Defying Gravity (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| “Defying Gravity” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth | ||
| Album | Wicked (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | |
| Released | December 16, 2003 | |
| Recorded | November 10, 2003 | |
| Genre | Show tunes, pop anthem | |
| Length | 5:55 | |
| Label | Decca Broadway | |
| Writer | Stephen Schwartz | |
| Composer | Stephen Schwartz | |
"Defying Gravity" is the showstopper song from the musical Wicked, composed by Stephen Schwartz. It is mostly a solo sung by the main character of the show, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West), with two small duets at the beginning and in the middle of the song between Elphaba and her friend Glinda, and a chorus part in the end in which the citizens of Oz sing. This song was featured in an episode of the television show Ugly Betty, along with Wicked songs "Popular" and "I'm Not that Girl". It was performed on the BBC television programme I'd Do Anything, and as a result the song charted at #60 on the official UK Singles chart.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Context and Analysis
The song is the finale for the show's first act, when Elphaba, who until now has seen The Wizard of Oz as a heroic figure who can give her life some noble direction, discovers that he is not at all what he seems. The Wizard's regime, in fact, is waging a propaganda campaign against the Animals of Oz (including Dr. Dillamond), who have been oppressed so much that they lose their powers of speech or never learn to speak at all. (Dr. Dillamond, for instance, initially starts to lose his speech in "Something Bad" when he pronounces bad as 'baaaad,' bleating like an actual goat). Realizing this, and despite Glinda's attempts to dissuade her, Elphaba vows to do everything in her power to fight the Wizard and his sinister plans. She sings of how she wants to live without limits, going against the rules that others have set for her, in order to save the Animals. During the song, Elphaba, apparently cornered by those who are hunting her, enchants a broomstick to levitate and, in the last verse, she dramatically rises from the stage and levitates above the angered Citizens of Oz, who try in vain to "bring her down."
The song is widely regarded as being the musical's signature song.
[edit] Idina Menzel remix
Idina Menzel, having reprised her role as Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked in 2006, released a remixed "pop mainstream" version of the song as a single. It can be heard on her official website or purchased on the iTunes Music Store. The remix of "Defying Gravity" was also the anthem at the 2007 Gay Pride Parade and Festival in Los Angeles, and it appears on the official CD from the event.
[edit] German Version
A German-language version of Defying Gravity (called "Frei und Schwerelos") was recorded on November 21, 2007 by the Stuttgart, Germany cast of Wicked featuring Willemijn Verkaik as Elphaba and Lucy Scherer as Glinda.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||
