Many years we have waited for the Wicked movie to appear, and now it’s finally here — and so is the soundtrack! Ahead of the movie’s theatrical release, Universal and Universal Music Group have shared two minute-long lyric music videos, one for “The Wizard and I” and one for “Popular.” The videos are full of actual film footage combined with colorful pink and green graphics and lyrics to help you sing along and learn the words before it’s time to watch the scenes on the silver screen. (Just don’t sing along while you’re at the movies, please.)
While we’ve heard and seen bits of these musical numbers in previous Wicked movie promos and trailers, they are the longest previews we have of the songs, and isn’t that thrillifying?
“The Wizard and I” is not as popular as, well, “Popular,” but it is a key song for Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo). “The Wizard and I” is what’s known as an “I want” song. It establishes Elphaba’s main desire and what motivates her moving forward. It’s like “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid.
With almost 83 million streams on Spotify, “Popular” truly lives up to its name and is one of the most popular songs from the Broadway musical. Set in Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba’s Shiz University dorm room, “Popular” is Glinda’s iconic song in which she gives Elphaba a makeover and tries to teach her how to be more well-liked. It’s a fun scene that’s a key moment in the witches’ relationship. We’ve seen most of the footage in the video already, but to see the music, singing and choreography all come together is a wonderful delight that makes us even more excited for the Wicked movie musical.
While we don’t know if the audio in these lyric videos is from a studio recording, it is worth noting that the cast of Wicked movie sang live during filming.
Preview “Popular” and “The Wizard and I”:
Wicked is in theaters Friday, Nov. 22. Wicked: The Soundtrack will also be released Friday, Nov. 22.
