"Popular" is a song from the musical ''
Wicked
Wicked may refer to:
Books
* ''Wicked'' (Maguire novel), a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name
* ''Wicked'', a 1997 novel series collaboration between Australian children's authors Paul Jennings and Morris ...
'', composed by
Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin (musical), Pippin'' (1972), and ...
. It was originally recorded on November 10, 2003 by American actress
, who portrayed
Glinda
Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Coun ...
in the musical. The song was released as part of the accompanying
cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a stage Musical theatre, musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the ...
on December 16, 2003. The song is about Glinda trying to help her roommate
Elphaba
Elphaba Thropp () is the protagonist of Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', the novel's musical theatre adaptation, and the musical's two-part film adaptation, '' Wicked'' (2024) and '' ...
become more popular. American singer and actress
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...
performed a version of "Popular" for the 2024
film adaptation
A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
of the musical, which was released as a single.
Composition
"Popular" was written by the composer
Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin (musical), Pippin'' (1972), and ...
for the first act of the 2003 musical ''Wicked.'' It is sung by the character Glinda and is considered the character's definitive song, while also including brief dialogue interludes by
Elphaba
Elphaba Thropp () is the protagonist of Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', the novel's musical theatre adaptation, and the musical's two-part film adaptation, '' Wicked'' (2024) and '' ...
. While writing the song, Schwartz imagined one of "those cheerleaders" — "She was the most popular girl at school, and she always went out with the captain of the football team. She was always the homecoming queen, blonde with a perky nose – the whole thing." Schwartz has compared the song to the plot of the film ''
Clueless
''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone, and was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert Lawrence.
The film is a loose adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 no ...
.''
[
In "Popular", Glinda attempts to get Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, to conform to the accepted ideas of beauty and popularity as a means of establishing their newfound friendship. Schwartz described the lyrics as "empty calories" and shallow. The composition of the song is a more ]bubblegum
Bubble gum (or bubblegum) is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble.
Composition
In modern chewing gum, if natural rubber such as chicle is used, it must pass several purity and cleanliness tests. However, ...
sound than the rest of the musical, with Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
influences. Glinda also yodels
Yodels are frosted, cream-filled cakes made by the Drake's Cakes, Drake's company, which was bought by McKee Foods after former owner Old HB went bankrupt. Yodels are distributed on the East Coast of the United States. They are similar to Hostess ...
on the word "popular" because Schwartz was thinking of Oklahoman , who originated the role of Glinda, while writing the song.[
]
On stage
Stage performances of "Popular" are often accompanied with outlandish physical comedy
Physical comedy is a form of comedy focused on manipulation of the body for a humorous effect. It can include slapstick, clowning, mime, physical stunts, or making funny faces.
Physical comedy originated as part of the Commedia dell'arte. It is ...
and improv
Improv may refer to:
*Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention
**Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy)
**Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of im ...
add-ons by Glinda that highlight her bubbly character and enthusiasm. Examples include exaggerated "hair toss", humorous dance routines, and the "pillow scream" popularized by Alli Mauzey. Occasionally, Glinda's antics may cause the actress playing Elphaba to lose composure and break character
Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to:
Time off from duties
* Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties
* Break (work), time off during a shift/recess
** Coffee break, a short mid-morning rest ...
to the amusement of the audience and on-stage performers alike.
Reception and legacy
Laura Reineke of the blog ''Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...
'' ranked "Popular" as the second-best song from ''Wicked'', calling it "bubbly and refreshingly self-aware" and praising it for showcasing Kristin Chenoweth's singing and comedic talent.
"Popular" was sampled in "Popular Song
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
" by English singer Mika
Mika is a given name, a nickname, and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People known just as Mika
* Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr.
* Mika (footba ...
featuring American singer Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...
(who would later portray Glinda in the 2024 film adaptation) from their albums ''The Origin of Love
''The Origin of Love'' is the third studio album released by British singer-songwriter Mika. The album was released in France on 17 September 2012, and in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2012, via Casablanca Records and Barclay Records res ...
'' (2012) and '' Yours Truly'' (2013), respectively. It was also sampled by the producer Pheelz
Phillip Kayode Moses (born 5 June 1994), better known as Pheelz, is a Nigerian record producer, singer, songwriter, and graphic designer. Pheelz is credited to have produced all but one song on Olamide's '' Baddest Guy Ever Liveth'' album. In 2 ...
in his song "Popular" which features the artiste Vector for his "#A7" audio - visual album.
On July 31, 2013, Kristin Chenoweth performed a lyrically modified version of "Popular" on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...
'', about New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
politician Anthony Weiner
Anthony David Weiner ( born September 4, 1964) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1999 until his resignation in 2011. A member of the Democratic Party (United States) ...
. In it, she tells Weiner how to be "the right kind of popular," and also his wife to "take a page from Hillary and become independent of her hubby, while einer sportsa chat room chubby". Some of the original lyrics are also present.
In late 2014, Chenoweth included a multilingual version of the song in her live album '' Coming Home''. This new rendition includes lyrics from the Japanese and German versions of the song. In 2015, the song was covered in the sixth season of the TV series ''Glee
Glee may refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album)
* ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album)
* Gle ...
''. It was sung by Lea Michele
Lea Michele Sarfati ( ; born August 29, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She began her career as a child actress on Broadway, appearing in productions of ''Les Misérables'' (1995–1996), ''Ragtime'' (1997–1999), ''Fid ...
and Chris Colfer
Christopher Paul Colfer (born May 27, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical ''Glee'' (2009–2015). Colfer's portrayal of Kurt received crit ...
as Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel in the episode "2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
". Satirical singer Randy Rainbow made a version called "Unpopular", critical of the President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
, Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
.
Certifications
Ariana Grande version
American singer and actress Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...
performed a rendition of "Popular" as Glinda in the first part of Universal Pictures
Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
' two-part film adaptation of ''Wicked'', which was released on November 22, 2024. Her version of the song was released the same day on the soundtrack album '' Wicked: The Soundtrack'' (2024). It was simultaneously sent to contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...
in the United States by Republic Records
Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...
and Verve Records
Verve Records is an active American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ca ...
as the lead single from the album.
Composition
For the film version, Stephen Schwartz, music producer Greg Wells
William Gregory Wells (born 1968) is a Canadian record producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and mix engineer. He has worked with Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Quincy Jones, J*Davey, Burt Bacharach, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Missy Elliott, ...
, and musical supervisor Stephen Oremus
Stephen Oremus (born 1971) is an American musician who has worked on Broadway theatre productions as musical director and as orchestrator. His credits include arranger and orchestrator for the music for ''Avenue Q'', musical director and arranger ...
wanted to modify the rhythm of the song from the stage musical version. Schwartz confessed that "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." However, Grande resisted and said that she wanted to "be Glinda, not Ariana Grande playing Glinda." She insisted that the song stay true to the original and that all changes to the song felt like they came from Glinda’s motivations and not her own vocal stylings. According to Schwartz, Grande added "little inventive things within it, but I think they are strongly character-based." The song's climax was also extended with additional key changes and vocal extensions as part of the expansion of the film's plot, while also to showcase the range of Grande's talents. Though initially hesitant about performing the extended ending, after Schwartz explained to her how it matched Glinda's behavior, especially visually on-screen, Grande was convinced and went along with the change "wholeheartedly."
Filming
"Popular" was the first song shot for the film, and posed the challenge of creating a "huge, grand number" in the smallest set of a dorm room. Cinematographer Alice Brooks came up with the idea of "Popular" being one long sunrise as opposed to "Defying Gravity" being a sunset, leading to the addition of a skylight in the dorm’s dome ceiling to allow the sun to be the spotlight. For the sequence, costume designer Paul Tazewell created an outfit for Glinda that was a "pink, dotted peignoir with spiraling circles out of ruffles" to reflect the playful and frivolous vibe of the song. For the extended ending of the song, Grande freestyled a set of dance movements in a long hallway set, including a new high kick.
Critical reception
Writing for ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'', Stephen Daw named "Popular" the third-best song of the soundtrack album and expressed that Grande put all concerns to rest about whether her version would live up to Chenoweth's original. Daw praised the song as "campy", "hilarious", "technically impressive" due to "Grande's killer voice". He also lauded Grande's "comedy chops" for giving Glinda the "outsized vapidity" required for the song and the "stratospheric key-changes" at the end that contributed to its maximalist feel. Similarly, ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' noted that Grande made the song her own while paying homage to Chenoweth's performance and asserted that the song alone "proves that Grande was born to play Glinda".
Accolades
Charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
*Socialite
A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...
*Social capital
Social capital is a concept used in sociology and economics to define networks of relationships which are productive towards advancing the goals of individuals and groups.
It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interper ...
*Cultural capital
In the field of sociology, cultural capital comprises the social assets of a person (education, intellect, style of speech, style of dress, social capital, etc.) that promote social mobility in a stratified society. Cultural capital functions as ...
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Popular (Song)
2003 songs
2024 singles
Kristin Chenoweth songs
Lea Michele songs
Ariana Grande songs
Songs from Wicked (musical)
Songs written by Stephen Schwartz (composer)
Republic Records singles
Verve Records singles