Ariana Grande’s “Popular” could have sounded a lot different. In a new piece in the Los Angeles Times, composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz has shared that, following Grande’s casting, he was considering a new hip-hop rhythm for the superstar.
“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,” said Schwartz of the number. However, Grande quickly shut down the idea. “Ariana said, ‘Absolutely not, don’t do it. I want to be Glinda, not Ariana Grande playing Glinda.'”
The movie ultimately features a rendition that is close to the original, albeit with a new, slightly longer ending that utilizes key changes and more of Ariana Grande’s soprano range. In a recent interview, Schwartz said that he hopes to bring this new ending to the stage musical as well.
“If I thought of this [ending] then, I would have done it,” he explained. “That’s the one that, I think, might find its way back into the stage musical.”
The well-known musical number occurs during Glinda and Elphaba’s time at Shiz University, as Glinda attempts to help her unpopular roommate better fit in. Listen to Ariana Grande’s rendition below.
Along with Grande, the Wicked film adaptation stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Ethan Slater as Boq, and Marissa Bode as Nessarose. The first part was released on November 22, 2024, with Part Two hitting theaters on November 21, 2025.
