For more than 20 years, the songs of Wicked have enchanted theatre fans around the world. Now the two-part film adaptation, which stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, is introducing a whole new generation to those unforgettable numbers.

The first film adapts Act One of the musical, while Wicked: For Good adapts Act Two and brings the story to its emotional conclusion. Across both movies, there are 22 songs, each revealing something vital about Elphaba, Glinda, and the strange, magical world of Oz.

There are no bad songs in the score, but some soar higher than others. Here are the 10 that truly defy gravity.

10) No Place Like Home
One of two brand-new songs written for Wicked: For Good, this poignant number finds Elphaba confronting the harsh reality facing Oz’s persecuted animals. As they prepare to flee to the Land Beyond Oz, she pleads with them to stay and fight for the home they’ve known all their lives. 

The title nods to Dorothy’s famous line from The Wizard of Oz, even if the song itself never soars to the same iconic heights.

9) No One Mourns the Wicked
The first film opens with a spectacular sequence set to “No One Mourns the Wicked”: Glinda floating into Munchkinland inside her pink bubble as the citizens celebrate the apparent death of the Wicked Witch.

The operatic number introduces the story’s central mystery: how the ‘wicked’ Elphaba became the villain history remembers. Grande caps the sequence with a stratospheric whistle note that instantly announces her Glinda as a vocal force.

8) The Girl in the Bubble
The second new song in Wicked: For Good gives Glinda a rare moment of introspection. Alone in her luxurious, pink-clad Emerald City suite, she reflects on the person she has become — and the person she might yet choose to be. 

The scene’s mirror-like effects and shifting set pieces reflect Glinda’s inner conflict, hinting that the glittering facade of ‘Glinda the Good’ may be more fragile than it appears.

7) What Is This Feeling
Few songs capture instant rivalry quite like this deliciously petty duet between Elphaba and Glinda. Their mutual loathing becomes a campus-wide anthem at Shiz University, led by Glinda’s cheerfully sycophantic friends Pfannee (Bowen Yang) and ShenShen (Bronwyn James).

The film version elevates the number with playful choreography and comic timing — quickly turning it into a viral favourite among fans.

6) No Good Deed 
This is the moment Elphaba finally embraces the role the world has forced upon her. After tragedy shatters her hopes and her friendship with Glinda collapses, she retreats to her fortress at Kiamo Ko and belts one of the musical’s darkest songs. 

With stormy visuals and soaring vocals, the sequence captures Elphaba at her breaking point, where her despair hardens into defiance.

5) Dancing Through Life
Fiyero’s (Jonathan Bailey) carefree philosophy animates one of the film’s most dazzling musical numbers. Relocated from Shiz University’s courtyard (in the stage version) to its ornate library, the scene transforms towering bookshelves into a swirling playground for dancers and acrobats.

As the shelves spin and ladders form the letters “OZ”, the sequence becomes a show-stopping spectacle and a perfect showcase for Bailey’s effortless charm.

4) As Long as You’re Mine
This passionate duet marks the emotional turning point in Elphaba and Fiyero’s forbidden romance. Hidden away in Elphaba’s woodland refuge, the pair abandon caution and embrace the present moment. They finally confess their love to each other, even as danger closes in around them.

Tender, sensual, and quietly devastating, it’s one of the story’s most heartfelt songs.

3) Popular
If Wicked has a pure comedy classic, this song/scene is it. Determined to help her socially challenged roommate, Glinda gives Elphaba a crash course in charm, confidence, and fashion.

The film leans fully into the humour, with Grande, here sporting a frilly pink peignoir, delivering the number with the panache of a seasoned physical comedy star — swinging from chandeliers, tossing out razor-sharp wordplay, and turning the makeover montage into pure musical joy. 

The scene also includes one of many nods to the original Wizard of Oz movie: Glinda takes a pair of ruby slippers and knocks them together three times.

2) For Good
A bittersweet farewell between Elphaba and Glinda, this emotional duet reflects on the profound impact their friendship has had on both their lives.

The song’s central idea — that people can change each other ‘for good’ — has made it a favourite at graduations and other life milestones. Few musical numbers capture the ache of parting quite so beautifully.

1) Defying Gravity
No contest. The musical’s signature anthem remains its most electrifying moment.

As Elphaba rejects the Wizard’s authority and embraces her destiny, the film transforms the iconic stage finale into a sweeping cinematic spectacle complete with aerial stunts, roaring wind machines, and a breathtaking vocal performance from Erivo.

While some fans of the stage musical dislike how the movie breaks up the song with action and interrupts its flow, “Defying Gravity” arguably fits the film medium better.

Chu calls staging the song “the nightmare of [his] life”, agonising over how much to change and how to adapt the sequence for the screen, knowing die-hard fans would scrutinise it. “This is much bigger than just a song,” Chu tells Variety. “This is about the ending of a movie and [the] journey of a character that we’ve invested … so much [in].”

It’s a moment of sheer musical catharsis — the instant Elphaba stops apologising for who she is and finally takes flight.