When it came to spicy hot wings that have laid many a celebrity low, pop star Ariana Grande said, "Yes, and?"
And while Grande might have launched a sixth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 this year with "Eternal Sunshine," and blown up the internet with her Glinda in the trailer for November's most anticipated movie, the adaptation of the Broadway smash hit "Wicked," she remembers her Florida roots.
In a video released Thursday, Grande appeared on "Hot Ones," the YouTube interview show that has been a sensation for years. The show's simple format forces celebrities to endure increasingly hot chicken wings (or, in the case of Grande, vegan wing substitutes) while answering surprisingly perceptive questions that demand real answers. One of those questions for the multiple Grammy award winner was local.
Ariana Grande talks up 'Boomers' in Boca Raton
"I'm looking for the ideal afternoon in Boca Raton," host Sean Evans asked the Boca native. "Boomers, overrated or underrated?"
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"Oh my God!" Grande exclaimed. "Boomers! Underrated, you can't overrate Boomers. It's Boomers!"
When Evans asked how to spend an afternoon at Boomers, her answer was immediate.
"Dance Dance Revolution," she said. "The race cars outside, how did you... you really did your research, that's amazing."
Grande, who was born Ariana Grande-Butera and raised in Boca Raton, started in local theater before getting cast in the Broadway musical "13" in 2008 and then became Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series Victorious and its spinoffs. Her musical career kicked off with 2013's "Yours Truly," and she has since broken the Billboard No. 1 record, scored multiple awards and was ranked the highest-paid female musician of 2020 by Forbes.
In June, Grande was spotted at the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals as the Florida Panthers played the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida to support the home team.
On Nov. 22, Grande will be playing "Glinda the Good" opposite Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba in director Jon M. Chu's "Wicked" adaptation.
While Grande is a popular singer-songwriter and influential in pop music, she has recently come under fire for listing serial killer and sex offender Jeffrey Dahmer as a dream dinner guest, drawing a sharp response from the mother of one of Dahmer's victims. A video clip of Grande drastically changing her voice's register from low to her usual falsetto went viral.
What is Boomers in Boca Raton?
Boomers at 3100 Airport Road in Boca Raton, is an entertainment megaplex with rides, video games, lazer tag, go kart tracks, miniature golf, bumper boats, batting cages and an arcade.
There are six Boomers Parks and two Big Kahuna water parks in Florida, California and New Jersey, but the Boca Raton location established in 1998 was the first. The company closed four California locations in 2020.
How did Ariana Grande do on 'Hot Ones'?
You'll have to see for yourself. Warning for some strong language.
What is 'Hot Ones'?
Since 2015, "Hot Ones" from the "First We Feast" YouTube network has put celebrities on the hot seat.
Host Sean Evans faces his guests across a black tablecloth in front of a black background, with two sets of 10 chicken wings. As the interview begins both Evans and the guest bite into the wings, which increase in heat from mild to the final Last Dab sauce with a Scoville rating of over 2 millon.
After each wing, Evans asks another question, and they can be surprisingly challenging. Evans and his team scour older interviews and local newspaper coverage to find subjects the guests actually want to talk about, as opposed to what they get usually get asked on media junket tours, and the effect is almost painful to watch as celebrities struggle against the effects of the fiery spices to talk about something they're sincerely passionate about.
The show produces three seasons per year and is currently in the 24th season. Previous guests have included A-listers, top musicians, wrestlers and more, including Paul Rudd, Charlize Theron, Lorde, NSYNC, Billie Eilish, Shaquille O'Neal, Bryan Cranston, Terry Crews and many more.
Reactions to the wings vary widely. "Wednesday" star Jenna Ortega went through the ordeal with barely a sweat, while DJ Khalid famously quit after the third wing in 2015.
Evans keeps up with them bite for bite to make things even, but sometimes the guests surprise him. Heidi Klum turned up the heat herself this year when she stripped down to her bra, Gordon Ramsey brought a wide assortment of spice remedies to cool down. Conan O'Brien may have given the most unhinged "Hot Ones" performance of all, slathering each wing with sauce, drinking it straight, and calling over his (fake) doctor to monitor his progress, keeping Evana laughing too hard to continue.
