Benedict Cumberbatch struggles to understand Ariana Grande lyrics: ‘Something about a cat in an elevator?’

Actor said that despite not understanding what Grande was singing, he thinks she has ‘raw talent’

Benedict Cumberbatch tried – and failed – to decipher Ariana Grande lyrics while appearing on BBC Radio One this week.

During the Sherlock and Doctor Strange star’s appearance on the “Unpopular Opinion” segment with Greg James on Thursday (5 May), a listener called in to say she could not understand Grande when she sings.

Cumberbatch agreed, saying: “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.’”

Part of Grande’s song “Problem” was then played on the show, with the lyrics “I should be wiser, and realise that I’ve got one less problem without ya”.

Cumberbatch guessed that the words Grande was singing were “something about a cat in an elevator”.

He also thought the lyric “I’m in the Olympics, way I’m jumping through hoops” from her track “Positions” was about “poking through holes”.

Doctor Strange (Marvel Studios)

Cumberbatch said that despite not understanding what Grande was singing, he thinks she has “raw talent” and is an “extraordinary vocal artist”. Watch the video here.

Cumberbatch can currently be seen in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. Read The Independent’s two-star review here.