Grande was not having a hip-hop version of ‘Popular’ (Universal Pictures ... that much love and care for not just the character she’s playing, but the whole Wicked legacy.”

It's truly impossible to pick a favorite scene from Wicked, but—aside from every time Jonathan Bailey furrows his brow—Ariana Grande's rendition of "Popular" has to be up there. And apparently it was almost completely different. Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz says he pitched Ariana Grande a new version of "Popular," and she fully shut it down.

When it came to her take on Glinda, Ariana Grande didn't want to stray too far from the original Broadway musical version of 'Wicked'.

In the immortal words of Glinda "it's all about popular!" Now, that Jon M. Chu's Wicked movie is out, we officially have Ariana Grande 's version of the song and fans are living for a change she makes in her take on the Broadway classic.

In a new Los Angeles Times oral history, Wicked composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz explains:

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.

Meanwhile, fans have been in a frenzy over rumors that Grande was paid $15 million to star as Glinda the Good Witch in the two-part movie musical, while Erivo, 37, only got $1 million to play Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Can't get "Popular" from 'Wicked' out of your head? Ariana Grande just revealed the origin of her viral "RIGHT" line from the song, which features slight changes from the original Broadway tune.

Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz has revealed that Ariana Grande refused to make a suggested change to a classic song. The movie version of the hit musical has just hit cinema screens, showcasing iconic tunes such as 'Defying Gravity' and 'Popular'.

Critics and fans alike have been raving about Ariana Grande‘s performance as Glinda in the new film adaptation of Wicked. But according to the show's original composer, one of her most pivotal scenes almost sounded very different.

Ariana Grande shot down the idea of making a hip-hop version of Popular for Wicked. During a recent interview for The Los Angeles Times, composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz recalled how he once asked director Jon M.