Kristin Chenoweth & Ariana Grande Are Perfect Glindas Duetting "Over The Rainbow"
As Wicked's OG Glinda, Chenoweth embraced a sing-along with Grande, the new Good Witch in the 2024 film.
Glindas past and present recorded a snippet of a duet, and the result is just perfect.
Thanks to TikTok's "duet" feature, former The Voice Coach Ariana Grande (who will play The Good Witch in Universal's upcoming film adaptation of the musical Wicked) and Kristin Chenoweth (who was nominated for a Tony for originating the role on Broadway) sang "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" together, the iconic song from The Wizard of Oz. It's a delightful soprano clip and listeners' only chance to hear them together on this song. Check it out below.
"Just two Ozians," Chenoweth captioned her TikTok duet of Grande's recording. Prior to taking the role of Glinda, Grande was a longtime Wicked fan.
Kristin Chenoweth and Ariana Grande bond over Wicked
On June 6, she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and after congratulating Grande on being cast as Glinda in Wicked, Fallon shared a tweet that demonstrated the "supernatural" singer dreamed of playing this role for years: "Loved seeing Wicked again... amazing production! Made me realize again how badly I want 2 play Glinda at some point in my life! #Dream role."
RELATED: Ariana Grande Talks Wicked and Meeting the Original Broadway Cast at 10
Grande shared that when she was 10, her mom took her to see Wicked on Broadway with the original cast, and they were lucky enough to get a trip backstage to meet the stars, including Chenoweth. "We got to Kristin's dressing room, which was at the very end of the hall, and she invited me in and let me overstay my welcome," recalled Grande. "Her dog peed on the couch. We cleaned it up together." Grande went on to sing in NBC's salute to Wicked in 2018.
Chenoweth and Grande have remained close, with Chenoweth posting a picture of Grande in costume as Glinda — and a snapshot from that backstage meeting — on Instagram for the singer's birthday, writing, "Happy birthday, baby girl. I am so endlessly proud of you!!! I love you, my G(a)linda!! ✨🩷." The younger actress commented, "🫧🥹 ♡ thank you my queen and my friend…. i miss you so."
What to know about "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz
The song, by composer Harold Arlen and lyricist Yip Harburg, was written for the 1939 MGM adaptation of L. Frank Baum's beloved children's novel. Originally performed by Judy Garland, it shows protagonist Dorothy's yearning for a life beyond her family's farm in Kansas, and has gone on to be one of the best-known songs in American history.
It was almost cut from the film, with executives feeling that it slowed the story's pace, and a producer had to fight for it to stay in, according to Columbia News, a news site from Columbia University.
