Yahoo Lifestyle After Ariana Grande’s Very Specific Line Reading In “Wicked” Went Super Viral, She Has Revealed That She Has No Recollection Of Performing It In This Way
It has almost been a whole week since Wicked was finally released, with the movie being well-received by critics and fans alike.
While the whole cast — including Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey — have won high praise for their performances in the film, Ariana Grande has particularly wowed viewers with her impeccable comedic timing.
Ari’s comedy chops are no surprise to her hardcore fans — after all, it wasn’t too long ago that she seriously impressed as the host of Saturday Night Live — but even they have admitted to being dazzled by just how bright she shines as Glinda in the film.
And one specific acting choice from Ariana has gone especially viral on social media in the days since Wicked’s release, with the standout moment taken from her performance of Glinda’s iconic song “Popular.”
For context, “Popular” features relatively early on in the Wicked story, and is Glinda’s earnest bid to convince her new friend Elphaba to conform to traditional social norms.
In the song, Glinda is trying to make Elphaba understand that popularity is key when it comes to being successful.
Most of the lyrics and vocal choices seen in the movie during this performance mirror how “Popular” is performed in the stage production of Wicked, which premiered in 2003.
However, there is one notable change that caught viewers off guard before going on to become somewhat of a meme.
Towards the end of the song, Ariana mimics what is heard in the stage show as she sings: “When I see depressing creatures / With unprepossessing features / I remind them on their own behalf to think of / Celebrated heads of state / Or especially great communicators / Did they have brains or knowledge? / Don’t make me laugh.”
In the original version of the song, Glinda continues: “They were popular.” In the movie version, however, Glinda sings: “They were-" before Cynthia’s Elphaba interjects to finish the line, awkwardly saying: “Popular.”
At this point, Glinda exclaims: “Right!,” and the enthusiasm in which Ariana delivered this single word led to it immediately becoming a viral sound on TikTok.
The singer slams a book down and shouts “Right” with such gumption that her voice even rasps a little. In just a matter of days, more than 16,000 TikTok videos have been made using this audio — with many playfully poking fun at Ari’s vigor.
“She put her whole Ariana Grandussy into the delivery of ‘right,’” a TikTok that has almost one million likes simply reads.
“Ariana went from icon to legend with this delivery,” another popular video adds.
And on Wednesday, Ariana herself acknowledged the fanfare surrounding this line read as she admitted that she “scared” herself when she heard it back for the first time.
Ari responded to the “Grandussy” video by posting it to her Instagram story alongside a bunch of crying emojis and question marks.
She then shared Bob the Drag Queen’s video about her performance, which read: “I swear Ariana could’ve been one of the most famous SNL cast members. She’s that funny.”
“you are so SILLY,” Ariana wrote. “thank you.”
The star followed up by posting a video of herself listening back to the raw audio of her performance in a studio soon after it was recorded.
“the first time i heard this was when i was listening to the live take from on set in the studio (before i had even seen the movie) and i scared myself,” she wrote.
“i called Jon [M. Chu, the movie’s director] immediately giggling,” Ariana went on. “for the record, i absolutely do not remember doing this.”
It looks like the spirit of Glinda took over in the moment! What do you make of Ariana’s revelation? Let me know in the comments!
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