Wicked star Ariana Grande has teased a new “pivotal” song for the hit musical’s sequel.
Speaking on Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast, Grande touched on the vocal prep she undertook for her “dream role” as Glinda in Wicked, as well as the new song her character takes on in the second instalment, Wicked: For Good, which is set for release in cinemas November 21.
The ‘Yes, And?‘ singer said playing the pink-loving witch came with a heavy sense of responsibility, and has already admitted it may change her vocals forever, having spent months transforming her voice to sing Glinda’s soprano parts.
“From the moment it was announced, I realised this role would live with me forever,” she explained. “It’s an honour, but it also comes with so much weight. I wanted to do it justice. Glinda isn’t just a character to me — she’s a symbol of growth and love, and I wanted to give her everything I had.”
She also gave fans a hint of what’s to come from Glinda’s new song, written by the Broadway production’s original composer Stephen Schwartz – who her co-star Cynthia Erivo teamed up with to co-write an original track for the sequel.
“It’s a pivotal moment in Glinda’s journey,” Grande shared during the podcast. “It shows a side of her we’ve never seen before. In the stage show, this transformation happens offstage. But in the movie, we get to see her make the decision that defines who she is. It’s a privilege to sing this song and be the first Glinda to bring it to life.”
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Previously, it was revealed she had shot down a reworking of ‘Popular’ into a hip-hop number. The idea was floated by Schwartz, who said Grande had rejected the idea because it felt too close to what she does in her pop career.
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Recalling the exchange in an oral history of the film for the Los Angeles Times, he said: “In the spirit of being open to new things for the movie, my music team and I thought, let’s refresh the rhythm. Let’s, maybe, I don’t know, hip-hop it up a little bit. Ariana said, ‘Absolutely not, don’t do it. I want to be Glinda, not Ariana Grande playing Glinda’.”
In a four-star review of Wicked, NME wrote: “Wicked flags a little in the middle, but not enough to dampen a dramatic climax in which Elphaba and Glinda travel to Oz to meet the fabled Wonderful Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). He and Yeoh sell their brief musical numbers on twinkly charisma, but Erivo and Grande are both vocally extraordinary.”
“Crucially, they also have crackling chemistry punctuated by Erivo’s bursts of intensity and Grande’s slick comic timing. By the end, you won’t quite be levitating off your seat but you’ll definitely be enchanted enough to stream the soundtrack on the way home. Funny, colourful and full of empathy for outsiders, this film really is the Shiz.”