Wicked Music

Wicked the Musical - Movie Soundtrack, stage musical cast album, vinyl, Karaoke, Sheet Music, Composer interviews and articles

MOVIE SOUNDTRACK - The first movie (2024) will include the same songs by composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz as Act I of the stage musical, but with different performances and orchestrations.

Tracklist:

1. No One Mourns the Wicked - Ariana Grande ft. Andy Nyman, Courtney Mae-Briggs, Jeff Goldblum, Sharon D. Clarke & Jenna Boyd
2. Dear Old Shiz - Shiz University Choir ft. Ariana Grande
3. The Wizard And I - Cynthia Erivo ft. Michelle Yeoh
4. What Is This Feeling? - Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo
5. Something Bad - Peter Dinklage ft. Cynthia Erivo
6. Dancing Through Life - Jonathan Bailey ft. Ariana Grande, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode & Cynthia Erivo
7. Popular - Ariana Grande
8. I'm Not That Girl - Cynthia Erivo
9. One Short Day - Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande
10. A Sentimental Man - Jeff Goldblum
11. Defying Gravity - Cynthia Erivo ft. Ariana Grande

https://shop.republicrecords.com/products/wicked-the-soundtrack-standard-cd

DEFYING GRAVITY THE BOOK

Don't miss the Stephen Schwartz biography Defying Gravity that includes behind-the-scenes stories on the writing of all the songs of Wicked and his other musicals. https://caroldegiere.com/defying-gravity/

Available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and elsewhere.

CAST ALBUMS

Wicked has released a deluxe version of its original album for the 10th anniversary. Wicked (Original Cast Recording Deluxe Edition) - Use link to buy CD or Mp3 - Amazon.com

Note there is only 1 new song that was not on the 5th anniversary edition, but it has a new cover, new essays, and the bonus track with an altered version of "Popular" approved by Stephen Schwartz.

 

As with the 5th anniversary edition:

• Original Broadway Cast album for Wicked
• BONUS: "Making Good," a rare song cut from the initial backers "workshop" of WICKED, performed by original workshop actress Stephanie Block and composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz on the piano;
• BONUS: pop duet of "For Good" by superstars LeAnn Rimes and Delta Goodrem; pop recording by WICKED star Kerry Ellis of "I'm Not That Girl"; Idina Menzel's dance mix versions of "Defying Gravity"
• BONUS: German versions of "As Long as You're Mine" and "No Good Deed" and Japanese versions of "Dancing Through Life" and "Popular"

Wicked Original Cast Album and Karaoke

Wicked Original Broadway Cast album: Wicked musical - Amazon.com $9.99. Hear Wicked song clips samples.

Wicked Album Vinyl: the vinyl edition was released in 2016: Wicked album vinyl at Amazon.com

Sing along with Wicked. Accompaniment tracks for Wicked and other Broadway shows. Please visit Wicked Tracks info

See also our special pages

• "Defying Gravity" page - for CDs, MP3s, Sheet music, and more.
• "For Good" recordings, lyrics, etc

Wicked Sheet music - 3 levels: easy piano, Piano/vocal, Vocal Selections. German Cast album: See Wicked Germany

Wicked Broadway Cast Album -- A Double Platinum Record!

Photo of Platinum Plaque for the Wicked Cast Album presented to Stephen Schwartz

Celebrated Nov. 10, 2010: Stephen Schwartz to receive a new plaque at the Gershwin Theatre.

The Grammy Award winning (Best Musical Show Album) original cast recording of the smash-hit Broadway musical WICKED has been certified "Double Platinum" by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for sales of more than 2 million copies. The only other cast albums from Decca Broadway that have reached this level are Rent, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and Cats.

Music Articles and Wicked Music Info

• Song list - Wicked Cast Album compare with Stage song list
• Wicked Lyrics & stories behind the songs. - Lyrics and music for "Popular," "For Good," "What is This Feeling," (Loathing), "Defying Gravity," and more, based on interviews with composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz
• Synopsis of musical and songs in context
• Wicked's Musical Themes feature article based on an interview with Stephen Schwartz
• "The Wizard and I" article - see free newsletter The Schwartz Scene
• Wicked's Groundbreaking Score - detailed feature article by composer Bob Vieira - especially for people who have a music background
  
• Vocal arrangements and Stephen Oremus- feature article
• Wicked Orchestrations and Orchestra
• Schwartz's Musical Influences - feature article
• about the composer-lyricist: Stephen Schwartz
• Awards- following the info on Schwartz's awards is an article about the 2005 Grammy Award contest

Don't miss our index to over 50 Wicked-related pages

Songs - Wicked ACT I

• "No One Mourns the Wicked" - Glinda and Citizens of Oz (Chenoweth and Ensemble)
• "Dear Old Shiz" - Students (a brief number by the students of Shiz - Ensemble)
• "The Wizard and I" - Morrible, Elphaba (Idina Menzel's first big number, known in musical theatre lingo as her "I want" song.)
• "What Is This Feeling?" Glinda, Elphaba, and Students
• "Something Bad" - Dr. Dillamond and Elphaba (A song about something seemingly sinister happening in Oz, sung by goat professor Dr. Dillamond and Elphaba)
• "Dancing Through Life" - Fiyero, Glinda, Boq, Nessarose, Elphaba and Students (This character song for Fiyero includes not only danceable music but important story elements known in the San Francisco pre-Broadway production as "We Deserve Each Other." It was added after San Francisco, replacing "Which Way's the Party?")
• "Popular" - Glinda
• "I'm Not That Girl" - Elphaba
• "The Wizard and I" (reprise) - Elphaba
• "One Short Day" - Elphaba, Glinda, and Denizens of the Emerald City (This is sung during Elphaba's and Glinda's play day in Emerald City and includes a little musical within the musical - Wiz-o-mania.)
• "A Sentimental Man" - The Wizard
• "Defying Gravity" - Elphaba

Songs - Wicked ACT II

• "No One Mourns the Wicked (reprise) - Citizens of Oz
• "Thank Goodness" - Glinda, Morrible, and Citizens of Oz (This song includes the "I Couldn't be Happier" material listed separately in San Francisco. Kristin Chenoweth provides the main storyline in the song, with the support of the Ensemble and Carole Shelley)
• "The Wicked Witch of the East" - Elphaba, Nessarose, Boq (In San Francisco, a segment of this was listed as "We Deserve Each Other" (reprise)) - [Special note - the only place to find a piece of this song outside the stage production is on a page of handwritten sheet music in the book Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked on page 353. Schwartz labeled it the Elphaba "Heart" chant.]
• "Wonderful" - The Wizard and Elphaba
• "I'm Not That Girl" (reprise) - Glinda
• "As Long As You're Mine" - Fiyero and Elphaba
• "No Good Deed" - Elphaba
• "March of the Witch Hunters" - Boq and the Citizens of Oz
• "For Good" - Glinda and Elphaba
• Finale - all

More Wicked CD and song notes

The WICKED CD landed on the Billboard 200 list at number #187. It was the talk of the Internet message boards, with many people posting notes about playing it continually.

From a press release: The original cast recording of the smash hit Broadway musical WICKED is proving to be a smash hit as well, with the highest first-week sales of any Broadway album since Rent debuted in 1996. "I was captivated by Stephen Schwartz's score the first time I heard it," says WICKED producer Marc Platt, "so the demand for the album has been very gratifying. We're thrilled that people are discovering a wonderful score that becomes even richer with each additional listening. I am particularly grateful for Decca's amazing support of Stephen. They gave him the time and tools he needed to produce a CD that captures the excitement, beauty and nuance of his music and lyrics."

Produced by composer Stephen Schwartz for Decca Broadway, the album has been one of the fastest selling original cast recording in years. Wicked Original Broadway Cast album: Wicked musical - Amazon.com $13.49 (List price $18.98).

I'm sure you will find much to sing and dance about in the WICKED album. The 19 tracks feature the raved about talents of the WICKED Broadway cast. Kristin Chenoweth, who makes use of her four octave vocal range with this score, offers her sprightly rendition of "Popular" and is included in ten musical numbers on the album. The powerful "pipes" and tender tones of Broadway star Idina Menzel can be heard in eleven songs. Plus there's all the other stars and the outstanding ensemble. WICKED's 23-member orchestra (plus a few the others who joined them for the recording) provide the sumptuous instrumental music.Wicked lyrics are included in the packaging. - Carol de Giere, webmaster

Wicked Score: Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz has covered varied themes in the 20 songs. In Wicked's score he displays his melodic gifts and eclectic style that melds pop, traditional show music, classical, folk-rock, and country.

Link to: Wicked Orchestrations and Orchestra

EXCERPT FROM GREGORY MAGUIRE'S NOTES FOR THE CD: "When Stephen Schwartz approached me with the notion of turning Wicked into a musical play, I needed much less persuading than I let on. As a college student I had taught myself to play the piano from the scores for Pippin and Godspell. Stephen saw the comic and the melodramatic possibilities in my sprawling slice-of-Oz-history novel, and he promised that however the plot evolved to suit the stage, the grim themes of the novel would inform the show.

I haven't seen the annotated score; I can't cite key signatures or tempi. I do know that from the opening anthem's foreboding figure of notes - an attempt to step up out of a minor key toward a mode of relief, if not joy, it seems to me - the score for Wicked respects the book's tensions and ambiguities. Comic numbers harbor sinister or poignant implications. Darker modalities cloak hints of rescue and repair. The music underscores one of the themes of the story: appearances are deceiving."

Sheet Music, etc.

Wicked SHEET MUSIC

For sheet music for Schwartz's earlier musicals check out the Stephen Schwartz Songbook. It includes 292 pages of songs.

Find over sixty Schwartz songs or songbooks at Sheet Music Plus [new browser window] (opens new browser window)

In a question/answer session at the ASCAP Musical Theatre workshop he directed, spring 2003, Stephen Schwartz answered a question raised by a songwriter about his Wicked score.

When people ask me what it sound like, I say Children of Eden because that's the most recent stage musical I did before this. I have tried to write in a way that you never feel you're in America or a land that you know--that you're in some world that's not definable. So I've tried to stay completely away from any kind of pastiche that puts you in a world. That has to do with chords that you pick, rhythms that you use, and things like that. The exception is the Wizard's songs which I have tried to make sound very much like someone singing in America around the turn of the century.

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Note for those arriving at this site by search engine. Sometimes the Wicked cast recording is called the Wicked soundtrack (although technically soundtracks are for movies). Stephen Schwartz's name is misspelled Steven; before about the mid 70's he was known as Steve Schwartz. Sometimes Kristin Chenoweth's name is misspelled Cristin or Kristen. Cast recordings are sometimes called soundtracks.