In November 2024, a series of TikTok posts alleged that singer and actress Ariana Grande was diagnosed with cancer (with some posts suggesting it was specifically lung cancer) while filming the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical "Wicked.

It's truly impossible to pick a favorite scene from Wicked, but—aside from every time Jonathan Bailey furrows his brow—Ariana Grande's rendition of "Popular" has to be up there. And apparently it was almost completely different. Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz says he pitched Ariana Grande a new version of "Popular," and she fully shut it down.

Meanwhile, fans have been in a frenzy over rumors that Grande was paid $15 million to star as Glinda the Good Witch in the two-part movie musical, while Erivo, 37, only got $1 million to play Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.

In a new Los Angeles Times oral history, Wicked composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz explains:

It’s also probably the worst pop song that’s ever touched my ears – but who cares! It’s for the plot. For the lore. Here’s the story of how Ariana Grande foreshadowed her Glinda role in Wicked with Popular Song all the way back in 2012. ariana grande sampling ‘popular’ from ‘wicked’ for her song popular song, 2013 pic.twitter.com/2J5DVmvOdC

Ariana Grande, who stars as Glinda in Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked,” reportedly didn’t want to perform a new version of “Popular” in the musical film. Stephen Schwartz — the composer and lyricist of the original Broadway musical as well as the movie of the same name — recently told the Los Angeles Times that he and his music team considered refreshing the “rhythm” of the number in the spirit of “being open to new things” for the film.

"Anytime i feel like they’re making me do something silly in an audition im going to remember they made cynthia erivo sing defying gravity with an actual broom in her hand."

If you can make it through this long video, Ariana and her Victorious co-star Elizabeth Gillies were messing around on YouTube and recorded themselves singing Popular, which would go on to be her most iconic performance as Glinda.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's version of "Defying Gravity" from Wicked finally becomes a smash, as it debuts at No. 7 on the U.K. singles chart.