Ariana Grande came out of her “Hot Ones” interview-challenge seemingly unscathed, mastering all 10 hot sauces without a flinch.
Ahead of her meal, host Sean Evans questioned the “Wicked” star about how she felt going into the gauntlet.
“I feel present and I feel as ready as I’ll ever be. I feel very excited,” Grande said as she sat before an ensemble of hot sauces, adding that she aggressively pitched herself to be on the show. “I invited myself, I asked, I begged to come here, so it’s too late to turn back, and I’m here.”
“Delicious; that’s really good,” Grande said of the first sauce, which is Scoville Level 1,700.
During the pair’s 23-minute conversation, they discussed her latest studio album “Eternal Sunshine” and Grande shared details about the musical instruments she’s used over the years for sound production. In the midst of that, Grande said she’s not “proud or cocky or confident” going into the hot sauce game and asked Evans where he thought she’d fall on the scale of “Hot Contenders,” using former guests DJ Khaled and Lorde as examples.
Evans said her positive attitude about the challenge made him think she’d be “Lorde-leaning,” to which she replied, “That’s generous … That’s so nice. That’s a lie and it’s nice, thank you.”
Of course, Evans engaged Grande about her upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical “Wicked,” asking her about singing while performing stunts. After answering, the Galinda/Glinda actress immediately went into praising her costar Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba.
“Nothing compares to Cynthia — this is my favorite thing in the entire world. Watching Cynthia in her harness with a broom, a hat, wig, corset, dress, the whole thing,” Grande recounted. “Flipping upside down, flying around the set, defying gravity, every take like it’s nothing, just the most phenomenal thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
She continued: “We had to do some really insane, beautiful things for this film, and it was just so much fun.” Meanwhile, after three wings, Grande was still perfectly fine.
But, by sauce No. 5, Grande admitted she might be stepping back from liking hot sauce altogether. “No, my face changed because I think I’m learning that I, I don’t like hot sauce,” she said. “We’re only halfway there. Thank you for your generosity and your warmth.”
At the tail-end of the challenge, Grande said she was getting full and developing a case of hiccups. At one point, she said “something’s happening,” but maintained that the spice level was fine, later noting she has “empathy for wing 8.”
Nervous that water would only intensify the spice, Grande opted to chug down black coffee to ease some of the sting. The only facial reaction she’d given by that point was when she took a swig of almond milk, saying, “That’s been the worst part so far.”
Like a champ, Grande took two bites of the final wing, sharing how she came prepared by eating items that help soothe tummy issues, like bananas and Tums.
“Something’s off. Something’s turned off, it shouldn’t feel like this,” she concluded, but that didn’t stop her from taking a third bite of the wing. “I’m going back. Are you going back? I don’t want to hurt you. I’m good.”
