Every ‘Wicked: For Good Soundtrack’ Song, Ranked

We rarely cover musicals here on Nerdy Nook, but Wicked: For Good has completely taken over the world of cinema over the past few weeks in the build-up to its release, and at long last, the movie finally hits theatres today! Alongside the film, fans have finally been treated to the much-anticipated Wicked: For Good Soundtrack, and as always, we think that there’s no better way to celebrate a big release than with a ranking!

Today, we’re ranking all 11 of the songs from the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack, rating each based on not only their enjoyability as a piece of music, but also in the context of the events of Wicked: For Good, the climactic finale to the true story behind the witches of Oz. It’s pretty commonly agreed that the songs in Wicked’s second half are less iconic than the first half’s hits, like ‘Popular’ and ‘Defying Gravity’. However, I think that Wicked: For Good has come out swinging with the soundtrack for this movie, and I can’t wait to dive into each song in detail. It should be noted that this ranking contains spoilers for the overall storyline of Wicked: For Good, so be warned! Without further ado, let’s get into this ranking!

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11. The Wicked Witch of the East

Image by Universal Pictures

Poor, poor Nessarose. Not only is she treated to one of the most cruel fates in the Wicked storyline, but she is also saddled with what I believe to be not only the worst song in the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack, but in the entire Wicked franchise – yes, worse even than ‘A Sentimental Man’ and ‘Something Bad’. To be blunt, most of ‘The Wicked Witch of the East’ is coated in spoken dialogue, which was likely the reason that the song was omitted from the original Broadway recording entirely. Funnily enough though, the Broadway version of this song is actually far better than the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack recording, which is stripped of almost all of the song’s original anger and wrath.

The only part of ‘The Wicked Witch of the East’ that’s worth a listen at all is Nessarose’s brief ‘Dancing Through Life’ reprise at the end of the song, which is honestly the only part of this soundtrack entry that I can actually remember, even directly after the song has played. Within the context of the movie, the song is fine. However, Nessarose really deserved a more heightened musical moment, and though the Broadway show does allow her character some more time to shine, Wicked: For Good seems determined to undermine her contributions to the movie’s musicality with this stripped-down reiteration of an already underwhelming song.

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10. No Place Like Home

Image by Universal Pictures

Fans of Wicked were filled with delight when two brand-new additions to the soundtrack were announced, completely original songs, that were never featured in the original Broadway show. Each of the film’s two central characters, Elphaba and Glinda, were treated to a new song from Stephen Schwartz, songs that would help to better contextualise and pad-out their somewhat rushed story arcs in the original musical. Unfortunately, though Glinda’s song found some success, Elphaba’s new number, ‘No Place Like Home’, falls pretty flat.

The vocals in ‘No Place Like Home’ are nothing short of heavenly, but we wouldn’t expect anything less of Cynthia Erivo. The instrumental though, that’s a different story entirely. The song isn’t at all replayable, an incredibly slowly-building ballad that relies on instrumental call-backs to far more successful songs, like ‘No One Mourns the Wicked’. Even in the context of the movie, the song somewhat drags-on, and unfortunately, leaves the viewer feeling like this song’s omission from the original Broadway show was, perhaps, justified. Among a sea of criticism that Wicked: For Good prioritises Glinda as its main character over Elphaba herself, it doesn’t help that the Wicked Witch’s original song doesn’t leave much of a mark.

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9. I’m Not That Girl (Reprise)

Image by Universal Pictures

‘I’m Not That Girl’, from the original Wicked film, is a beautiful song, a tender, introspective look at Elphaba’s insecurities as a woman. In what had the potential to be a perfect foil to this song, Glinda tries her hand at the ballad in Wicked’s second half, in a 50-second long reprise version. Fans were thrilled to see that the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack version of this reprise was considerably extended from the original Broadway show, clocking-in at over 2 minutes, and began to speculate that new lyrics would be added for Ariana Grande’s take on the character. Unfortunately, that was not to be.

For some reason, the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack version of the ‘I’m Not That Girl’ reprise is only extended through pure instrumental, with Ariana Grande fading away into the track as early as Kristin Chenoweth did on the Broadway recording. This wouldn’t be so bad, and the song could be forgiven thanks to its pure beauty, if it weren’t for the fact that this extended instrumental outro robs us of the incredible transition between this song and ‘As Long As You’re Mine’ on the Broadway recording. In short, this song isn’t bad at all, but its extended runtime is somewhat of a red herring, a misleading promise to fans for a deeper look into Glinda’s character, that is ultimately squandered.

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8. March of the Witch Hunters

Image by Universal Pictures

From this point on, the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack is pretty great, with almost all of the songs making a mark in some way or another. ‘March of the Witch Hunters’ lands at this lower point for a couple of reasons, and one of them is not actually the fault of Wicked: For Good at all. For those completely unfamiliar with Wicked, and specifically this song, it features one of the most ridiculous lyrics in the entire musical, as the Tin Man belts out how Elphaba is somehow to blame for the Cowardly Lion’s cowardice. On the one hand, the lyric could be taken as an example of just how warped Oz’s vision of Elphaba has become, but on the other hand, it’s a hilariously bad lyric, one that barely even fits in the song’s metre.

Where the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack version of this song falters is in the strange instrumental break in the middle of the anthem. In what is an incredibly intense moment in the movie’s soundtrack, this strange intermission feels oddly light and airy, almost stripping the song of any of the gravitas and bravado that Ethan Slater brings to it, alongside the haunting chants of the ensemble cast. The song is still a pretty great answer to your typical musical “mob song”, and can certainly be enjoyed as one of Wicked’s darkest, and most gritty songs. However, there’s simply too much wrong with it, for such a short song, for me to rank it any higher.

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7. The Girl in the Bubble

Image by Universal Pictures

Have you ever watched a musical movie and felt like, though a song was a beautiful fit for a specific story moment, you’re probably never going to listen to it again, or outside of the context of the movie itself? Well, ‘The Girl in the Bubble’ fits into that category perfectly, a hauntingly beautiful ballad from Ariana Grande, with a tender vocal performance, combined with a delicate instrumental, befitting of Glinda’s character arc. However, do I have any desire to listen to this song on its own, as a song on the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack? Not really.

‘The Girl in the Bubble’ is Glinda’s answer to Elphaba’s ‘No Place Like Home’, a new original song, specifically composed for Wicked: For Good. It certainly lands a lot better than Elphaba’s new entry to the musical, but I think that both of these songs missed the opportunity to stand-out as truly memorable entries to the existing Wicked soundtrack. When other new musicals are releasing chart-topping singles, like ‘Golden’ from K-Pop Demon Hunters, it’s a little disappointing to see Wicked: For Good play it so safe, even if ‘The Girl in the Bubble’ is a beautiful song in the context of the film. Not a bad song in the slightest, but one I’m far less likely to revisit than other Wicked: For Good Soundtrack entries, perhaps even less so than ‘March of the Witch Hunters’.

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6. Wonderful

Image by Universal Pictures

Despite being such a central character to the story, songs that heavily feature the Wizard of Oz himself in Wicked often turned out to be the most unpopular entries in the soundtrack. ‘A Sentimental Man’ is nothing special, and when it comes to the Broadway recording, and the second half’s ‘Wonderful’ is often a guaranteed skip for many fans. However, I’m glad to report that no other song gets quite as much of a glow-up when it comes to the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack as ‘Wonderful’, a song that I can honestly say that I truly enjoyed for the first time with this version.

This is likely in no small part thanks to Glinda’s addition to the song, as the character is completely omitted from the Broadway recording. Instead, in the Broadway version, Elphaba occasionally interjects into the song to sing lines that are wildly out of character. It makes a lot of sense for Glinda to play a role in trying to bring Elphaba back to the Wizard of Oz’s side, so her involvement here is a perfect addition, both for the story and the song itself. For the first time, ‘Wonderful’ feels like it conveys as much wonder as the title implies. Perhaps Wicked’s most ‘Disney-esque’ song, which is honestly a great fit for the Wizard’s character, and though Jeff Goldblum is certainly one of Wicked’s weaker singers, he brings a unique flair to this song that allows it to soar.

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5. Every Day More Wicked

Image by Universal Pictures

‘Every Day More Wicked’ is the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack’s answer to ‘No One Mourns the Wicked’, an epic opening number that perfectly encapsulates where the story is at the viewer’s point of entry to the film. Though the song was partially featured in the original Broadway show, a lot has been added here, and some of it really allows this song to shine in its own right, completely separate from ‘Thank Goodness’, the song that it’s grouped with on the Broadway recording. Among these additions are reprises of not only ‘The Wizard and I’, but also ‘What Is This Feeling?’, and even ‘Popular’.

The reason ‘Every Day More Wicked’ doesn’t rank higher is because, though some of it is spectacular, some sections of it just feel…off? The reprise of ‘The Wizard and I’ is stunning, easily one of my favourite new musical additions to this movie. On top of that, the actual ‘Every Day More Wicked’ sections that are retained from the Broadway show are every bit as epic as they should be. However, Michelle Yeoh’s addition to this song is very strange to me, not only because she is a very weak singer, but also because she has some lines cut from ‘Thank Goodness’. If the goal in cutting her ‘Thank Goodness’ lines was to have her sing less, why is she featured vocally here? Also, the ‘Popular’ reprise is a little silly, and feels the most forced out of any of the decisions made in this song. Overall though, this is an incredible opening number for such an intense and climactic film.

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4. Thank Goodness

Image by Universal Pictures

‘Thank Goodness’ is a great song, a perfect catch-up with Glinda’s character, to see just how she has been shaped by the Wizard and Morrible’s authority over her since Elphaba’s departure from the Emerald City. Thankfully (no pun intended), Ariana Grande perfectly captures how this song is meant to be performed, not only full of vulnerability and emotion, but also under a joyous guise. Just listening to this song, it’s difficult to tell whether Glinda is truly happy, or deeply troubled inside, and that’s exactly how ‘Thank Goodness’ should come across. The ensemble also does a great job here, despite Michelle Yeoh and Jonathan Bailey’s best efforts to pull the song down.

If you’re not familiar with the original Broadway version, it’s almost impossible to tell how Fiyero is feeling about everything going on in this song, mainly because Jonathan Bailey seems to mumble his outrage under his breath in the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack iteration. Also, Michelle Yeoh continues to try her best, but really takes me out of this song. Her delivery, especially when sandwiched between Ariana’s vocals, is almost comical. I can overlook these small errors though, mainly because the song is so great otherwise. From this point on, I think that the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack really holds its own against the original Wicked songs, especially when it comes to this top three.

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3. As Long As You’re Mine

Image by Universal Pictures

This is easily Wicked’s most steamy song, so I was excited to see how Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey would pull it off. Luckily, ‘As Long As You’re Mine’ is every bit as compelling as the original Broadway version, if not even more so, thanks to the more muted beginning eventually building into an explosively romantic latter half. To me, this song is where Jonathan Bailey truly shines, even if he seems to opt for pure volume as opposed to vocal control. This is one of those songs that works in the context of the film, and outside of it, perhaps a little on the cheesy side for the average music fan, but certainly a song that can be listened to on Spotify without feeling like you’re listening to a stage production.

A lot of people have criticised the romance between Elphaba and Fiyero, ever since the conception of Wicked on Broadway, but personally, this song solidifies their chemistry for me, and easily stands out as one of the show’s best songs, and perhaps its most underrated. If I had one critique, it would be, once again, Bailey’s tendency to mumble his spoken-word lines, as he delivers a barely-audible ‘what is it?’ at the end of the song. Luckily though, this fumble is right at the end of the song, so I can just turn it off before it has time to irk me! ‘As Long As You’re Mine’ may be one of the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack’s more muted entries, but as far as musical love songs go, it’s one of my personal favourites.

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2. For Good

Image by Universal Pictures

‘For Good’ is the titular song of this second Wicked movie, so it was very important for it to deliver. However, though I say this, was there ever any doubt? Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have incredible vocal chemistry, and it’s honestly a shame that ‘For Good’ is one of the only times they get to flaunt it in the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack. However, this song more than makes up for lost time, as the two engage in a 6-minute long, heartbreaking ode to friendship, as the time comes for them to say their final goodbyes. Sure, the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack version of this song adds a few unnecessary instrumental breaks, but I can excuse it, considering how strong the rest of the song is.

‘For Good’ is really the only song from Wicked’s second half that actually stands against songs like ‘Defying Gravity’ and ‘Popular’ when it comes to, again excuse the pun, popularity. When you watch the movie, it’s not hard to see why. The song is easily the most emotional and devastating of the entire play, and both movies. There’s a softness to the song that no other number in the entirety of the musical manages to capture, and its devastation is a welcome change of pace from the usual upbeat finales that musicals usually flaunt. Perhaps the more muted vibe to the songs from the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack are what has led to many people writing-off its songs, but personally, I think these more tender songs are a real highlight when it comes to this half of the story. However, though ‘For Good’ was an easy choice for the top spot, one song did beat it out, likely thanks to its unmatched energy.

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1. No Good Deed

Image by Universal Pictures

Here it is, our pick for the best song on the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack, and it comes from none other than the titular Wicked Witch herself. ‘No Good Deed’ is not only my favourite Wicked: For Good song – it’s my favourite Wicked song, a powerful anthem of vengeance that is unmatched in both vocals and energy when it comes to any other song in the musical. It’s no wonder that this was the most talked-about song when it came to fan anticipation for this second-half soundtrack. Erivo is absolutely incredible here, in my personal opinion dethroning Idina Menzel as this song’s quintessential performer.

This movie version also makes some instrumental changes to the Broadway version, bringing in electric instrumentation to modernise the song, and it all pays off. Erivo’s riffs are also incredible, perfectly capturing the pure rage that Elphaba feels at this point in the story. It’s one of the very few songs on the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack that I can say is unabashedly perfect, from start to finish. Sure, we lost the ‘Fiyero’ belt at the beginning of the song, but in the context of the movie, it makes sense. Regardless, Erivo more than makes up for its absence by singing her lungs out throughout the rest of the song. A complete triumph, and easily my pick for the best song from the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack.

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Conclusion

That’s all for our ranking of the Wicked: For Good Soundtrack! Do you agree with our list, or did we snub your favourite songs? What’s your favourite song from Wicked: For Good, and Wicked overall? Be sure to let us know, and thanks for reading!

See also: Every Attack On Titan Opening, Ranked

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