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.

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.

Ariana Grande, who stars as Glinda in Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked,” reportedly didn’t want to perform a new version of “Popular” in the musical film. Stephen Schwartz — the composer and lyricist of the original Broadway musical as well as the movie of the same name — recently told the Los Angeles Times that he and his music team considered refreshing the “rhythm” of the number in the spirit of “being open to new things” for the film.

Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz has revealed that Ariana Grande refused to make a suggested change to a classic song.