When the sequel Wicked: For Good comes out in November, you’ll hear not one but two brand-new songs that weren’t in the original musical. One is sung by Ariana Grande as Glinda and the other is sung by Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. The songs were composed by Stephen Schwartz, who also wrote the Wicked musical. And while he can’t reveal a lot of details, he says both women knocked his new tunes out of the park.
“There are two new songs. They are storytelling songs,” he tells ABC Audio. “And they’re there because we needed them to tell the story.”
Schwartz says Ari and Cynthia killed it on the new songs.
“They are astonishing talents, and to have two songs being debuted by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, I mean, as a songwriter, it doesn’t really get better than that,” says Schwartz.
Schwartz, who was recently given the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award, says he feels lucky that Ariana and Cynthia were the ones who end up getting cast in the film.
As he puts it, “To be able to get such extraordinary actresses and singers — and wonderful human beings, by the way — to work with, yeah, that’s just really good fortune.”
Wicked: For Good is in theaters Nov. 21.
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