"Popular" | |
---|---|
Song by Kristin Chenoweth | |
from the album Wicked | |
Released | December 16, 2003 |
Recorded | November 10, 2003 |
Genre | Show tune |
Label | Decca Broadway |
Songwriter(s) | Stephen Schwartz |
"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.
"It's [the song] 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." [1]
—Stephen Schwartz talking about "Popular"
"Popular" was written by the composer Stephen Schwartz for the first act of the 2003 musical Wicked. It is sung by the character Glinda. 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 film Clueless. [1]
In "Popular", Glinda attempts to get Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, to conform to the accepted ideas of beauty and popularity. Schwartz described the lyrics as "empty calories" and shallow. The composition of the song is a more bubblegum sound than the rest of the musical, with Beatles influences. Glinda also yodels on the word "popular" because Schwartz was thinking of Oklahoman Kristin Chenoweth while writing the song. [1]
Stage performances of "Popular" are often accompanied with outlandish physical comedy and improv add-ons by Glinda that highlight her bubbly character and enthusiasm. Examples include exaggerated "hair toss", humorous dance routines, and the hysterical "pillow scream" popularized by Alli Mauzey. Occasionally, Glinda's antics may cause the actress playing Elphaba to lose composure and break character to the amusement of the audience and on-stage performers alike.
The song is set to appear in the upcoming first part of the two-part film adaptation of the musical, set for release on November 22, 2024, sung by Ariana Grande as Glinda. [2]
Laura Reineke of the blog Vulture ranked "Popular" as the second-best song from Wicked, 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 singer Mika featuring American singer Ariana Grande from their albums The Origin of Love (2012) and Yours Truly (2013), respectively. It was also sampled by the producer Pheelz 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" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , about New York politician Anthony 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 album Coming Home. This new rendition includes lyrics from the Japanese and German versions of the song.
In 2015, the song was covered in the sixth season of the TV series Glee . It was sung by Lea Michele and Chris Colfer as Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel in the episode "2009".
Satirical singer Randy Rainbow made a version called "Unpopular", critical of US Pres. Donald Trump. [5]
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.
Kristin Dawn Chenoweth is an American actress and singer, with credits in musical theatre, film, and television. In 1999, she won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown on Broadway. In 2003, Chenoweth was nominated for a second Tony Award for originating the role of Glinda in the musical Wicked. Her television roles include Annabeth Schott in NBC's The West Wing and Olive Snook on the comedy drama Pushing Daisies, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2009.
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.
Jennifer Laura Thompson is an American actress and singer, best known for her theatrical performances. She originated the role of Cynthia Murphy in the Tony Award-winning musical, Dear Evan Hansen, and received a Tony Award nomination for her performance as Hope Cladwell in Urinetown. She is also known for being the first replacement for Kristen Chenoweth as Glinda in Wicked on Broadway.
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which is in turn based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation. The musical is told from the perspective of two witches, Elphaba and Galinda, before and after Dorothy's arrival in Oz. The story explores the complex friendship between Elphaba and Galinda. Their relationship is tested by their contrasting personalities, conflicting viewpoints, shared love interest, reactions to the corrupt rule of the Wonderful Wizard, and ultimately, Elphaba's tragic fall.
Julia Kathleen Murney is an American actress and singer, also known for television commercial voice-overs. Until 2005, she was commonly known as the Broadway actress who had technically never appeared on Broadway. This was because her fame came mostly from her performances on the Broadway charity circuit, and not traditional Broadway productions. She played the role of Elphaba in the musical Wicked, both on the US national tour (2006) and on Broadway (2007). She is also a two-time Drama Desk Award nominee, for The Wild Party (2000) and Falling (2013).
"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, and released on December 16, 2003. It is mostly a solo sung by the main character of the show, Elphaba, 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.
"For Good" is a musical number from the hit musical Wicked. It is sung as a duet between Elphaba and Glinda as a farewell. The song's score and lyrics were written by composer Stephen Schwartz.
"No Good Deed" is a musical number from the hit Broadway musical Wicked. It is sung by Elphaba, the main character of the show. It is widely regarded as the most powerful piece of the musical; and the most emotional.
Wicked is a cast recording containing the majority of the songs from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Wicked, with music and lyrics by composer Stephen Schwartz and a book by writer Winnie Holzman. Released on December 16, 2003 by Decca Broadway both in physical and digital releases. The former contains a foreword and a short synopsis, provided by Gregory Maguire, who wrote the 1995 novel on which the musical is based, in addition to lyrics to those songs included.
Katherine "Katie" Rose Clarke is an American musical theater actress.
"The Wizard and I" is a musical number from the hit musical Wicked. It is primarily a solo number for the character of Elphaba, though the character Madame Morrible also sings in the introduction to the song.
Teal Wicks is an American singer and stage actress, who is best known for her performances as Elphaba in the Broadway, San Francisco, and Los Angeles productions of the musical Wicked and as Mary Barrie in the musical Finding Neverland.
Louise Dearman is a British actress and singer, perhaps best known for playing Glinda and Elphaba in the West End production of the musical Wicked. Notably, she is the only actress to have played both witches in any production of Wicked full-time. She has a number of other professional stage and television credits, such as Eva Perón in Evita, Sarah Brown and Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, and Daisy Hilton in Side Show. She released her solo albums, You and I, Here Comes the Sun and It's Time, in 2005, 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Chandra Lee Schwartz is an American theatre performer, who played Glinda on the First National Tour of Wicked from Friday, 21 August 2009, through Sunday, 17 April 2011. She originally starred alongside Donna Vivino as Elphaba, who was later replaced by Jackie Burns. Schwartz recently reprised the role of Glinda in the Broadway production of Wicked beginning September 27, 2011. Her final performance was held on October 14, 2012 alongside former national tour co-star, Jackie Burns. She returned to the role of Glinda on the First National Tour, on July 29, 2014, with Emma Hunton as Elphaba. She closed the production, alongside Jennifer DiNoia as Elphaba, on March 15, 2015. She was recently cast as Annie in the upcoming world premiere of a musical adaptation of Sleepless in Seattle.
Jackie Burns is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theatre.
Kristin Chenoweth at Carnegie Hall was a concert by American singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth in the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall in New York City on September 10, 2004. The sold-out concert was Chenoweth's debut in the landmark venue as a solo act.
A Very Wicked Halloween: Celebrating 15 Years on Broadway is a Halloween television special commemorating fifteen years since the premiere of the musical Wicked on Broadway. The concert special aired on NBC on October 29, 2018, and was hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, and featured performances by Ariana Grande, Adam Lambert, Ledisi and Pentatonix.
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 and characters from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, and Peter Dinklage in supporting roles. Set in the Land of Oz, largely before Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, the plot follows green-skinned Elphaba and her path to ultimately becoming the Wicked Witch of the West, alongside an unlikely friendship and later rivalry with a classmate who later becomes Glinda the Good.
Wicked Part Two is an upcoming American musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Winnie Holzman. The sequel to Wicked (2024), it is the second 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 and characters from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, and Peter Dinklage in supporting roles.