Defying Gravity
feat. Ariana Grande
Cynthia Erivo
·
20242024
Asked by Apple Music to name their favorite song from their film adaptation of Wicked, 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 Wicked 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 Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West—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.
Lyrics
[GLINDA, spoken]
Elphaba
Why couldn't you have stayed calm for once
Instead of flying off the handle?
I hope you’re happy
[GLINDA]
I hope you're happy now
I hope you're happy how you’ve hurt your cause forever
I hope you think you're clever
[ELPHABA, spoken]
I hope you're happy
[ELPHABA]
I hope you're happy too
I hope you're proud how you would
Grovel in submission to feed your own ambition
[GLINDA & ELPHABA]
So though I can't imagine how
I hope you're happy right now
[GLINDA, spoken]
Elphie, listen to me
Just say you're sorry
[GLINDA]
You can still be with the Wizard
What you’ve worked and waited for
You can have all you ever wantеd
[ELPHABA, spoken]
I know
[ELPHABA]
But I don’t want it
No, I can't want it anymore
Something has changed within mе
Something is not the same
I’m through with playing by
The rules of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes and leap
It's time to try defying gravity
I think I’ll try defying gravity
And you can't pull me down
[GLINDA]
Can't I make you understand
You're having delusions of grandeur?
[ELPHABA]
I'm through accepting limits
'Cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But 'til I try, I'll never know
Too long, I've been afraid of
Losing love, I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost
I'd sooner buy defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down
[ELPHABA, spoken]
Come with me
Think of what we could do together
[ELPHABA]
Unlimited
Together, we're unlimited
Together, we'll be the greatest team there's ever been, Glinda
Dreams the way we planned them
[GLINDA]
If we work in tandem
[GLINDA & ELPHABA]
There's no fight we cannot win
Just you and I defying gravity
With you and I defying gravity
[ELPHABA]
They'll never bring us down
[ELPHABA, spoken]
Are you coming?
[GLINDA]
I hope you're happy
Now that you're choosing this
[ELPHABA, spoken]
You, too
[ELPHABA]
I hope it brings you bliss
[GLINDA & ELPHABA]
I really hope you get it
And you don't live to regret it
I hope you're happy in the end
I hope you're happy, my friend
[ELPHABA, spoken]
No, leave her alone!
She hasn't done anything wrong
I'm the one you want
I'm the one you want
It's me
[ELPHABA]
It's me
So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky
As someone told me lately
"Everyone deserves the chance to fly"
And if I'm flying solo
At least, I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I'm defying gravity
I'm flying high, defying gravity
And soon, I'll match them in renown
Unlimited
[GLINDA]
Unlimited
[ELPHABA]
Unlimited
And nobody in all of Oz
No wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down
[GLINDA]
I hope you're happy
[CITIZENS OF OZ]
Look at her! She's wicked!
Kill her!
[CITIZENS OF OZ & ELPHABA]
No one mourns the wicked (Bring me down)
So we've got to bring her
[ELPHABA]
Oh
[CITIZENS OF OZ]
Down
Down
Woah
