Wicked: The Soundtrack

-


Wicked: The Soundtrack

Album ∙ Soundtrack ∙ 2024

Wicked Movie Cast, Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande

Asked by Apple Music to name their favorite song from their film adaptation of Wicked, co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo either cannot or will not decide. Eventually Erivo caves and offers “I’m Not That Girl” as a representation of her character, Elphaba, while Grande counters with a pick for her character, Glinda: “No One Mourns the Wicked.” Then they agree on a joint pick: “Dancing Through Life.”

Of course, they shouldn’t have to choose, and anyone who loves the musical—whether old fan or new convert—shouldn’t either. The good news for fans of Wicked is that the movie soundtrack doesn’t mess much with its source material. And if the performances feel especially dynamic for such a blockbuster production, it’s because they were mostly taken from the on-set recordings themselves—something Grande says she and Erivo were adamant about.

“It’s funny because I came home and I made an album and I felt the muscles in my throat singing differently,” she says. “I think of course we can take off one hat and put on another anytime we’d like, but when it comes to giving your voice over, the body creates certain habits.” The result is a soundtrack that feels unusually dynamic for such a high-profile production, and less burdened by studio zhuzh, too.

The story—based on Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West—remains both clever and contemporary, an underdog narrative that turns a perceived villain into an object of empathy, an allegory of otherness that makes us see in the differently colored Elphaba someone as deserving of love as we imagine ourselves. Witty (“Popular”), dramatic (“Defying Gravity”), and probingly bittersweet (“I’m Not That Girl”), these are some of the most beloved Broadway songs of the early 21st century, delivered with care.

Listen on Apple Music

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trill Bill

-
Image
Trill Bill Album ∙ Hip-Hop/Rap ∙ 2024 Kodak Black Despite the rollercoaster that is the Florida rapper’s personal life, Kodak Black’s steady stream of new music never falters. Just a month after the release of a mixtape,   Dieuson Octave , which took its title from his birth name, arrives   Trill Bill , his eighth studio album. For a man still in his twenties with such a world-weary rasp it’s surprising to hear just how nimble his flow can be, with a knack for unpredictable wordplay reminiscent of mixtape-era Wayne. (Kudos if you saw it coming when he rhymes “Make my gat go bang” with “Kurt Cobain” on “Maybach Van.”) Surprising too are   Trill Bill ’s many tender moments—as he croons over sweet piano chords on “One Piece Left” (“I got one more piece of my heart left/And I’ve been saving it for you”), or recounts a meet-cute on “Dirty Revolver”: “She said, ‘You Haitian and a Gemini, boy, I already know you trouble, but LOL, text me.’”
Listen »

GNX

-
Image
GNX Album ∙ Hip-Hop/Rap ∙ 2024 Kendrick Lamar If there were any remaining doubts as to hip-hop’s MVP, consider the decision stamped: Kendrick Lamar officially won 2024. There were whispers that Compton’s finest was working on an album in the wake of his feud with Drake, a once-in-a-generation beef that kept jaws dropped for months. (Perhaps you’ve heard of a little song called “Not Like Us,” an immediate entry into the canon of all-time great diss tracks.) After a sold-out celebration at the Kia Forum, an armful of Grammy nods and streaming records, and the headlining slot at next year’s Super Bowl, Lamar ties up his biggest year yet with a bow with his sixth album,   GNX , the most legitimately surprising surprise drop since   BEYONCÉ   in 2013. Named for his beloved classic Buick,   GNX   finds Kendrick wielding a hatchet he’s by no means ready to bury, still channeling this summer’s cranked-to-11 energy. On “wacced out murals,” he’s riding around listening to...
Listen »