Ariana Grande, who plays 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 film of the same name – recently told the Los Angeles Times that he and his music team had been thinking about refreshing the number’s “rhythm” in the spirit of “being open to new things.” for the film.

“Let’s, maybe, I don’t know, do some hip-hop,” Schwartz recalls.

But the idea didn’t go far with Grande, whose character sings the iconic song in the film.

“’Absolutely not, don’t do it. “I want to be Glinda, not Ariana Grande playing Glinda,” Schwartz said of Grande’s reaction to the idea.

The Wicked star has dreamed of the role for years and met Kristin Chenoweth, who originally starred as Glinda on Broadway, when she was a child.

Chenoweth, during a 2019 appearance on Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen, said the future star sang “Popular” to her on the show.

“I thought, ‘Well, you’re pretty good,'” Chenoweth said of Grande. “And we still stayed connected, and of course I think she’s one of the best singers in the world.”

Grande – who played Dorothy in a production of “The Wizard of Oz” as a child – has incorporated the “Wicked” hit into her music career, singing a sample of the track on Mika’s “Popular Song” in 2012.

Schwartz said in his interview with the Times that he ultimately made a change to “Popular” in the film after he came up with an idea for a new vocal ending.

“Ariana was a little hesitant, but I told her that if I had intended it for the original series, it would have been,” he shared.

“Once she was confident that this new piece of music was coming out of her character, she was on board.”

According to Deadline, “Wicked” grossed approximately $112.5 million and $162.5 million at the domestic and international box office in its opening weekend, respectively, making it the biggest theatrical opening ever for a Broadway-based film. Production based.