Wicked” composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz revealed in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that he pitched Ariana Grande on a different version of “Popular” for the film adaptation that she instantly turned down.

Ariana Grande, pop singer-turned-actress playing “Glinda” in Wicked, explored her character’s sexuality while doing an interview promoting the new film. Grande and her co-star Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba,

Wicked, based on the Broadway stage adaptation, is also an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West ,which is meant to be a prequel to L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation.