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| "Popular" | |
|---|---|
| Song byKristin Chenoweth | |
| from the albumWicked | |
| Released | December 16, 2003 |
| Recorded | November 10, 2003[1] |
| Genre | Show tune |
| Label | Decca Broadway |
| Songwriter(s) | Stephen Schwartz |
"Popular" is a song from the musicalWicked, composed byStephen Schwartz. It was originally recorded on November 10, 2003 by American actressKristin Chenoweth, who portrayedGlinda in the musical. The song was released as part of the accompanyingcast recording on December 16, 2003. The song is about Glinda trying to help her roommateElphaba become more popular. American singer and actressAriana Grande performed a version of "Popular" for the 2024film adaptation of the musical, which was released as a single.
The song is "meant to be as shallow as possible. And I think that's why people enjoy it, because it's real funny in that way. But it's also political. Glinda refers to the fact that politicians and heads of state get by not because they're particularly smart, but because people like to hang out with them."[2]
"Popular" was written by the composerStephen Schwartz for the first act of the 2003 musicalWicked. It is sung by the character Glinda and is considered the character's definitive song, while also including brief dialogue interludes byElphaba. 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 filmClueless.[2]
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 morebubblegum sound than the rest of the musical, withBeatles influences. Glinda alsoyodels on the word "popular" because Schwartz was thinking of OklahomanKristin Chenoweth, who originated the role of Glinda, while writing the song.[2]
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Stage performances of "Popular" are often accompanied with outlandishphysical comedy andimprov add-ons by Glinda that highlight her bubbly character and enthusiasm. Examples include exaggerated "hair toss", humorous dance routines, and the "pillow scream" popularized byAlli Mauzey. Occasionally, Glinda's antics may cause the actress playing Elphaba to lose composure andbreak character to the amusement of the audience and on-stage performers alike.
Laura Reineke of the blogVulture ranked "Popular" as the second-best song fromWicked, calling it "bubbly and refreshingly self-aware" and praising it for showcasing Kristin Chenoweth's singing and comedic talent.[3]
"Popular" was sampled in "Popular Song" by English singerMika featuring American singerAriana Grande (who later portrayed Glinda inthe movie) from their albumsThe Origin of Love (2012) andYours Truly (2013), respectively. It was also sampled by the producerPheelz 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" onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno, aboutNew York politicianAnthony Weiner. 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 [Weiner sports] a chat room chubby". Some of the original lyrics are also present.[4]
In late 2014, Chenoweth included a multilingual version of the song in her live albumComing Home. This new rendition includes lyrics from the Japanese and German versions of the song. In 2015, the song was covered in thesixth season of the TV seriesGlee. It was sung byLea Michele andChris Colfer as Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel in the episode "2009". Satirical singerRandy Rainbow made a version called "Unpopular", critical of thePresident of the United States,Donald Trump.[5]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[6] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "Popular" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 7-inch vinyl cover | ||||
| Single byAriana Grande | ||||
| from the albumWicked: The Soundtrack | ||||
| Released | November 22, 2024 | |||
| Recorded | 2023 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Show tune | |||
| Length |
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| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Stephen Schwartz | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Ariana Grande singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio video | ||||
| "Popular" onYouTube | ||||
American singer and actressAriana Grande performed a rendition of "Popular" as Glinda in thefirst part ofUniversal Pictures' two-part film adaptation ofWicked, which was released on November 22, 2024.[8] Her version of the song was released the same day on the soundtrack albumWicked: The Soundtrack (2024).[9] It was simultaneously sent tocontemporary hit radio in the United States byRepublic Records andVerve Records as the lead single from the album.[10][11]
For the film version, Stephen Schwartz, music producerGreg Wells, and musical supervisorStephen Oremus wanted to modify the rhythm of the song from the stage musical version.[12] 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."[13] 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."[12] 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.[14] 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."[12]
"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.[13]
Writing forBillboard, 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.[15] Similarly,The Daily Telegraph 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."[16]
| Organization | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online Film & Television Association | 2024 | Best Adapted Song | Nominated | [17] |
| Music Awards Japan | 2025 | Best International Pop Song in Japan | Pending | [18] |
| Chart (2024–2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[19] | 52 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[20] | 77 |
| Global 200 (Billboard)[21] | 54 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[22] | 26 |
| Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan)[23] | 10 |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[24] | 8 |
| Philippines (Philippines Hot 100)[25] | 46 |
| South Korea Download (Circle)[26] | 93 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[27] | 13 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[28] | 53 |
| USAdult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[29] | 27 |
| USPop Airplay (Billboard)[30] | 26 |
| Region | Date | Format | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | November 22, 2024 | Contemporary hit radio | [10][31] | |
| Italy | December 13, 2024 | Radioairplay | Universal | [32] |
| Various | March 21, 2025 | 7-inch vinyl | Republic | [33] |
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