Ariana Grande will not be that woman.
The Grammy winner, 31, isn’t trying to change the long-beloved track “Popular” from “Wicked” regardless of being pitched a special and new model of the tune.
“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,” the movie’s composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz mentioned in an interview with the Los Angeles Instances on Monday.
“Ariana said, ‘Absolutely not, don’t do it. I want to be Glinda, not Ariana Grande playing Glinda.’”
Grande was adamant that her model of Glinda couldn’t have any similarities to her personal pop music profession however Schwartz was making an attempt to reimagine “Popular” for the film.
The actress was additionally not satisfied when it got here to tweaking the tip of “Popular.” The undertaking switched up octaves in the course of the finale of the track to take full benefit of Grande’s vocal vary.
“I had this idea for a new vocal ending. Ariana was a little hesitant about it, but I told her that if I had thought of it for the original show, this is how it would have been,” Schwartz added. “Once she was reassured that this new bit of music was coming out of character, she was on board.”
“Wicked” director Jon M. Chu additionally advised the Instances that he first pitched going greater for “Popular” when it got here of its visible scale, however producer Mark Platt shot it down.
“I first had a version where Glinda and Elphaba go into her closet and get lost in this pink world where she turns a corner, and then another corner and another — like, how big is this closet?” the 45-year-old revealed. “But [producer] Marc [Platt] said, ‘I don’t know if we should go fantasy like that. Remember, Glinda doesn’t have magic, so it’s confusing.’”
“Okay, what if all the bags we’ve been seeing this whole time were actually her closet, and you just didn’t know it yet?” Chu continued. “So then it became an extremely huge technical feat to make this closet come to life — grown men in small spaces pulling doors and making things open at the right time, gadgets that unfold remotely with batteries and cords. That mirror is a very heavy piece of machinery, because it has to bend backwards so she can walk on it. That was always scary; even in rehearsals, I was always hesitant. If she steps on those lights, she cuts her foot.”
In the meantime, followers have been in a frenzy over rumors that Grande was paid $15 million to star as Glinda the Good Witch within the two-part film musical, whereas Erivo, 37, solely obtained $1 million to play Elphaba, the Depraved Witch of the West.
Nevertheless, Common Photos denied the alleged $14 million pay hole on Tuesday.
“Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on internet fodder,” a spokesperson for the movie studio mentioned in a press release to the Hollywood Reporter.
Regardless of not revealing how a lot the pair have been paid for the movie, they added: “The women received equal pay for their work on ‘Wicked.’”
Erivo and Grande proceed to be thick as thieves, as proven numerous instances throughout their joint press tour.
“The crux of this particular piece is the relationship,” Erivo advised E! Information earlier this month. “If we couldn’t be there for each other as Cynthia and Ari, then how could we possibly be there for the characters Elphaba and Glinda?”
“I think that there’s something to be said for being able to make the space for a person who is going to share all that time with you,” she continued. “It allows for the experience of making something to be 100,000 times more pleasurable than it could be if you don’t. It serves us both to be that way for each other.”
And Grande couldn’t agree extra. “We really did the work to take care of each other on-screen and off-screen,” she chimed in. “We weren’t alone in anything, and it was a really beautiful thing. I think that trust and that love is important because not only does this story require it, but just being a good partner in that way.”
“Wicked” is out in theaters now.
