Meanwhile, fans have been in a frenzy over rumors that Grande was paid $15 million to star as Glinda the Good Witch in the two-part movie musical, while Erivo, 37, only got $1 million to play Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz has revealed that Ariana Grande refused to make a suggested change to a classic song.

Ariana Grande, who stars as Glinda in Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked,” reportedly didn’t want to perform a new version of “Popular” in the musical film. Stephen Schwartz — the composer and lyricist of the original Broadway musical as well as the movie of the same name — recently told the Los Angeles Times that he and his music team considered refreshing the “rhythm” of the number in the spirit of “being open to new things” for the film.

In a new Los Angeles Times oral history, Wicked composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz explains:

The director Jon M. Chu narrates the musical scene, also featuring Cynthia Erivo, where Grande performs the song “Popular.”

Critics and fans alike have been raving about Ariana Grande‘s performance as Glinda in the new film adaptation of Wicked. But according to the show's original composer, one of her most pivotal scenes almost sounded very different.

When it came to her take on Glinda, Ariana Grande didn't want to stray too far from the original Broadway musical version of 'Wicked'.

Ariana Grande shot down the idea of making a hip-hop version of Popular for Wicked. During a recent interview for The Los Angeles Times, composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz recalled how he once asked director Jon M.

When 'Wicked's composer and lyricist suggested a hip-hop version of "Popular" for the movie, Ariana Grande put a stop to it. Here's why she rejected the idea.

While some have hit out at the movie’s “washed out” appearance, it has generally been received positively, breaking box office records in the process. Wicked, based on the Broadway stage adaptation, is also an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West ,