An Obsessive Wicked Fan Breaks Down the Movie Version’s Soundtrack

If you’re like me, and Jonathan Bailey singing, “Woes are fleeting, blows are glancing,” has distracted you from your desk job for the past two weeks, or you couldn’t quite believe the notes that Ariana Grande hits as she trills “No One Mourns the Wicked” in Wicked’s trailer, then it is time to rejoicify: The Wicked: Part I cast album was released at midnight.

The songs in Wicked have been the soundtrack to my life, from my early childhood (when I first saw the show at three years old) through to just last week, when I attended the film’s premiere in New York (RUN, don’t walk!). So, how does its Stephen Schwartz score, reinterpreted by Grande and Cynthia Erivo, hold up? Here, fellow Ozians, a recap:

“No One Mourns the Wicked”

Beginning from the top: “No One Mourns the Wicked” may have one of the most iconic opening chord progressions in all of musical theater. However, in Jon M. Chu’s film, the intro fans know so well is briefly interrupted with—if you are quick enough to catch them—the strains of “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead” from The Wizard of Oz. And that’s just one of Wicked’s many brilliant allusions to that 1939 film, starring Judy Garland.

Otherwise, perhaps the most significant change to the song is the delivery of “green” as Elphaba’s father (Andy Nyman) remarks on the color of his newborn daughter’s skin. Unlike the multi-beat belt of that word on the Broadway recording, here, it’s uttered in affecting disbelief.

“The Wizard and I”

Michelle Yeoh—who was very clear with Chu about not being a singer before she joined the Wicked cast—nevertheless makes a captivating and eerie Madame Morrible in the intro to “The Wizard and I.” But the magic really starts with Erivo’s first lyric: “Did that really just happen?” And indeed, her vocal may leave Wicked fans wondering some version of the same thing: Have we really been granted the gift of a Wicked album led by Erivo, one of the most gifted musical artists of her generation? By the song’s bridge, it’s obvious that Elphaba was the role Erivo was born to play—and that we may just have a movie-musical that actually measures up to its source material.

“What Is This Feeling”

During Wicked’s press tour, Erivo and Grande often remarked on how well their voices went together. The truth of that is very clear in “What Is This Feeling,” even as Grande pays homage to Kristin Chenoweth’s operatic vocal performance in the stage production—especially with her reading of “these things are sent to try us.” The line leads us into the bridge, where the vocals are so crisp you can practically hear Christopher Scott’s brilliant choreography (already going viral on TikTok).

“Something Bad” and “Dancing Through Life”

Already an unnerving song, “Something Bad” becomes even more unsettling and dramatic in the film—though the mood is quickly lightened as Bailey’s swoon-worthy Fiyero glides into his big number, “Dancing Through Life,” arguably one of the most highly anticipated songs on the album.

It delivers. The brief interaction between Ethan Slater (Boq) and Grande midway through the song is even more sheepish and heartbreaking here than in the original, and if the flirty banter between Glinda and Fiyero that follows isn’t enough to make your heart melt, Bailey saying “you’re perfect” certainly will. Elsewhere, Marissa Bode, playing Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose, offers an effective contrast to Grande’s overwhelming confidence and Erivo’s mindful caution; and while the instrumental break is far shorter in this version than the grand transition heard on Broadway, fear not: the moment cementing the start of Elphaba and Glinda’s friendship is perfect.

“Popular”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Grande’s Glinda shines the brightest in “Popular,” giving listeners a performance rich with comedy and emotion. We hear just how talented—and well-studied in both theater and voice—Grande is with every note, each one holding a deliberate feeling and thought.

“I’m Not That Girl” and “One Short Day”

In “I’m Not That Girl,” an anthem for unrequited love, the brave face that Elphaba maintains throughout the film begins to fall away—especially at the bridge (“don’t wish, don’t start…”), where we really feel her heartbreak and tenderness.

Then, a brief outro leads us into “One Short Day,” which opens with the same tempo and energy of the original recording. Side note: It was this scene in the movie that took me most by surprise. Prodigious as Wicked’s promotion has been, the handling of “One Short Day” was kept well under wraps until screenings began. Another fun twist: halfway through the song, we’re treated to a few special cameos—and then, in its final moments, one from the maestro himself, Stephen Schwartz.

“Defying Gravity”

Next comes the song of all songs: Erivo’s “Defying Gravity” is just as powerful and moving as the original, enhanced by the actor’s courageous and deeply moving personal touch to the lyrics. (The way Grande and Erivo’s voices blend on “just you and I, defying gravity” is also perfection.)

What’s different here from the original is the repetition of Elphaba’s “I want” motif, the lyric “Unlimited…,” several times before the end of the song–alluding to all that’s to come in part two of the film. Erivo’s final belt should win her all of the accolades.