The two have teamed up for a smoldering rendition of Lesley Gore’s early-’60s pop hit “You Don’t Own Me.” It appears on Kristin’s new album For the Girls, which is out today.
“Well I’ve known her since she was eight so I had to ask my baby,” Kristin tells ABC Audio of getting Ari involved. “I wanted to bring old school/new school together. Lesley Gore, I wanted to tip my hat to her and ‘You Don’t Own Me’…and I’ve always felt like Ari’s voice would lend itself very well to Lesley’s style, and that’s how I came up with the tune. And then she said yes.”
Kristin says that the first time she met Ari was when Ari’s grandmother took her to see Wicked.
“Her grandma said, ‘She wants to be a singer,’” Kristin, who originated the role of Glinda in the hit Broadway musical, recalls. “And I said, ‘Oh that’s sweet,’ you know, ‘Good luck.’ And I gave her a little wand and she kept it.”
They kept in touch over the years and eventually worked together on NBC’s Hairspray Live! Kristin says she feels like a mentor to Ariana.
“I am a mentor in her life but also I want to mentor life, not just music, with her,” Kristin says. “Like Carol Burnett has done for me.”
For the Girls also features Kristin’s interpretations of songs by Carole King, Linda Ronstadt and Barbra Streisand. It includes a duet of “I Will Always Love You” with the song’s writer and original artist, Dolly Parton, as well as a collaboration with Jennifer Hudson and country star Reba McEntire.
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