Shadowing Practice: Frankie Grande opens up about sobriety journey, ‘Titanique,’ more - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Frankie Grande is a singer, he's a dancer, he's an actor
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and a reality TV star who a lot of us know from the hit reality series Big Brother.
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Hi everybody.
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He's returning to the stage in the off-Broadway musical Titanic, which is a hilarious parody of the movie Titanic, set to the music of Celine Dion.
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Take a look.
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I had to be scared, the city was stingy and true.
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Ha!
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Ha!
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Maybe I should have called you first, but I was dying to get to you Wee,
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I was dreaming while I drove that long street road ahead Uh-huh, just to taste your sweet kisses,
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your arms open wide This fever for you is burning me all in time
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It's Sapphire Island It's Sapphire Island First of all, you were born to perform.
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Oh, thank you so much.
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Is that how you came into this world?
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Were you that kind of kid?
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Listen, fifth grade, I went to my first audition for anything musical theater, and I walked in, and they said, what are you going to be singing?
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And I said, I'll be singing The Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler.
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No, you did not.
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And from that moment on, I knew that's where I believed.
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I mean, honestly, in fifth grade, you were like, let me take on the most ambitious sound there is.
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I can do it.
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I didn't stop.
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She was like, thank you so much.
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And I was like, fly!
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I I I think I was born to do this.
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Happy New Year.
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How was your holiday?
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Did you have a good one?
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I had the best holiday.
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You know, Christmas was so magical because it was, yay!
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My mom had both of her children together.
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Which, you know, like, we're both kind of busy.
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Yeah.
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So it's been really nice to be able to be there with her and with my grandmother, who just turned 98 years old.
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How is your grandma, by the way?
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She's like, oh, look at her, so cute!
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With our Italian fried dough right there that we make every year, zeppola.
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She's wonderful.
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You know, she's doing really, really well.
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And it's just such a blessing.
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You know, she and I have had a very special bond ever since I was a kid.
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She tells the story that she used to talk to me when I was in the womb.
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So when I came out and she spoke, my eyes immediately locked onto her.
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And so, like, we've just had that kind of bond for our entire life.
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And how lucky is it for you to have had her for so long?
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We saw a performance you put on at her retirement community.
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How was that?
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Yes!
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Oh, my goodness.
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So I joke that my residency is at Minona's assisted living community.
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I performed twice a year there and it just it lights up their lives
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and this year I brought my best friend Selena from drag race Drag Race season 15
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and we did a little drag number for them
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and they just they loved it so much What is your known to think?
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I mean she has two grandkids.
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She has you and Ariana Grande your sister Yeah, she must just be busting.
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Yeah, she thinks it's correct.
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Yeah What she is exactly correct, you know, this is what you know SHE'S BEEN WITH HER.
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SHE'S BEEN WITH HER.
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SHE'S BEEN WITH HER.
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SHE'S BEEN WITH HER.
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SHE'S BEEN WITH HER.
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SHE'S BEEN WITH HER.
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SHE'S BEEN AROUND FOR SO LONG.
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I THINK THAT JUST WATCHING US GROW INTO IT, IT WAS KIND OF, IT WAS FAST, BUT IT WAS ALSO LIKE watching us grow into it you know it was kind of it was fast
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but it was also like kind of destiny
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so I think like she's just like this is this is
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right this is what my grandchildren should be doing with their lives
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and she's so proud and it's probably what she always saw in you all yeah
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so you just celebrated six years of sobriety yes isn't
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that crazy thank you
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so much important feat how has it changed everything for you
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I mean it's it's literally changed everything in my life you You know, it was, you know, I always say that I'm so lucky
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and so blessed because I was still at the height of my using.
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I was still showing up to work.
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And people weren't saying like, oh, you need to get help, which is great.
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But it's also kind of a curse because I was like, well, no one's telling me I need to get help.
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So I had to realize myself that it was time to get help.
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And it was a rock bottom moment.
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It was a rock bottom moment.
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It was after the Manchester bombing.
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And I realized that I could not show up to help my family.
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It took me further and further into using and for farther
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and farther away from my family
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So I think it answer to you the six years
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and sober has repaired my relationships with my family And that has been the greatest blessing of my life Well, that is the fact that I get I'm the first phone call again
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when something when my sister wants to ask a question Yeah, my mother needs help for something.
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I'm that first phone call which I wasn't for years.
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Yeah, that's amazing Let's talk for just a minute about Titanic.
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Yes Yes, please.
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By the way, have you ever met Celine Dion?
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Oh my goodness, I have met her, and she is a hoot.
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I must tell you.
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First time I met her was, I was 15 years old, and Ariana was five, and it was at her concert at the National Car Rental Center.
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This is at the Billboard Awards.
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Yeah.
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And I was at the front row, and I I when I gave her the heart of the ocean necklace from the gift shop
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and she was like oh my god this is
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so beautiful where did you get this amazing
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and I was like oh I bought it at the gift store
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and she was like what we're selling this here I don't even have it thank you
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so much and it was from
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that moment on I knew I was obsessed with Celine Dion
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and I would one day be in a show about her or with her music.
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I mean, by the way, this combination of the Titanic, a parody, plus Celine, feels like gold.
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Yeah, perfect.
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It is gold.
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You know, it's like, it's something you kind of have to see to believe.
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It is done with love.
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It is done with so much camp and so much joy.
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But you leave so, so happy.
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Yeah.
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And that's the kind of theater that I like.
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You know, I've been in Mamma Mia, Rock of Ages, now Titanic. Of course.
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And you just walk into that theater, no matter what you feel like when you walk in, you leave happy.
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Yeah.
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And excited for whatever's next.
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Please check out Frankie's Frankie in Titanilias, starting January the 13th at the Daryl Roth Theatre.
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Yes.
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Right here in New York.
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Congratulate.
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Thank you so much.
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Merci beaucoup.
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Oh.
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Exactly.
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Merci.
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Your Celine impersonation is spot on.
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I'm hoping that I'll upgrade to playing Celine in the show one day.
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Let's do it.
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Let's make it happen.
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Thank you, Frankie.

Speaking Goals for This Clip

This video is perfect for practicing conversational fluency and natural storytelling. You’ll learn to share personal anecdotes—like Frankie talking about his grandma or childhood auditions—with warmth and flow. It’s great for mastering how to connect ideas in casual chat, a key milestone for everyday English use. Plus, the mix of humor and heartfelt moments helps you practice emotional intonation, making your speech sound more authentic.

Phrase Bank

  • “I was dying to get to you” – Express eagerness to reach someone.
  • “We’ve had a very special bond” – Describe a close relationship.
  • “It’s just such a blessing” – Highlight something wonderful in life.
  • “I joke that my residency is at…” – Playfully say you spend a lot of time somewhere.
  • “How lucky is it for you to have…” – Ask about someone’s good fortune.

Fix Your Weak Spots

The dialogue’s casual rhythm is ideal for shadow speech practice. Notice how Frankie pauses, stresses words like “fly!” for effect, and uses contractions (“I didn’t stop”) to keep the conversation light. A shadowing site or shadowing app can help you mimic this flow—repeat lines right after him to nail the natural pace. Pay attention to how questions like “How was your holiday?” rise in tone, and statements like “She’s doing really well” fall. This clip also helps with shadowspeaks skills by teaching you to blend humor (“my residency is at Minona’s assisted living”) with sincerity, a tricky but essential skill for real-world talks. Whether you use a shadow speak tool or just repeat aloud, this video will make your speech sound less scripted and more like a native.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.