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Wicked: For Good – Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande Tease New Songs

Wicked: For Good stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande share details about the two new songs, 'No Place Like Home' and 'The Girl In The Bubble.'

When it comes to adding new songs to a beloved musical, there is a very good chance that it's going to be polarizing one way or another. People are either going to love or hate the mere concept and when the songs are finally revealed, often the best you can hope for is something mediocre and forgettable. Overall, fans of Wicked seem to be accepting that Wicked: For Good is going to have two new songs for our two leading ladies, so they aren't rejecting the entire concept wholesale. The quality question remains to be seen, but we are starting to learn a bit more about them. In the new issue of Empire, Cynthia Erivo revealed some details about Elphaba's new song, 'No Place Like Home.'

"She has to question why she wants to continue to save Oz, or save the animals in it, even though this place doesn't necessarily want her," Erivo explained. "It is a discovery as to why she can continue. That is where the story gets started for her."

Just the title of the song is going to be enough to get Oz fans perking up since it's a line from the original film and a very important one at that. Adding a new song is one thing, but titling it and no doubt having lyrics referencing a line from the film is something else. Erivio explained,"I was really aware that if the words 'no place like home' are in her mouth, they have to mean something. It has to be really special."

You can't give one a new song without the other and Empire has also revealed some details about Glinda's new song in Wicked: For Good titled 'The Girl In The Bubble.' It's being described as "a moment of reflection for Glinda that propels her forward," and Ariana Grande explained how the song will reflect the journey that Glinda goes on in this film.

"We get to see [Glinda] decide, 'I'm going to change the course of Oz. I'm going to become deeply, truly good and make a safe space for people,'" Grande said. "She earns her title for real, and we get to see that self-discovery. I'm so grateful for that song, because she deserves it as a character."

The journey that Glinda, and by extension Elphaba, go on through Wicked: For Good is reflected in both of these songs. For Glinda, Grande described it as "traumatic event after traumatic event after traumatic event." However, those events are essential because they are "all shaping her and propelling her into her actual goodness, that has quietly been there all along, but she wasn't ready for it yet. … Even in the first film you get to see those layers slowly peeling away, but in this film, it's rapid and urgent. It goes even deeper than imaginable."

It's safe to say that everyone involved with Wicked: For Good thought that one of these two new songs was a shoo-in for Best Original Song during the awards season. That is, until an animated film about K-pop idols hunting demons came out of nowhere and is still hanging out on the Billboard Hot 100. At least we know there is going to be some serious variety in that category this year.

Wicked: For Good – Summary, Cast List, Release

And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend …

Last year's global cinematic cultural sensation, which became the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time, now reaches its epic, electrifying, emotional conclusion in Wicked: For Good.

Directed once again by award-winning director Jon M. Chu and starring the spectacular returning cast, led by Academy Award® nominated superstars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the final chapter of the untold story of the witches of Oz begins with Elphaba and Glinda estranged and living with the consequences of their choices.

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz's silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).

Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. Under the instruction of Madame Morrible (Oscar® winner Michelle Yeoh), Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard.

As Glinda's stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero (Olivier award winner and Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey) in a spectacular Ozian wedding, she is haunted by her separation from Elphaba. She attempts to broker a conciliation between Elphaba and The Wizard, but those efforts will fail, driving Elphaba and Glinda only further apart. The aftershocks will transform Boq (Tony nominee Ethan Slater) and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba's sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), when a girl from Kansas comes crashing into all their lives.

As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.

Wicked: For Good also stars Emmy nominee Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James as Glinda's fawning assistants, Pfannee and ShenShen and BAFTA and Grammy nominee Sharon D. Clarke (Caroline, or Change) as the voice of Elphaba's childhood nanny, Dulcibear.

The film is produced by returning Tony and Emmy-winning powerhouse Marc Platt, p.g.a., and by multiple Tony winner David Stone. The executive producers are Stephen Schwartz, David Nicksay, Jared LeBoff, Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. The first film, Wicked, released in November 2024, earned 10 Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture, and won the Oscars® for Costume Design and Production Design. To date, the film has grossed $750 million worldwide.

Wicked: For Good is based on the generation-defining musical stage play with music and lyrics by legendary Grammy and Oscar® winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, from the bestselling novel by Gregory Maguire. The screenplay is by Winnie Holzman and Winnie Holzman & Dana Fox. The film score is by John Powell & Stephen Schwartz, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Wicked: For Good will be released in theaters on November 21, 2025.

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