Watch Benedict Cumberbatch Try to Decipher Ariana Grande Lyrics
Benedict Cumberbatch joined BBC Radio One’s Greg James for the show’s Unpopular Opinion segment on Thursday (May 5), where the duo reacted to, as the title suggests, thoughts that go against the grain.
A BBC Radio One listener named Alex called in, and said her “unpopular opinion” is that she “can’t understand Ariana Grande when she sings.”
More from Billboard
“I know what you mean, and I feel my 45 years sometimes when I listen to a song going, ‘Yeah, I wonder if there’s a lyric sheet I can get online because I can’t understand a word,” Cumberbatch jokingly explained, to which James replied that he was looking through some of Grande’s lyrics and “didn’t really know what some of these lyrics were. You just get used to them.”
James went on to play the pre-chorus of Grande’s 2014 Iggy Azalea collaboration, “Problem,” in which the Grammy winner sings, “I should be wiser / And realize that I’ve got.”
When asked what the lyrics are, Cumberbatch replied, “Something about a cat in an elevator?”
The BBC Radio One host then played the “Positions” chorus, where Grande sings, “I’m in the Olympics, way I’m jumpin’ through hoops.” In response, Cumberbatch furrowed his brow and guessed that the lyrics are “Poking through holes.”
However, the Doctor Strange actor made sure it was known that he actually loves Grande’s music. “She is just an extraordinary, extraordinary vocal artist,” he said. “Someone played me her music and I’m a huge, huge fan. I think she’s got such raw talent.”
Watch the whole segment below.