How He Got Ariana Grande to Sing on His Album

How did Jeff Goldblum get one of the world’s biggest pop stars to sing on his new jazz album? As he explains on the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now, Ariana Grande‘s lovely take on “I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do)” on Goldblum’s Still Blooming, recorded with his band, the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, came down to sheer proximity and an unexpected musical kinship. (To hear the whole episode, go here for the podcast provider of your choice, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or press play below.)

On the set of Wicked, in between filming scenes as the kingdom of Oz’s not-so-great-or-powerful Wizard, Goldblum had a habit of breaking into song, and his co-stars — Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo — would often join him. “I would think of every song that I could that came up in my system from the American songbook or Broadway shows, and they knew everything, and we would sing ’em all together,” Goldblum says in the episode. “And then [director] Jon M. Chu would bring us back to the issue at hand and say, ‘3, 2, 1, action.’”

At one point, Goldblum began singing “I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do),” a 1931 song made famous by Frank Sinatra and the Andrews Sisters, among others. Grande’s reaction was immediate and emotional. “She went, ‘Wait a minute. Why are you singing that song?’” Goldblum recalls. “She said, ‘Hey, my grandfather sang that to me every day. I love that song.’”

Goldblum, who’s a gifted jazz piano player, took a chance. “I said, well, you know, we got this band and sometimes we have singers,” he says.  “It would be a miracle, but if you wanna sing with us, it would be a dream come true.” Grande immediately agreed.

He managed to pull Erivo on board as well — she delivers a virtuosic version of “We’ll Meet Again” on the album. “I said, ‘Hey, Cynthia. As long as she’s singing, I don’t know if you’d ever sing, but you’re a grandmaster, of course.” The song choice was suggested by members of his band,, inspired by the song’s use at the end of 1964’s Dr. Strangelove.  “She said, ‘Yes, I know that song. I’d love to sing that song,’” he recalls. 

Grande and another superstar guest, Scarlett Johansson, recorded their parts remotely, but Erivo sang live with the band. “What a thrill that was,” Goldblum says. “Boy, I saw her take over that microphone… You can’t get better than that… Every time she opens her mouth, it takes my breath away.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Goldblum talks about his hopes for the second Wicked film, his thoughts on retirement, and much more. “For now,” he says, “my appetite is strong, my body is robust. I’m full of vitamin A, and I have this lucky chance to do a little of this, a little of that, and we’ll see what happens.” 

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