Wicked: The Soundtrack

Asked by Apple Music to name their favorite song from their film adaptation of <i>Wicked</i>, co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo either cannot or will not decide. Eventually Erivo caves and offers “I’m Not That Girl” as a representation of her character, Elphaba, while Grande counters with a pick for her character, Glinda: “No One Mourns the Wicked.” Then they agree on a joint pick: “Dancing Through Life.”

Of course, they shouldn’t have to choose, and anyone who loves the musical—whether old fan or new convert—shouldn’t either. The good news for fans of <i>Wicked</i> is that the movie soundtrack doesn’t mess much with its source material. And if the performances feel especially dynamic for such a blockbuster production, it’s because they were mostly taken from the on-set recordings themselves—something Grande says she and Erivo were adamant about.

“It’s funny because I came home and I made an album and I felt the muscles in my throat singing differently,” she says. “I think of course we can take off one hat and put on another anytime we’d like, but when it comes to giving your voice over, the body creates certain habits.” The result is a soundtrack that feels unusually dynamic for such a high-profile production, and less burdened by studio zhuzh, too.

The story—based on Gregory Maguire’s novel <i>Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West</i>—remains both clever and contemporary, an underdog narrative that turns a perceived villain into an object of empathy, an allegory of otherness that makes us see in the differently colored Elphaba someone as deserving of love as we imagine ourselves. Witty (“Popular”), dramatic (“Defying Gravity”), and probingly bittersweet (“I’m Not That Girl”), these are some of the most beloved Broadway songs of the early 21st century, delivered with care.