This is FRESH air.
I'm Tonya Moseley.
The musical Wicket is a top contender at this year's Academy Awards with 10 Oscar nominations,
including best supporting Actress for my guest today, Ariana Grande.
Wicked has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon,
introducing new layers of the story of Oz that really challenge audiences to look beyond surface appearances
and question preconceived notions of good and evil.
Ariana Grande stars as the privileged and popular Galinda who develops a friendship with Elphaba,
played by Cynthia Erivo, born with green skin and ostracized by society.
As a prequel to the wizard of Oz, the film is set years before Dorothy arrives in Oz,
and it charts the transformations of Elphaba into the Wicked Witch of the west and Galinda into Glinda the Good.
Here's Grande as Glinda, singing Popular, a song that gives insights into her character Elfie.
Now that we're friends, I've decided to make you my new project.
Oh, you really don't have to do that.
I know.
That's what makes me so nice.
Whenever I see someone less fortunate than I and let's face it, right.
Who isn't less fortunate than I?
My tender heart tends to start to bleed.
And when someone needs a makeover I simply have to take over.