Listen to Ariana Grande Sing ‘Popular’ & ‘Defying Gravity’ With Cynthia Erivo in New ‘Wicked’ Trailer
The full-length trailer for the upcoming Wicked films is finally here, featuring the first-ever look at Ariana Grande singing Glinda’s signature song, “Popular.”
The three-and-a-half-minute preview, which was released Wednesday (May 15), opens with the pop star’s voice asking, “Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?”
Grande’s bubbly rendition of “Popular” then plays over scenes of the “Yes, And?” singer — dressed in several different pink costumes — meeting Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba for the first time and swinging from a chandelier in their shared dormitory at Shiz University. The two characters then hold hands as they travel to the Emerald City together and meet Jeff Goldblum’s Wizard of Oz, during which the music in the trailer gradually shifts into Grande and the Harriet star’s voices harmonizing on “Defying Gravity.”
And yes, there’s also a shot of Glinda in her pink floating bubble, fully immersed as the Good Witch of the North as she greets the citizens of Oz.
Trending on Billboard
The trailer comes about six months ahead of the first Wicked film’s Thanksgiving premiere, and follows a shorter teaser that aired for the first time during the 2024 Super Bowl broadcast in February. The second part of the Jon M. Chu-directed duology — which was based on Stephen Schwartz’s Broadway musical of the same name, which itself was inspired by Gregory Maguire’s novel — arrives in 2025.
Leading up to the trailer’s arrival, Universal Pictures released behind-the-scenes footage from the films’ 2023 shoot in the U.K., plus clips of Erivo and Grande reacting to the news that they had been cast as the project’s stars. “Oh my God, thank you!” the “We Can’t Be Friends” musician says through tears in the video. “I love [Glinda] so much, I’m gonna take such good care of her!”
Earlier this month, Erivo joined Grande for a surprise duet of “When You Believe” by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston at the 2024 Met Gala. The Victorious alum also performed some of her older hits, as well as tracks from her Billboard 200-topping new album Eternal Sunshine.
Watch the new Wicked trailer featuring Grande singing “Popular” above.
