The 'Everyday' singer rejected the idea of reworking the 'Wicked' song 'Popular' into a hip-hop number
Ariana Grande has reportedly turned down the reworking of the iconic Wicked track Popular.
While conversing with the Los Angeles Times, Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the music for the original Broadway show, shared his idea of reworking the Wicked song Popular into a hip-hop number.
Schwartz 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’.”
Reflecting on the 7 Rings singer's agreement for the music with the another change Schwartz said, “I had this idea for a new vocal ending.”
He added, “Ariana was a little hesitant about it, but I told her that if I had thought of it for the original show, this is how it would have been. Once she was reassured that this new bit of music was coming out of character, she was on board.”
Wicked, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, was released in cinemas on November 22, 2024.