Ariana Grande admits she ‘scared’ herself with aggressive delivery of ‘popular’ song lyrics that have gone viral on TikTok

Ariana Grande even scared herself when she first heard her violent line delivery of a “Popular” lyric in “Wicked.”

In a moment that has since gone viral on TikTok, Grande — as Glinda — sings, “Don’t make me laugh. They were…” to which Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba fills in the blank with “Popular.”

“Right!” Glinda responds with such aggressive force that it caught fans of the song and the movie off guard. It turned out that it also surprised the actress when she heard it herself.

“The first time I heard this was when I was listening to the live recording from the set in the studio (before I had even seen the movie) and I scared myself,” Grande wrote in a Wednesday TikTok. “I immediately called Jon laughing. For the record, I have absolutely no recollection of doing this.”

The film – based on the first half of the 2003 Broadway musical – was a much-needed hit at the box office. “Wicked” earned the third-highest opening weekend of 2024 with $114 million when it debuted last weekend.

Earlier this week, it was also denied that there was a pay gap between co-stars Grande and Erivo. Rumors grew throughout the opening weekend on TikTok and Reddit that Grande was paid $15 million for her part, while Erivo only got $1 million. Universal shot down those rumors.

“Reports of pay disparity between Cynthia and Ariana are completely false and based on Internet fodder,” a Universal spokesperson told TheWrap. “The women were paid equally for their work on ‘Wicked’.”

“Wicked: Part I” is now in theaters.

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