Only months after he crossed off becoming a Big Brother contestant from his bucket list, Grande has now booked his dream role in the Broadway musical Rock of Ages.
"I'm so unbelievably excited," Grande, 31, tells PEOPLE of being cast as Franz in the rock musical. "I have wanted to play Franz ever since I first saw the show. I think it is one of the best, funniest, most clever roles."
Grande began his Broadway career in 2007 when he joined the cast of the ABBA-inspired musical Mamma Mia! and had gotten close to booking the role of Franz – a character who was cut from the 2012 film but is a major role in the stage production – numerous times over the years.
"I've actually had three final callbacks since the show originally opened. Every time I made it down to the final two people, they went with the other guy," says Grande. "The first time I wasn't blonde. The second time I was too blonde. The third time I was too short. That is how Broadway works. They have a surplus of actors, so they can be that picky."
Grande is eager to settle down in New York, but for the time being he is enjoying spending time with his family, who suffered the loss of Grande's grandfather while he was competing on Big Brother .
"It's been great to see my unbelievable family. It has been a very happy and cathartic few weeks," says Grande, who is the brother of pop star Ariana Grande. "I've been spending time with my [grandmother] going through my grandfather's closet and preparing for his celebration of life, which we are having next month."
Grande says he plans on inviting his showmance partner Zach Rance to be in the front row when his stint as Franz beings Nov. 10, but he also already has his eyes set on another dream.
"The two roles I've always been obsessed with are Franz and Frankie Valli [in Jersey Boys]," says Grande, who jokingly acknowledges that both roles sound like his own name. "They obviously wrote those roles for me."
Grande is scheduled to appear in Rock of Ages at the Helen Hayes Theatre in New York from Nov. 10 through Jan. 18.
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