"Defying Gravity" | |
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Song by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth | |
from the album Wicked (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | |
Released | December 16, 2003 |
Recorded | November 10, 2003 |
Genre | Pop, show tunes, orchestral, operatic pop |
Length | 5:56 |
Label | Decca Broadway |
Songwriter(s) | Stephen Schwartz |
"Defying Gravity" is the signature song from the musical Wicked , composed by Stephen Schwartz, originally recorded by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth on November 10, 2003, [1] and released on December 16, 2003. It is mostly a solo sung by the main character of the show, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West), with two small duets at the beginning and in the middle of the song between Elphaba and her friend Glinda, and a chorus part at the end in which the citizens of Oz sing.
The song was composed by Stephen Schwartz, and first performed in October 2001. [2]
In Wicked, the song is the finale for the show's first act, when Elphaba discovers that The Wizard of Oz is not the heroic figure she had originally believed him to be. Realizing this, and despite Glinda's attempts to dissuade her, Elphaba vows to do everything in her power to fight the Wizard and his sinister plans against the Animals of Oz. She sings of how she wants to live without limits, going against the rules that others have set for her. During the song, Elphaba enchants a broomstick to levitate and, pursued by the Wizard's guards, rises from the stage above the angered citizens of Oz, who try in vain to "bring her down." The song is heavily cinematic and comes to a climax for the final verse. The staging of this climax in the original production featured several special effects. The actress playing Elphaba was lifted up into the air by a hydraulic launch system. The sequence relied heavily on around 60 moving lights, smoke, and wind effects.
In case of a lift malfunction in which Elphaba is not lifted up into the air, cast members were taught a "Plan B" or "no-fly" sequence where Elphaba runs downstage and cast playing the guards and townspeople lie down onstage to simulate looking up to a now airborne Elphaba. [3]
The Act One finale is "calibrated to get everyone to stick around for Act Two". [4]
The core of the song is that "Elphaba finds power through her own outsider status", which has universal appeal due to audiences rooting for outsiders. [4] The piece begins with Elphaba and Glinda talking. They then slip into song, bickering in short sharp phrases that are reminiscent of how girls would argue in real life. At this point, the key signature is constantly shifting, creating a sense of unease. The song is in cut common time, but the duo rarely stick to the bar lines, often jumping in halfway in a syncopated style. In the passage "I’m through with playing by the rules...", although some believe that the interval of an 11th is used, the lyrics "the rules" are sung as an octave, with the piano additionally playing a fourth above the second note. [5]
The song builds on leitmotifs established earlier in the show and "raises the stakes" by lifting Elphaba's voice an octave and physically lifting her on a cherry picker, embodying the first time the audience sees her as the Wicked Witch of the West. [6] The dramatic conclusion of the song features a "loud, screamy" climax of "bring me down" followed by a vocal riff that, according to Vulture, has the potential to hurt the performer's vocal cords. Due to the song's difficulty, it is achievable for a few and impossible for most, thereby making those who succeed outsiders by default. [4]
Vulture listed the number as the best song from Wicked, deeming it the "crown jewel of the score", though noted it is an easy song to mock due to it being "ripe for acrid belting and silly embellishment". [6] Vulture also described it as the "big, belt-y centerpiece of the show", and felt it had since established an "ambivalent legacy" as the "silliest, most inspiring, most enduring song in recent Broadway history". [4]
In the original production occasionally the cherry-picker tech did not work, leading to "infamous and hilarious 'no-fly' shows". [4] The song was used to wake up astronauts aboard space shuttle mission STS-131 in April 2010 for astronaut Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger in honor of the day's planned extra-vehicular activity. [7]
Defying Gravity is featured in the Glee episode Wheels, where Rachel (Lea Michele) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) sing it separately in a competition for the lead solo. This plotline was inspired by an anecdote of Chris Colfer, the actor playing Kurt. Having a countertenor range, Colfer wanted to sing the song in talent shows in high school, but was repeatedly denied the chance during high school as it is a solo usually reserved for female artists. [8] It was featured again in the season five episode 100 , the hundredth episode in the series, this time sung by Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes (Amber Riley).
It is set to appear in the upcoming first part of the two-part film adaptation of Wicked, set for release on November 27, 2024, sung by Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. [9]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI) [10] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"Defying Gravity" | ||||
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Single by Idina Menzel | ||||
from the album I Stand | ||||
Released | March 1, 2007 | |||
Recorded | 2007 | |||
Genre | Pop, orchestral | |||
Length | 3:46 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | Stephen Schwartz | |||
Producer(s) | Glen Ballard | |||
Idina Menzel singles chronology | ||||
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Idina Menzel, having reprised her role as Elphaba in the London production of Wicked in 2006, recorded a remixed "pop mainstream" version of the song. It was released as a single on March 1, 2007, and was later included on the UK and iTunes versions of her 2008 album I Stand . The remix of "Defying Gravity" was also the anthem at the 2007 Gay Pride Parade and Festival in Los Angeles, and appears on the official CD from the event. The track charted at no. 60 on the official UK Singles chart in May 2008, shortly after a contestant sang "Defying Gravity" on an episode of the BBC television programme I'd Do Anything . She released the song as a single a second time in 2012 from her album Live: Barefoot at the Symphony .
US CD single
Digital single
Digital maxi single
Digital maxi single (DJ version)
Chart (2007–08) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [11] | 72 |
US Dance Club Songs ( Billboard ) [12] | 5 |
US Hot Singles Sales ( Billboard ) [13] | 8 |
UK Singles (OCC) [14] | 60 |
All official versions of "Defying Gravity" | ||||
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Language | Original cast | Title | Translation | |
Glinda | Elphaba | |||
Danish [15] | Annette Heick [16] | Maria Lucia Rosenberg | "Mine Vinger Bær" | "How Far I Can Go" |
Dutch | Chantal Janzen [17] | Willemijn Verkaik [18] | "Ik Lach om Zwaartekracht" | "I Laugh at Gravity" |
English | Kristin Chenoweth | Idina Menzel | "Defying Gravity" | |
Finnish [19] | Anna-Maija Tuokko | Maria Ylipää | "Painovoimaa Murtamaan" | "Break Gravity" |
German [20] | Lucy Scherer | Willemijn Verkaik | "Frei und Schwerelos" | "Free and Weightless" |
Japanese [21] | 沼尾みゆき (Miyuki Numao) | 濱田めぐみ (Megumi Hamada) | "自由を求めて" ("Jiyū o motomete") | "Looking for Freedom" |
Korean [22] | 정선아 (Cheong Seon-a) 김보경 (Kim Bo-gyeong) 김소현 (Kim So-hyun) | 옥주현 (Ock Joo-hyun) 박혜나 (Park Hyena) 김선영 (Kim Seon-yeong) | "디파잉 그래비티" ("Tip’aing kŭraebit’i") | "Defying Gravity" |
Portuguese | Fabi Bang | Myra Ruiz | "Desafiar a Gravidade" | "Defy Gravity" |
Spanish [23] | Cecilia de la Cueva | Danna Paola | "En Contra de la Gravedad" | "Against Gravity" |
Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his Oz novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country South of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.
Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress and singer. Particularly recognized for her work in musicals on Broadway, she has been nicknamed the "Queen of Broadway" for her commanding stage presence, powerful mezzo-soprano, and reputation as one of the most influential stage actors of her generation. Having achieved mainstream success across stage, screen, and music, her accolades include an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, a Daytime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for three Drama League Awards, and four Drama Desk Awards. In 2019, Menzel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was named a Disney Legend in 2022.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West is an American novel published in 1995, written by Gregory Maguire with illustrations by Douglas Smith. It is the first in The Wicked Years series, and was followed by Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. In 2003, it was adapted as the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Wicked. The musical is in the process of being adapted into a two-part feature film, with the first film scheduled to be released in November 2024 and the second film in November 2025.
Elphaba Thropp is the protagonist in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, and in its musical theatre adaptation Wicked. The character is identified with the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Shoshana E. Bean is an American singer, songwriter, and stage actress. She has appeared in numerous musicals, performing in major Off-Broadway and Broadway theatres, including in the original production of Hairspray.
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Winged monkeys are fictional characters that first appeared in the 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by the American author L. Frank Baum. They are described as jungle monkeys with bird-like feathered wings. They are playful, intelligent, and speak English. They are initially under the control of the Wicked Witch of the West, but are later controlled by the protagonist, Dorothy Gale. They lift Dorothy and fly her to two distant locations.
"Popular" is a song from the Tony Award-winning musical Wicked. It is performed by the Broadway company's original Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth, on the original Broadway cast recording. The song is about a popular girl (Glinda) trying to help her unpopular roommate (Elphaba) become more popular.
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Wicked is an upcoming American musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Winnie Holzman. It is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, which in turn was based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire. The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, and Keala Settle in supporting roles. Set in the Land of Oz before and continuing after Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, the film revolves around Elphaba Thropp, a green-skinned woman, and explores the path that leads her to become the Wicked Witch of the West, all while forming an unlikely friendship and later rivalry with Galinda Upland, who would go on to become Glinda the Good.