Singing Secrets of the Stars with Backstage Pass

00:00:15 Speaker 1: Pushkin. Hey, y'all, it's justin Richmond. I wanted to share something special with you this week. Eric Vitro was the voice coach to the stars from Ariana Grande, DeShawn Mendez to John Legend. Eric has been by the sides of your favorite singers for some of the most iconic moments in their careers. He's the person they call in the middle of the night that they want backstage at every concert. Given all that, I had to talk to him about his new podcast, Backstage Pass. On the show, you'll hear intimate conversations with Eric's most famous students about their singing process, their careers, and how it all intertwines with their lives, like Chloe Bailey's transformation from singing that summer camp to sing with Beyonce's label, or Rosaliyah on her work ethic and how perfectionism and persistence made her career. They'll demonstrate favorite vocal exercises, and you'll get tips to improve your own singing through all the challenges these stars have experienced. I was amazed by the central role Eric Vitro has played through it all. Shaw Mendez said it himself. Eric's part therapist, part life coach. You can listen to Backstage Pass wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, here's my conversation with Eric. Can you tell me how did you get into the Sign of work? Well, it's so bizarre. When I was very young, like in the third or fourth grade, every morning we would sing as a class America, the Beautiful Star Spangled Banner, the usual, and the teacher was a horrible pianist, like it would bet. It was just terrible. And I was not a ballsy kid. I didn't have that kind of bold personnelity. But I couldn't take it. And I went up to her one day and I said, you know, I can play those songs if you want. I can play them really well and then you won't have to And so she said, well, let me hear you. And I played them and she was thrilled. She was like great, and she made an announcement the next day from now on, Eric Viacho's playing, you know, all of our songs. And so that's when it started. I started playing for the class and then she would say, oh, so and so is having trouble singing this song. Could you spend a few minutes with them, like during the recess time, so I would I'd start teaching kids songs, and then I started bringing them home with me and I would work on them if they had a little audition for the school musical. And by musical I mean you know, a five minute skit and class. So literally, I have done nothing else my entire life but this. You found your calling early, you've stuck to it, you've become incredible at it. But now you do have a new job, you're a podcaster. Have you learned anything new from that or how's that experience been, Like, well, I really don't get to myself a my podcaster or yet that's kind of hard, and I'm talking to my students, so I talked to every day, so it's not really a huge change there a big leap. I've learned that it's a lot harder than I ever would have imagined it to me. Not the interviews. The interviews are great, but you know, you're editing. If you've got two hours worth of talking to someone and you get kind of excited or married to some of the material and you've got to cut it down because they're going, now, I got to cut it down to thirty minutes or whatever. That is really hard for me. Every fiber of my being resists listening. Well, first of all, because I don't like the way I sound. I don't enjoy my own It's not even just my voice, it's just me talking. I go, why can't you be more sophisticated? Now, oh so when we do this exercise. But I'm just not that person. I just can't be that person. But that being said, a couple of the people have said things that I didn't even know. As well as I know these people. I mean I know some of them so well. I've worked with you know, Ariana over twelve years, or Shawn Mendez for years, Camilla, so many of the people, and they have said sing that surprised me, like even what's your favorite exercise? And they'll tell me, Like in my head, I'm like, really, I have no idea that was your favorite exercise. You've never really said that was your favorite exercise. So I am actually learning about these people. And I'm also learning about some of them about their very early days because I never knew what their childhood was like. I know them from when I started with them. They might have told me if they took lessons or saying in school, but they didn't say, you know, oh my father played drums on the side or blah blah blah. Most of that doesn't really come up in our voice lessons. So I'm learning a bit about them, which has really been great. All I've ever done is work with people and they're singing. I mean, I truthfully have enjoyed it more in increments with every single passing year. Like right now, If you asked me when is the best time you've ever had doing I would say right now, this month. You know, right now, How do you feel that you were a better vocal coach now than you were even two years ago. Well, first of all, I hear where someone is starting from and where they get to. So you know, if I hear that constant improvement, if I hear their voice mature and sound better and better, if I see their range get wider, they start singing higher notes, or you know, the lucky ones get up into that whistle register, or they sing lower notes deeper and stronger. To me, that is the exciting part. I love that. Now. Icing on the cake would be that they get good reviews, or people stop and tell me, hey, so and so is sounding so great, or I saw them on such and such a show or the awards show. I heard him on the Grammys. They sounded amazing, so of course that is thrilling to me. And if they win awards for their singing, then of course that's also thrilling. But that's all I seen on the cake because, like I said, I'm the only one who knows how far they've come, the only one who knows the obstacles that they've overcome, that they've broken through. Some people have, you know, mental barriers that stop them from doing their best. They might sound great in a lesson and then freeze in front of an audience or freeze in front of a camera. So if I can get them over the humps so that they are set free and they are able to sing their best when it's really important in front of an audience, then that to me is really thrilling. I wonder, what said some part a great singer from from you know average singer? Well, you know, that's a tricky question because different singers and singers who are singing in different styles, you know, have different goals, I suppose, but I would say I try to focus on everything, all of it, so always starting with the technical. How can we make this sound it's very best, and how can we make it the easiest so it's going to be sustainable for them to sing live. A lot of times they'll record a song and then I go, Okay, my job is now to get you to sound as good live as you do on the recording and be able to do it night after night, and not just night after night, but after a full day of interviews, talk shows, meet and greets, all sorts of things that they have to do, photoshoots, you know, and then get on stage and do it. So but I try to focus on everything, so it's the technical first, getting it to sound as good as it can, making it as easy as possible that you know, A big part of technique is for someone to understand where do I place it, how do I support it, where do I place it so I can get to that sweet spot so it sounds really good, so that they can access that immediately even when they're nervous or they're distracted. That's really important. That's what technique is all about. And then once they do that, then I really try to work on how can you really get to the heart of the song, because even if you've written it yourself, you sing it, you know, in front of people, sometimes a lot of the emotion goes out the window because you're nervous. You're looking out at the front row and you're seeing all these famous people like in an award show, you know, people you might really look up to, people who you've idolized, and that's nerve wracking. So I always say, let's really try to get to the heart of it. What are these lyrics saying? What were you thinking when you did write them, or if you didn't write them, How can you make this so you really feel like you did even though so and so rodem these really belong to me? Now? Is there an episode of the podcast where you talk about breakthrough moments? Yeah? Yeah, there's a couple, you know, I mean, it's interesting each one. We talk about some similar things and then some different things, you know, like Camila Cabello actually gives an example of there was a line in a song that she just couldn't hit the note. She would really tense up, get really tight, and then she talks about how the things we talked about, the techniques we use to relax her so that then she could hit the note freely and easily. So, yeah, We do talk about those things because you know, some of it's mental, some of it's physical. You know, some of it's just getting better breadth support, some of it is realigning your posture, and some of it is just mentally. What is going to help you? What can you think that's going to help you hit this note? Can you pretty quickly tell where a person needs the most help? Usually, yes, very quickly. However, sometimes it reveals itself a little more slowly. You know, once I start to get to know someone, then I start getting into you know, their world and what it is, what makes them nervous, what makes them happy, what makes them feel free, what doesn't. So I would say usually I can get it pretty quickly, but then as time goes on, I get to those deeper levels. Got it. I'm amazed how much you talk about the emotional and mental work of singing. You know, well, I think it's just a huge part of it. You know, our emotions really affect our voice. Just think about it. If you're telling someone, let's say you're going to break up with someone and it's really gonna be hard because you really care about that person, but it's just not working out. You know, they really love you. They don't want to break up. This is going to come as a real shock and just devastate them. So you might start talking and you get choked up. You can't even talk, you know. Well, that is just one example of how our emotions affect our voice. So you can imagine someone really nervous, everything might constrict and get tight and their voice might not come out, you know, and or someone I've seen the opposite where someone is so relaxed and feel so confident, but once again, it's devoid of that urgency. It's devoid. Like John Legend on my podcast talked about the difference between you know, having a great voice, but singing with urgency and singing with sincerity and really making it an emotional moment as opposed to just oh it's a beautiful moment. That's a beautiful voice. That's interesting. I feel like if I think about John Legend's career, I do feel like he sings with a bit more urgency than and I love his early work as well. I love all of it. That first album he did it was very like, I mean, you're like, man, this guy is comfortable, you know, like he is well, yeah, I think he's an example of someone who is cool and confident and yet does have a really big heart, and so that comes through and when he sings those all of me. You know, of course he wrote it for his wife, so that's a big part of it that he's thinking of her. But you know, when I hear that song, I just melt. I just think it's so beautiful. And it's not just because his voice sounds beautiful, but it's you can tell he really means it. He really means all of those words. And I think when people can really get into that space, they almost lose themselves that it's almost not for the audience anymore. They're just living it at that moment. They're living in that moment when someone like John Legend, Indoor, Ariana Grande or Mariah Carey might come through your doors looking to work on something. I mean, like these are like world class singers, like they can sing. You know, what do you work on with people? Well, let me ask you. Have you ever watched a boxing match ever? And you're like, Okay, have you ever said what is the trainer doing there in the corner? What's he whispering in his ear? The bottom line is, look, these people a lot of these people and these people you've mentioned that I work with it's Ariana John Whatever. They're great, There's no question about it. They're not great because of me. They're great. However, when you have a coach, it's too how can I best maintain my instrument? How can I work on my instrument? So it's better than ever, So it's highly tuned. I mean, you can get the most expensive car on the planet, you still got to get a tune up. You know, you still got to rotate those tires. So that's what I'm doing. I'm tuning up, I'm rotating the tires, I'm keeping it in shape. I'm helping them. Sometimes it's just remember the things to do because they might forget they have a lot going on. Or I try to inspire them with different exercises, new and different ones so they're not doing the same one, so they're working their voice in a different way. That usually really excites people. But like I said, no one ever thinks twice about a sports coach being around. So I think everybody needs an outside ear and an outside eye that they can trust that says, oh that's great, do it like that? You know, I think that could be a little bit better. Ladies and gentlemen, the world's best vocal coach. Thank you for know the one of not the justin. This has been so great. I've really enjoyed it. Take care, Thanks man bye. Thanks so much to Eric for coming on Broken Record to talk about his new show. Now, I want to give you a sample of Backstage Pass. In this episode, Ariana grond It talks to Eric about her vocal range, how Broadway influences her music touring, and the struggles of perfect pitch and how can be both a blessing and a curse. You can hear more Backstage Pass episodes wherever you get your podcasts. Here's the episode. I had asked you which was your favorite vocal exercises, and you said the roller coasters up and down. Can you give an example of that so people know what you were talking about. Oh, okay, aim high on the low note, very quiet? He well, perfect, much better, much better better. I needed to stretch it out. That was Ariana Grande singing. She may be world famous for her spectacular voice, but that's really just one part of who she is. She's also one of the sweetest and most caring people I know. So when I asked her if she'd be down to demonstrate how a voice lesson works. She said, sure, which is a good. Whatever you want there, Let's try this on a wee wee wee wee wee wee. Then I might say, give it a little more support on the high note. Wee wee wee wee wee. Now just to loosen up your shoulders. Wee wee wee wee wee more, Oh my gosh, we we wee wee wee. You're probably more familiar with hearing her singing songs than exercises songs like positions dangerous woman, thank you, next, God is a woman? You know. There's a lot of hits in there, so I won't keep going with that. You might have grown up with her on Nickelodeon, where she played the adorable book shall we say, very dimwitted Cat Valentine on the show Victorious, or you might have actually seen her on Broadway, where she first got her start in the musical Thirteen Day. And then if I thought, well, she's sounded a little not you, because you don't ever get stiff. But let's say something was feeling stiff or whatever, I'd say, hey, move around loosen up your body a little bit. I'm so stubborn when you ask me to move, I'm always like, I don't want to flail around. He I'm waving my arms now, just so everyone can visualize. Yeah, it's not just stubborn on that. Hey, There's been times when I've given you an exercise and you I told someone this one time. I said, Yeah. There's times I'll say I'll play in it and you'll go I'm literally like, Eric, that's insane. It'll literally be like no, no, no, no, no, no no, And I'm like, Eric, that's seventy eight notes. I don't have time that's a whole or have to sing God as a woman in four minutes. I don't have this kind of time, babe. This is backstage pass. I'm Eric Vitro. In this podcast, I'm inviting you into my studio to hear how some of the most successful and famous singers work on their craft, the art of singing. They also happen to be students of mine, so I have to say I know them pretty well. We'll talk about everything their vocal process, their careers, how their emotional life affects their voice, and how it all intertwines with their lives. For me, being a vocal coach is all about listening and thinking on my feet. I ask a student to do a vocal exercise, and then how their voice responds determines what the next exercise should be. I have to ask myself a lot of questions along the way. How does their voice sound at that moment, or how did it react to the exercise. What I hear tells me what my student needs at that moment. I'm so glad we just did that because now people can understand that's how a voice lesson works. I've learned by doing it, because you're now singing an a cappella. I think it improves people's ears because they're really hearing themselves. Oh yeah, it's not fun. Yeah, and they're singing along with the piano they don't even know, like the little tiny things where it goes a little in and out. Arianna and I have been working together for over fourteen years now, well maybe even more. I think we met in two thousand and seven. We don't always spend all of our time with singing lessons, though, I mean we've had some great conversations and we've spent some really fun holidays together. Guys, we painted each other mugg Are we okay? Yeah? I think we are okay because it was really fun, no surprise. The one she painted was gorgeous and amazing and creative, and mine was okay. But let's rewind. Let's go back to the beginning, because of course her journey started before hours, did Now, didn't your grandmother take you to your first audition? Yeah? So Nona took me to audition to sing the national anthem at the Panthers game. That was a really cool moment. I remember singing on the ice and being freezing cold, and it was like my first real gig. And I sang the national anthem for the Panthers, my hometown, Florida's hockey team. Oh say, can you see Bye Thesy At this point, she's only eight years old, but if you could see her, watch her when she sings this. She has this beautiful look in her eyes, and she's already connected with the audience. You can really predict she's going to go somewhere with this singing thing. And it was so fun because I used to go to the games all the time anyway as a kid. My parents would take me and I had really bad luck. I was hit by the puck like twice, and so I got to ride the zamboni like because they felt bad because my wrist was like broken and mangled, and I was like sad. So I was already a huge Panthers fan growing up, so getting to sing and having that be my first like real gig kind of was so sweet and so special and so yeah, it was really cool. And I remember finishing and being like, I want to do it again, only you would get hit to. No, that is my total luck. That really set the pace here. It sure did. But really, Arianna says the bar high with everything she does. I mean, have you heard this girl saying I Have Nothing? By Whitney Houston. It's one of the hardest pop songs there is. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love that song. That's always one of my favorites. That was one of our first songs that we did together when we had our one of our first lessons, right, yeah exactly. I remember I always think of you with that song and how great it was. I think it's one of the best songs ever written. I love that song so much. And then when David Foster came and played the piano for you that night. I remember it. For anyone who doesn't know, David Foster is a hugely successful songwriter and producer. His really long, long list of collaborations includes artists like Slean, diond Whitney, Houston, Michael Boblet. The list is endless. That was so insane. I remember being like so in awe and just so shook that that happened. This was obviously a way later for those listening who don't know the context. This was after thirteen and after I met Eric and he had introduced me to David and I got to sing it with him, and that was a really cool thing. That was at the Forum. But you're also saying it at my house at parties. The only parties, just for context, that I've ever been to in my entire life, have all been Eric Vitro parties. That's just so everyone knows. I have been to four parties in my life and they've all been Eric Vitro parties. Not true, it is. I promise they were the best. It's so much fun. There's always so much music and so much singing and great company. So I gotta tell you, there's something really so special about seeing Ariana sing in an intimate setting, you know, in a house or in a backyard at a small party. Of course, not all of the parties we had were small and cozy. For one of them that her mom, Joan and I threw together, we actually crammed about three hundred people in a gigantic tent we put up covering my tennis court. We brought in all white sofas and chairs. We placed a gorgeous grand piano right in the center behind the pool, and the pool was filled with floating white candles. So it was pretty magical. But whether she's at a stadium with fifty thousand people or in a tent, anytime that Ariana is singing, she brings her all, even when she's doing karaoke with friends. Oh my god, that was the best night of my life. That was so much fun, and I remembered I was mesmerized because well, first of all, you knew every song, every melody, every lyric, and you could improvise on them, which was amazing. But also, I don't know if I've ever seen you look more joyous. Here's the other thing, more at peace. You looked so peaceful, like ah. I wondered if you wanted to talk about it a little bit. How has that developed your voice and taste? I think the theater music gives me so much joy. That was the most fun night. It was like such a precious thing. Theater babies. It's just a different kind of nostalgia. Listening to musical theater is a different kind of fulfilling car ride, you know, like if you throw on some avenue que or wicked in the car, like you're just guaranteed to feel comforted. Most broadway songs have longer sustained notes than pop songs. Do You can hear it here where Arianna sings the theme song from Beauty and the Beast hisic and be and so. In order to sing them well, people have to develop their lung capacity on their breadth support so they can hold those longer notes. Also, broadway songs usually have wider pitch ranges, so singers need to do vocal exercises and learn techniques that will increase their range. These are a few of the reasons singing these songs are so helpful and developing someone's voice. However, there is a really big difference in the way you use your voice when singing pop as opposed to Broadway. There's a humongous difference. Of course, you use a totally different part of your voice for each And of course I don't you know what I mean, Like I would never sing a Broadway song with my pop placement, but you know, I grew up singing theater, so of course that's where my heart is. I wish I got to do more of it. I wish I could go beyond Broadway. I wish I could go sing more musical songs. That's like the easiest, most fun, most soaring, freeing, beautiful feeling ever is singing show tunes That to me is like my heaven. But of course, like you can't use that placement on a pop song either, you know what I mean, Like you can't sing like been here all night, Like you can't like been here all day and by got me a walk inside to side. Well I'm trying to hide it. I forgot the words and I wrote them, So there you go. You could do it. I just don't think it would be standing over here with your body. I don't know, thank you next, Yes, fun, I'd end up with sean body wasn't a much or break up with your boyfriend can you imagine that and it's soprano. You got me some type of way. I don't know, that's not funny. I'm just a feeling this way. Yeah yeah, no, no, no, say no no. This is backstage pass with Eric Vitro and we'll be right back. Thanks for listening to backstage Pass. Let's get back to chatting with Ariana Grande getting back to voice lessons. Remember what I said earlier. A voice teacher has to really listen to where a singer is at in the moment. They might be physically tired, or they might have oversung the day before, or they might have been doing interviews and talking for hours before their lesson. All of these factors determine what the warm up needs to look like. Sometimes a singer will tell me what's going on, but usually I can hear it in their speaking voice when they come in and I know what we need to do that day. It could be that they're stressed, which creates a tight, constricted tone, so I'll use techniques that help them loosen up so they can sing more freely and feel more flexible. Or they might be singing too heavy in their lower range, which makes it impossible to make a smooth transition into their higher notes. There are day when I just go, all right, this is going to take a little longer. It's going to be a little bit more of a process to warm up their voice. But I always know we're going to get there. A lot of people really don't like those wide range exercises starting really low and going really high, but you do. Yeah. I like the big stretches. I like, can't wait. I always want to go really really really high, and You're always like, we have to warm up your low range. You're like, we have to exercise the whole thing. Relax, And I'm always like ready to go, and she always is. She's always ready to go. But she's also a perfectionist, and that means she can be really hard on herself. Oh I am so I'm so so so brutal with that, you know you I am. I yeah, No, I'm very I can't stand it. Yeah. But anyway, you have that incredible ear that's like ridiculous, thank you, ridiculous. It makes it very annoying to work with me. When you have a great sense of pitch, it can drive you crazy if you hear the slightest note off. I always had a very very very like picky sensitive ear and it's kind of made me into a perfectionist and kind of this neurotic control freak. And when it comes to camping my own vocals and vocal production and arranging and producing and stuff like that, if the EQ changes even a little bit, I'll be able to tell Yeah, I don't know. It's always been something that I've noticed in a big way, and I think that's been a great thing to kind of grow into having all the control over in my life. I've just been I've learned, you know, how to do it myself throughout the years, and kind of like that's been really cool. My MD Johnny he said that my ears are like a telescope and I can analyze the surface of Mars. But it's a blessing and a curse, because like it's wonderful to be able to articulate what I want, how exactly I want my voice to be mixed. And you know, of course, that's how you create a sound, and that's how you can control your tone and have that be a part of your sound. But I wish I could just relax. I think it can be easy for fans to forget how much work goes into being a professional singer. There's constant interviews, writing and recording sessions, rehearsals, and being on tour. Touring is really hard, and that's why so often I do FaceTime warm ups with my students on their performance days, usually in their dressing rooms before the sound checks or the shows. The schedules and traveling can be grueling. Plus think about it being around all those people, It can lead to a lot of colds and flues. Ariana does shows all the time when she's sick. To her and most singers I know, canceling a show is devastating. You don't want to disappoint your fans, and you know how much work everyone is put in, from the dancers, the musician, the crew, the makeup people, the hair people, everybody. Everyone is working behind the scenes for every single show, and you don't want to let them down by not getting on the stage. But when your ear nose and throat doctor tells you that not canceling could lead to you canceling an entire tour or could even result in permanently harming your voice, you have to cancel. You just have to. I've unfortunately had to cancel a couple of shows in the past, of course, like six years, because I think that it is physically so demanding and so strenuous to do hundreds of shows around the world and it's incredible, but it's also physically very tasking, and between the traveling and the flying and the bus and everything, and it's like your body kind of becomes very run down. And I know for me personally, I was sick for like four out of ten months on the Sweetener tour, and thankfully I only had to cancel like one show I think or two, but one of them was because I had a tomato allergy. But thankfully the rest of it, I was either healthy or able to sing around the conditions I was dealing with, which was like bronchitis for most of it. I think the reason why I was able to get through so many shows as I was when I was sick was due to our work together and our warmups. Like I would wake up with just air coming out and just like no sound would be able to come out, and I would I would go to my sink to brush my teeth and like start waking up my body and I would go and sometimes air would come out, and sometimes it wouldn't, and sometimes sound would come out, and sometimes it wouldn't, and I'd say, okay. I would stay silent for two more hours until I ate breakfast and I did my routine, and then I would do a little more like then it would come back a little more, and then I would rest again, and by the time it was ready for warm up time, I could get out the sounds that I was that I needed to get out. And by the end of our work together, like we would do our warm up and then we would take our little five minute breaks and I'd be silent for five minutes, and then we do another fifteen minutes, and I'd be silent for another five minutes. We do another fifteen minutes, and by the time that I was ready to go on stage, my voice was making all of the sounds, like all of the notes were there. And when she's on tour, there are times when she can be thirteen or fourteen or fifteen or however many hours ahead of LA time. Eric used to wake up at crazy times when I was overseas on tour to warm me up, and it would be like the sweetest best blessing ever. I was like, Wow, thank God, all right, just so you understand, on the days that I did those warmups at two or three in the morning, I would actually do them from bed. I mean, it's too cold to get out of bed and go downstairs. So let me explain how I did it. I have a whole reek set up in my bedroom. I have an adjustable bed that sits me up so I'm in a good sitting position. I have a table that swings out over me with my keyboard on it and my laptop so I can see her, and we go from there. That work was really what kept me healthy for ninety nine percent of the tour, and I really am appreciative of that. I don't want to miss my opportunity to say that our work together kept me healthy and I didn't. Thank God, I've never had to cancel a tour because of a hemorrhage or been at a loss, you know what I mean. So it's just been such a blessing to learn how to sing around those things with you, and to sing and have technique that has been evolving and maturing and improving over the years, and get through hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of live shows where I'm singing live for two hours at a time, and I'm very appreciative. I think a lot of that is just our work together and training to become a healthy vocalist. Thank god, I've been able to sing through things like that, because it starts from the moment you wake up. You don't warm up forty five minutes before the show, and you don't you know, put it down the second you get off stage. It starts from the minute you wake up. Thank God, I think I had pretty good luck. I thankfully you've never had to cancel massive amounts of shows or anything because of my voice. It's been such an incredible blessing. And it's been a lot of work. Yeah, it has been a lot of work, but it's been so much fun. It doesn't really feel like work. And I gotta say, for better or worse, for Ariana, that spirit and drive is constantly there. I remember one night at the Forum and you did, like I think it was six shows in a row, which I thought was insanity, but you were making up the one that had to be canceled, and your mother pulled me aside and said, would you please please encourage your just to rest to night? And I want well, of course, she's gonna rest Joan, and she went no, I don't think she is. And I said, I don't know what you're talking about. And then I went over to you and I said, now you're gonna rest your voice night, and you looked at me and said, no, I'm going to the studio. And I was like, oh, it's one in the morning. You can't go to the studio, and you went, no, I'm going to. I'm very inspired and I want to record. Yeah, you're very upset with me that night. See that's the thing. There's like it's like once it's on autopilot, like once the chords are like, oh I got it, whatever, show schmow, we can do this sweeteners show whatever. Like once it's in autopilot and your body's like not recovering from bronchitis, you're just kind of like, oh, yeah, the notes are there, they'll come out. Let's go to the studio after whatever. So it's like, yeah, you're not pleased with me that night. I think I was scarred from that night though, because I just know you weren't going to go home, even though in my mind I was thinking, go home, go home and rest rest that voice and I'm always trying to send out that mental telepathy, that vocal juju. Come on, drink a lot of water, get some rest, get twelve hours sleep tonight. But no matter how much I do it, and no matter how many times I tell someone, rest your voice, go home, don't go to that party after party, what a bore. But you know, sometimes they don't always listen, but I do. I'm always listening, And because I listen, I'm pretty aware of how my students' voices are constantly changing, hopefully for the better, hopefully improving. I was curious, though, what Ariana thought about her vocal evolution, so I asked her, how would you say your voice has changed over the years. Oh, that's a good question. It's funny because I listened back to like my first album, and I sound like a baby. But I don't know when when it kind of grew up. I guess even listening to old talking, my voice was really kind of I think tie, which my whole body was, to be fair, but I think I yeah, I hadn't found the balance yet with my schedule and doing all that promo in the beginning, and doing all that in the first few years of the music stuff, I think my speaking voice and my singing voice were they sounded so different because I think they also were tired. I think that also strengthened my voice in a way where like now it really takes a lot, lot, lot, lot lot more abuse to get me to that whispery raspy point, you know. But I don't know my voice is healthier now through the years of touring and needing to push through the shows and learning healthy placement and kind of you know, having to maintain that. I think it's just been experience in years of learning and singing all these songs so many times, you know. Yeah, Well, I think I think for people listening it's a lesson in that I think, first of all, you were so young when you were doing so much, And I think that when you're young like that, your vocal chords aren't fully developed, so they're not reached maturity. And also when you're young, it's hard to always remind yourself, oh yeah, I should be supporting my speaking voice as well as my singing voice, and I should take some vocal rest tonight, and I should go to sleep. So I think it's hard to remember those things. So I think the combination of you learning, learning technique, your voice maturing, and like you said, you had to sing through it and get through it, and I think that also made you stronger. Yeah, that's how I look at it, and also all of our lessons and being able to work through the exhaustion together and somehow always find a way to make it all come out and feel beautiful and healthy doing it. Like I don't remember remember many times where I have like sunk through something and been like, oh, thank god it happened and we got through it, you know what I mean. Like, I feel like we've always put in the work to make sure that even at my most exhausted points, the vocals are the least of our issues. I would agree with that that's never been an issue for us. If anything, well Ariana really had to deal with was her shift from Nickelodeon start to growing into what she wanted to be as a recording artist. Yeah, in the way beginning, like putting out the way was really freeing and terrifying for me because I was so convinced that I had to be one thing because people knew me from my show that I was doing from Nickelodeon, and I was playing a character that a lot of people knew me as and I was kind of terrified to do what I actually wanted and make the music that I actually wanted to make, and have my brown hair and be you know where by high boots and what I wanted to be. I think that was also a really big moment for me, was putting out my first single that like was on my first album and taking that risk from the Way beginning too, you know. I think obviously as time went on, you got to know more and more and more of me as I lived in as the music became more and more personal. But I think even just from the very first single like that was a huge risk. You know, it was a really incredible turning point for me. It certainly worked out really well because The Way went triple platinum at the age of nineteen. Our next guest is the star of the Nickelodeon show Sam and Kat, and she already has a top ten hit. Here to make her television debut performing The Way. Please welcome Ariana Grande featuring Mac Miller. One of my favorite pictures of us is at Ellen underneath the Ellen Show, and you had just done The Way, and you looked so happy when we were in the dressing room during her vocal warm up. I just knew this was going to be the beginning of a huge career. Of course, I wasn't the only one. Everybody could see it, her fans, her friends, her family, and a few minutes after it aired, Katy Perry actually texted me and said, that girl is totally awesome. I think she has the best voice in pop music. Do you remember the first year you came to LA we spent Thanksgiving together and we had it here at my house. Your mom organized the entire thing. That was when I learned Grande's an adjective. It's not just a name, it's a model to live by. Your grandparents flew out and we were in the living room like a bunch of us after dinner, and you saying I have nothing. I played it and then I got up and your grandfather was standing in the doorway. He hadn't come in, he was just standing in the doorway observing everything. And I said to him, you must be so proud of Arianna, and he just nodded, said anyone, she's got it. And I remember that was so touching to me, and so I wanted to say to you you've got it. We've had some really beautiful special memories together. And yeah, you and I have had like the best and most special and most challenging and most beautiful times together, and we've sung through it all. And it's been such a journey. You know, it has been, that's for sure. That's a beautiful journey. It feels like it's still the beginning in a weird, funny way, you know. And I do know because this is just the beginning of a long and beautiful career. I tell my students all the time, just being talented isn't enough to guarantee success. It's the commitment to your craft, your work ethic, your willingness to learn and grow and to practice and by practice I mean practice a lot. Aside from her obvious vocal gifts, it's connecting to her passion and working hard that helped Ariana build such a fantastic a career. That's what creates the magic. That's what creates a true star. And isn't that true for all professions? For me, experience in our friendship, growing evolve, that's been the best part of the relationship. I mean, I'm aware she's a superstar in the eyes of the world. But when we're alone, just the two of us in my music room, nothing has changed from our first days together. I hope hearing about Arianna's vocal journey has inspired you. Knowing her has definitely inspired me. Each week, I'll be sharing a vocal tip, something I do with my students that you can try at home, and this week's tip is influenced by Ariana Grande herself. I'm so glad Arianna talked about her warming up process, because it doesn't matter how great your talent is, whether you're a singer or answer an actor, if you play an instrument or play a sport. To get your best performance, you need to warm up. I always like to do breathing exercises at the top of every class. There's a million of them, but I'm going to show you one that's pretty simple and basic and easy to foul. Try this at home. Put one hand on your chest and that's just to remind you to keep your chest up, your ribs expanded. Then put one hand on your abdominal muscles right around your belly button. Take in a deep breath so you're going to inhale, and as you inhale, allow your abdominal muscles to slightly expand, and then when you exhale, I want you to pull your abdominal muscles in, pushing the air out, and as you're pushing the air out, you're going to make a hissing sound. So try that one more time. Take a deep breath in, allowing your abdominal muscles to expand, and then pull them in as you push the air out, making the hissing sound. When you do this, count in your head and see how long you can count for. The goal is to just keep elongating that so that you take in deeper and deeper breaths. You really fill your lungs to capacity. Start stretching them so you can take in more air every time. This way, you can hold notes and songs longer or sing longer lines without having to take a breath in the middle. Now that you're connected to your breathing muscles, let's try doing some of those roller coaster slides Ariana talked about. Some people like to call them sirens. I like to do them after the breathing exercises, So let's try these at home. We're going to start on an evowel because that's really the easiest one to keep forward, right up front on the roof of your mouth. So what I want you to do is, first take a deep breath in and say he, focusing all the vibrations of that E vowel right up front on the roof of your mouth. Try that. Then take a deep breath, and this time we're going to slide up and down, just a short slide. He, So try to keep those vibrations right up front on the roof of your mouth, keep your mouth relaxed, and don't make it too loud, keep it nice and easy. These should feel very, very comfortable to do. Now, do a medium slide where you go a little bit higher. He. Next, let's do a really long one, as high as you can comfortably, never straining, but stretching almost to the very top of your range. Good. They should feel very easy, very relaxed. You can wiggle your body around as you do them. You could wiggle your jaw just to keep everything loose and relaxed. Once you feel like you've really gotten it and mastered it on the E vowel and it feels comfortable, try other vowels like ooh oh ah or a. Now I'm a confirmed multitasker myself, so during my morning routine, I always try to do a few other things so I'm not wasting any time. What I do is I start my day with a little warm tea and then I toss a Yukah shower bomb under the hot water to open up my breathing passages. I sing the roller Coaster slides in the shower, because let's face it, when you're in a hot, steamy shower, you can't help but feel relaxed as you slowly warm up your voice. This process is a great step towards developing the muscle memory of singing freely without tension. If you want to try out the vocal tips from this episode, I'd love to hear you. Use the hashtag Backstage Pass pod on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or wherever you like to post. I can't wait to hear your voices. Let me know how it goes. Backstage Pass with Eric Vitro is written and hosted by me Eric Vitro and produced by Morgan Jaffee Katherine Giardo as our managing producer. Emily Rosstech is our associate producer. Mixed and mastered by Ben Holliday, additional engineering help from Jacob Gorski. Mia Lobel is our VP of Content, Director of Development Justine Lange helped create the show. Thanks also to Jacob Weisberg, Heather Faine, John Schnars, Carli Migliori, Christina Sullivan, Eric Sandler, Maggie Taylor, Nicole Morano, Daniello Lacan and Royston Baser. Original theme music by Jacob and Sita Steele for Premiere Music Group. We record at Resonate Studios. Fred Taloson does our videography and the photography is by Ken Sawyer. Special thanks to Michael Lewis for inspiration and the best guidance anybody could ask for, and for this episode, thanks to Peter Stengard for mixing and mastering to LuSE Grande Backstage Pass with Eric Vitro as a production of Pushkin Industries. If you like the show, please remember to share, rate, and review. I mean that really. To find more Pushkin podcasts, listen to the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Okay, and by the way, only you would have a dog that can actually sing and sing in tune. Yeah, it's like really bizarre. He sounds like he has auto tuned on, but he's learned from the best. He listened to all the vocal exercises and to Luca's found to his voice