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Wicked songs in order: Lyrics, meanings, and changes
Revisit and/or catch up with the songs from the first 'Wicked' movie.Wicked: For Good is upon us, which means that a brand-new soundtrack filled with profound lyrics, deep-cut references, and even more foreshadowing is coming out way, too. The Wicked sequel soundtrack is also set to include two new original songs: "No Place Like Home" for Elphaba (played by Cynthia Erivo) and "The Girl in the Bubble" for Glinda (played by Ariana Grande).But before we get to the still-unreleased soundtrack of Wicked: For Good, let's take a deep dive into the Wicked songs from the first film, which reflected the exact same order and overall themes outlined in act one of the Broadway musical.1. 'No One Mourns the Wicked'Much like the Wicked musical on Broadway, the first song in the Wicked movie is a celebration of the Wicked Witch of the West, otherwise known as Elphaba, having just died. As the people of Oz celebrate and Glinda narrates the events, it's clear in the film that she's not exactly happy about Elphaba dying She's just pretending to be.One could say that this number is a flashforward for the rest of the story. Or, it could also be said that both Wicked and Wicked: For Good are flashbacks referenced in this opening sequence. In terms of song structure, "No One Mourns the Wicked" is both establishing the themes of the entire musical (good vs. wicked; nature vs. nurture), and also sharing enough exposition for fans familiar with The Wizard of Oz to situate themselves in this prequel-ish timeline set in the Land of Oz.The most important setup from this song is the question that Glinda muses to the people of Oz: "Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" Even though the line doesn't come off as very sympathetic to Elphaba within the scene, it does make audiences curious to understand why Glinda the Good is even posing these questions at all.2. 'Dear Old Shiz'"Dear Old Shiz" is a pretty straightforward song to establish that Shiz University is a pretty traditional and well-established institution with rules, decorum, and traditions.In the Wicked movie, this song is the perfect moment to show off Shiz University as a location, and how many students are in attendance, and structured it all feels.3. 'The Wizard and I'Nearly all musicals have an "I Want" song, described by Howard Ashman while making 1989's The Little Mermaid for Disney as the moment when "the leading lady sits down on something and sings about what she wants in life. And the audience falls in love with her and then roots for her to get it for the rest of the night."Within the context of Wicked, there's nothing that Elphaba wants more than to meet the Wizard, be recognized by him as another magical being, and perhaps work side-by-side with him on incredible missions that make the world better. In the song, Elphaba even muses that the Wizard might be able to de-greenify her all while recognizing that there might not be a need for it given that she'll be respected as someone who works so closely with the Wizard of Oz himself.There are several moments in this song when Elphaba says something that will later be brought up by other characters particularly Glinda in "Defying Gravity" to remind her of what she once wanted, attempting to convince her that she shouldn't just go off and abandon the things she used to dream about.4. 'What Is This Feelings?'This is a hilarious song that sets up the initial dynamics between Elphaba and Glinda as roommates at Shiz University. If we are to believe the song, these two characters can't feel anything but loathing for each other Even though it's pretty clear that this is a knee-jerk reaction based on first impressions, and not how these characters actually feel about each other.The Wicked musical contains many other tracks that bring back the melody of "What Is This Feeling?" to show how this first song about their relationship evolves over the course of the story.5. 'Something Bad'Doctor Dillamond is one of the last remaining Animals to still be teaching at Shiz University. "Something Bad" seems like a much sillier song than it actually is, given that it is touching on various tough subjects like oppression, the limiting or outright banning of rights, and even conspiracy theories.Overall, the dynamics between Elphaba and Dillamond are very different depending on the medium that you consume this story. In the original 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, Elphaba is deeply invested in the Animals cause and becomes a righthand person/assistant for the professor's research to prove that Animals are just like human beings.In the Broadway musical, it feels like the extreme opposite: Doctor Dillamond is actively trying to pretend that things are OK even though they don't seem or sound like they are. The Wicked movie walks a line between those two realities. There is a layer of Dillamond wanting Elphaba not to worry so much, but Erivo's version of Elphaba isn't as aloof as the character can come off as in the stage production.6. 'Dancing Through Life'Besides being one of the funnest songs in the entire soundtrack and the introduction of Fiyero as Oz's favorite himbo, "Dancing Through Life" has plenty of foreshadowing for what eventually happens to Fiyero in the second act of the musical and in the Wicked: For Good sequel on the big screen.This song also establishes that Fiyero isn't just a heartthrob, and isn't just a wealthy royal He's also filled with charisma and charm that makes everyone lose their minds and become obsessed with him immediately.7. 'Popular'Beyond the top layers of "Popular" being a song about Glinda giving Elphaba a makeover finally establishing the two roommates actually bonding with each other and finding things in common it is also a fantastic song to really encapsulate who Glinda really is, how she thinks, and what her priority system looks like.At first, the dark undertones of "Popular" are the assumption that perhaps Glinda is actually, completely right. Maybe there is no such thing to being a genius other than just being popular. As the story moves forward, however, fans come to learn that this is absolutely not accurate.In fact, Glinda is tested several times on whether she can break through the superficial to go any deeper, and it is heartbreaking to see how many times she is unwilling, or perhaps even unable, to do so.8. 'I'm Not That Girl'Even if it isn't the most upbeat and exciting song of this musical, "I'm Not That Girl" is an important song to show Elphaba's range of emotions. Yes, she is confident. And yes, she does have career ambitions that overtake her personal desires. But Elphaba is also just a person who falls in love with Fiyero.Given that Fiyero is clearly vying for Glinda's heart, Elphaba never really acts on it. Though it pains her, she makes peace with the theory that she's simply "not that girl" that Fiyero would fall in love with.Director Jon M. Chu shared the following statement with Entertainment Weekly when discussing the changes in "I'm Not That Girl" for the Wicked movie:"She's starting in the forest, and it goes silent, and she's the one who brings the music in. That takes a lot of collaboration with [composer] Stephen Schwartz to say, 'Hey, what if we don't have that intro music? Can we come in differently?' It's a little discussion, but I'm always looking for how to make it feel like you slipped into it rather than 'Stop. Dance break. Come back into the movie.'"Chu also discussed how the film's version of the song is much slower than the original version from the musical. "We wanted to pace it down because it was a different type of song," the director explained. "In the show, it starts to feel like a groove. I love music when it has a groove. But in that moment, it didn't feel like you wanted to shake your head and get down with, 'I'm Not That Girl.' You just wanted to hesitantly explore this question."9. 'One Short Day'"One Short Day" is probably the most lighthearted song of the entire musical. There are no gotchas here no hidden messages or secret agendas. Just Elphaba and Glinda, who are now two BFFs, visiting the Emerald City, window-shopping, and being dazzled by its resplendent green.The Wicked movie does expand on the song through the "Wizomania" sequence featuring cameos from Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, who each originated one of these characters.10. 'A Sentimental Man'The Wizard of Oz turns his sneaky/shady volume to the max in "A Sentimental Man," trying as hard as he can to appear as a father figure for Elphaba. It's an open secret that Elphaba doesn't have much of a relationship with her family, and the Wizard tries to exploit that as much as he can.Thankfully, Elphaba is simply amused by the song, but not necessarily "converted" or convinced into anything. After all that talking from the Wizard, she still judges him for who he is: A man pretending to have power (even though he has none), and who directly asks her to harm his monkey soldiers by giving them wings.11. 'Defying Gravity'"Defying Gravity" is the biggest banger within the Wicked soundtrack. It's the closer of act one in the Broadway musical, and it also wraps the first Wicked movie in this two-film saga.Overall, this is the moment when Elphaba crosses the "point of no return" within the structure of a "hero's journey." She outwardly rejects any offers to join the Wizard of Oz upon learning that he not only doesn't have any powers, but is also actively pushing an agenda that goes completely against her own set of values and morals. It is a complete breaking point from the Elphaba we had come to know up until that point, including her dreams and aspirations outlined in "The Wizard and I."An interesting callback that fans love to reference is Elphaba using the Wizard's own words "everyone deserves a chance to fly" while turning them against him. She also discusses her desire to be as powerful and as renowned as any other wizard that's ever existed in Oz (and she does) while declaring that no one will ever bring her down (well, stay tuned for Wicked: For Good, which features songs from act two of the musical as well as brand-new songs for the story).Listen to the 'Wicked' movie soundtrack below.And stay tuned for a new batch of Wicked: For Good songs to get the same deep-dive treatment very soon!Wicked: For Good opens in theaters on Friday, November 21.
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