Wicked composer originally wanted Popular to be hip-hop but Ariana Grande shut it down

Wicked came to smash the box office last weekend and it’s safe to say Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo defied gravity with their amazing voices. Although Ariana began her career on Broadway, she’s best known for being a pop sensation, so hearing her in her full musical theatre element came as a surprise for many viewers. However, there was one striking anecdote about her most *popular* song from the film, Popular of course! Despite being a pop singer, she was very against the idea of her musical theatre number being turned into a pop song. Here’s what Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz had to say about the decision and Ariana’s very stern reaction.

In an interview with the Los Angeles times, Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz spoke openly about the creative choices for Glinda’s lead song.

“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,” he said.

However, Ariana Grande had some very strong feelings to offer the Wicked composer about Popular.

“Absolutely not, don’t do it,” she warned. “I want to be Glinda, not Ariana Grande playing Glinda.”

And thank Oz she said something to the composer because I think there would have been riots all through the cinema if the soundtrack had even been slightly different from the masterpiece it is now.

via YouTube

Director Jon Chu also seemed pleased Ariana was going to be starring as Glinda, and confessed that he saw Glinda “instinctively in her.”

“I thought I might have to guide her a little bit, but then, on the first day of rehearsals, she arrived as Glinda. She walked differently, her voice was different. I felt like I had met Glinda in real life, and that the show was based off of this girl! She’s never led a movie before — how can a person this green come into this and be that consistent and so involved?”