In November 2024, a series of TikTok posts alleged that singer and actress Ariana Grande was diagnosed with cancer (with some posts suggesting it was specifically lung cancer) while filming the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical "Wicked.

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

If you can make it through this long video, Ariana and her Victorious co-star Elizabeth Gillies were messing around on YouTube and recorded themselves singing Popular, which would go on to be her most iconic performance as Glinda.

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.

Cynthia Erivo opens up about her bond with co-star Ariana Grande while filming "Wicked," sharing how their early friendship and promise to support each other shaped their on-screen chemistry as Elphaba and Glinda.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's version of "Defying Gravity" from Wicked finally becomes a smash, as it debuts at No. 7 on the U.K. singles chart.