience was such a homecoming for me, she continued. I feel like I came home to myself in a lot of ways through what I learned from Glinda, from Elphaba.

She then added a very cute detail.

That was my name when I went to see [Wicked the play] when I was 10 years old. It felt like a really lovely way of honoring that. It felt really full circle. It just felt like something I wanted to do.

The sentiment is very sweet, although Grandes romantic relationship with her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater has left some fans bitter.

Last summer, Grande divorced her husband  after two years of marriage and Slater separated from his high school sweetheart , with whom hed been married for five years. 

Sources close to Slater and Grande told People that the two didnt begin dating until they were both officially single, but Slaters ex, Lilly Jay, suggested otherwise to Page Six last July.

In an interview with Vanity Fair this month , Grande dispute[d] specific allegations about her relationship with Slater, but kept things relatively vague saying only that there couldnt be a less accurate depiction of Slater than the cheating rumors coming from the tabloids.

Slater, a Tony Award-nominated Broadway actor, told GQ in an interview published last week that the online hate spurred by his relationship with Grande has been really difficult.

There were a lot of big changes in private lives that were really happening, Slater told the magazine. So its really hard to see people who dont know anything about whats happening commenting on it and speculating, and then getting things wrong about the people you love.