‘Wicked’ Team Considered Making ‘Popular’ More Hip-Hop. Ariana Grande Refused: ‘Absolutely Not. I Want to Be Glinda, Not Ariana Playing Glinda’

variety.com:

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Wicked” composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz revealed in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that he pitched Ariana Grande on a different version of “Popular” for the film adaptation that she instantly turned down.

The Grammy winner was adamant that her Glinda could not have any traces of her own music career, so she was not interested in making any of the “Wicked” songs feel like pop songs. “In the spirit of being open to new things for the movie, my music team and I thought, let’s refresh the rhythm.

Let’s, maybe, I don’t know, hip-hop it up a little bit,” Schwartz said of rethinking “Popular” for the movie. “Ariana said, ‘Absolutely not, don’t do it.

I want to be Glinda, not Ariana Grande playing Glinda.'” Grande also needed convincing when it came to tweaking the end of “Popular.” The film switches up some of the octaves during the song’s finale in order to take full advantage of Grande’s impressive singing range. “I had this idea for a new vocal ending.