State Champ Radio Wicked
Trending on Billboard The Wicked: For Good film soundtrack debuts in the top 10 across seven Billboard charts (dated Dec. 6), including No. 1 on both the Soundtracks ranking and Vinyl Albums. Led by its stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the album soars in with 122,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States […]
Trending on Billboard Elphaba’s story may be complete now that Wicked: For Good is in theaters, but Cynthia Erivo is still defying gravity. On Tuesday (Dec. 2), the Emmy, Grammy and Tony-winning powerhouse simultaneously earned her first platinum-certified album and single from the RIAA thanks to 2024’s blockbuster Wicked soundtrack. Billed to Erivo, Ariana Grande […]
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SZA is coming to Cynthia Erivo‘s defense amid a wave of recent online bullying aimed at the Wicked star.
In the replies of a recent Instagram video calling out the onslaught of posts mocking everything from Erivo’s physique to the way she protected Ariana Grande from a red-carpet crasher in Singapore, the R&B hitmaker shared her two cents about why it shouldn’t be considered “too woke” to speak up. “It’s CLASSIC Misogynoir!” SZA wrote of the content targeting Erivo. “NOTHING ELSE !!!”
“can’t believe it’s openly a thing in 2025,” the singer continued in her comment. “everyone’s gonna have cognitive dissonance 2 years later like ‘remember when everyone attacked Cynthia for being black bald and nurturing?… that was crazy’ ..it could jus stop now lol.”
Misogynoir refers to the intersectionality of racism and sexism experienced all too frequently by Black women. Merriam-Webster defines the term as a “hatred of, aversion to, or prejudice against Black women.”
And while both Grande and Erivo have faced ample amounts of criticism for their looks and mannerisms amid the rollout for Wicked: For Good this past fall, the hate geared toward the latter has been particularly upsetting, given the racist undertones lurking beneath much of it. Many online trolls have depicted Erivo’s body in an exaggerated, overly masculine light, a practice that ties into a long history of society treating Black women as less feminine.
It’s something Erivo has dealt with her entire career, with the star telling Billboard Pride editor Stephen Daw in her June cover story that she is rarely considered for sensual or sexual roles. “Honestly, you rarely get that opportunity as Black women anyway,” she said at the time. “So I was just like, ‘Well, if I don’t put it in my own music, I’ll never get to put it anywhere else.’”
Fortunately, Erivo has built a thick skin over the years, a protective measure that’s unfortunately necessary while existing as a Black, queer woman in the entertainment industry. “I can’t change a person’s opinion of me; if they want to feel some way, there is nothing I can do about that,” she added in her Billboard cover story. “But I was so excited about being able to at least be one more face where someone could say, ‘Oh, my God, she did it and can still do it. She’s still creating, she’s still making. So maybe I can also do the same.’”
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Like magic, the soundtrack for Wicked: For Good materializes at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
For Good is, of course, the sequel to Wicked, the soundtrack for which peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Chart in December 2024, and bounces on the latest frame, up 30-15.
Co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo contribute vocals to many of the 11 new tracks, including “Every Day More Wicked,” “Wonderful” and the closer, “For Good”. Although not a Grande solo effort, Wicked: For Good marks the sixth time she has appeared at No. 1 on the ARIA Chart, following My Everything (from 2014), Dangerous Woman (2016), Sweetener (2018), Thank U, Next (2019) and Eternal Sunshine (2024), which holds at No. 29 on the current chart. For Erivo, it’s her first stint in the Australian chart penthouse.
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Also new to the tally, published Friday, Nov. 28, is Australian pop-punk band SoSo’s So Much For Second Chances, new at No. 4. “We are absolutely blown away,” reads a statement from the band. “This is something we are incredibly proud of and we owe it all to our SoSo Crew: you know who you are!”
Produced by Stevie Knight (Yours Truly, Stand Atlantic, Between You & Me), Second Chances could be closely followed by new music. “This means so much to us as an independent band,” the statement continues, “we can’t wait to share what we have cooking up next.”
Melbourne rockers The Smith Street Band bag a ninth top 50 album with Once I Was Wild, new at No. 14, while Midnight Til Morning are close behind with their debut EP, Afterglow, new at No. 16. The pop-punk outfit was formed during the Netflix competition series Building The Band. Despite being eliminated in the semis, the group has enjoyed international success, including sold-out shows in North America, the U.K. and Europe, and in Australia, the homeland of bandmates Conor Smith and Mason Watts. Midnight Til Morning are signed to and managed by Michael Chugg’s Chugg Music.
The Fab Four make another impression on the Australian chart as the fourth and latest instalment of the Beatles‘ Anthology series starts at No. 20. The first, Anthology 1, led the chart for two weeks in 1995, the year in which the original eight-part TV series aired. Anthology 2 hit No. 2 the following year and Anthology 3 peaked at No. 3 later in 1996. All four of the albums are packaged as the Anthology Collection, new at No. 32. According to ARIA, the Beatles have notched 14 No. 1s on the national albums chart.
Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Olivia Dean retains top spot for a second week with “Man I Need,” which she performed at the 2025 ARIA Awards in Sydney, and again for a special open-air concert at Fleet Steps. The English singer’s former No. 1 album, The Art of Loving, enjoys a lot of love in these parts, lifting 4-2. Also, Dean’s “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” (up 5-4 ), “Nice To Each Other” (up 9-8) and “Let Alone The One You Love” (up 36-25) are all on the move, each improving to new peak positions.
The top debut this week belongs to K-pop boyband Stray Kids, with Do It. It’s new at No. 10, the group’s best chart performance in Australia, easily eclipsing the No. 64 peak for 2023’s Lalalala. Stray Kids have an Aussie connection: Felix was born in Sydney and Bangchan was born in Seoul, raised in Sydney.
Canadian singer and writer Tate McRae lands another top 20 start with “Nobody’s Girl,” at No. 19.
And finally, Tame Impala is, once again, the only homegrown artist with a single in the top 50, as “Dracula” dips 28-33.
Trending on Billboard Cynthia Erivo opened the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with a breathtaking performance of “Feeling Good.” Standing on a small circular stage accompanied by a pianist, the 38-year-old Wicked: For Good star launched the annual New York City event on Thursday (Nov. 27) with a moving rendition of the classic song, made […]
Trending on Billboard Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo‘s musical Wicked explainer on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon went viral last year — and now, there’s a version for the munchkins in your life too. Premiering exclusively on Billboard Family below, Karis Musongole and Scarlett Spears — who play young Elphaba and Glinda in the […]
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Cynthia Erivo is fresh off her run as Elphaba in the blockbuster hit that was the Wicked films, and she’s ready to talk about it.
It’s clear to see that the duology was a major hit, especially the music. The first Wicked film soundtrack made history by debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the highest opening for a stage-to-screen adaptation. It also topped our Top Album Sales, Soundtracks and Vinyl Albums charts simultaneously. Seven songs from the soundtrack topped the Billboard Hot 100, including Erivo’s rendition of “Defying Gravity,” being the highest charting at No. 44.
Following her stellar performance as the Wicked Witch of the West, she’s giving a peek at her process for prepping for the film duology her new book, Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much. The book is currently a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon, with a hardcover version of the book currently available for $20.28. You can also get a Kindle version for $14.99.
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‘Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much’
$20.28
$28.99
30% off
A book by Cynthia Erivo.
While the book’s primary draw is her time on Wicked, it also divulges Erivo’s development as an actress and human, and the practices she’s learned over the years of performing. In the chapter titled “Train Like a Boxer,” Erivo talks about her prep for the role of Elphaba, a tall order given she’s followed in the footsteps of those who played the coveted role on Broadway, including Idina Menzel, who originated the roll, along with Eden Espinosa, Jackie Burns and Jessica Vosk, among others.
In the book, Erivo writes, “I had three weeks to prepare. A far cry from the two days I had for The Color Purple. Things change. I got the music and all the scenes and started working on them like I was in training. As if I were a boxer.” Erivo is no stranger to Broadway, having made her debut as Celie in the 2015 revival of The Color Purple, a role for which she earned a Tony Award. “As part of my training, I ran while singing the Wicked songs, back and forth, singing just to get them fully into my body. I wanted the music and dialogue to all be so deeply embedded inside me that when I got to the audition, I wouldn’t be thinking about lyrics, or the melody, or lines. All that would just be a part of my DNA,” Erivo recalled.
If you or a loved one is a fan of Wicked or Erivo’s work, this book is a must-read and makes a great gift ahead of the holiday season.
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Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are saying goodbye to Wicked, but they’ll always be changed for good by the franchise.
On Friday (Nov. 21) — the day Wicked: For Good finally hit theaters worldwide — both leading ladies shared emotional posts marking the end of an era. On Instagram, Erivo began by sharing a carousel of photos of herself in her green Elphaba skin and witch hat on the set of the musical duology.
“I could write you an essay, a poem, Shakespearean prose, to describe what this journey has meant to me, what lessons this time has taught me, bought me,” the Tony winner wrote in her caption. “I could try to give a metric to the love I have felt and experienced. I could give a number to the stories I have heard.”
“The truth is the numbers are too small and the words are not enough,” she continued. “So I’ll simply say this. “Take my hand and walk with me to the end of this road paved with gold and hopefully, the things that I’ve found, might find you too. Thank you for letting me be your Elphaba.”
A few hours later, Grande shared her own roundup of photos from the Wicked set — complete with many pink items of clothing — and gushed about her love for her character in the project. “thank you, my sweet Glinda, for everything,” she wrote. “i will love you always … Wicked For Good is out now.”
It’s certainly an emotional day for both actresses and Wicked fans all over the world. The cast and crew spent years bringing the Broadway musical to life, with Erivo and the R.E.M. Beauty founder first landing the roles of Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, back in 2021. They’d spend the next two years or so rehearsing and shooting on set in London, wrapping in early 2024.
After finishing the films, the cast would take the world by storm with an almost inescapable press tour for the first Wicked, which premiered in November 2024 and shattered box-office records before winning Oscars for best costume and production design. Though the promo cycle for part two this year was far more lowkey, Erivo and Grande still spent much of the past month traveling all over the world for international Wicked: For Good screenings and red carpets in São Paulo, Paris, London and Singapore.
“We knew immediately that we were stepping into something that was quite special because it already has this beautiful legacy behind it,” Erivo told Seth Meyers on Thursday (Nov. 20) of herself and her castmates.
“i will never forget even a minute of my year(s) with [Glinda],” Grande wrote on Instagram last year. “Or you. or my Cyn. permanently and preferably intertwined.”
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We’re just one day away from the release of Wicked: For Good.
Throughout the month of November thus far, it’s been all about Wicked mania in preparation for the film. Many brands have been dropping Wicked-themed products left and right for fans of the magic franchise, hoping to tide them over before they head back to the wonderful world of Oz.
Now Yoto, the parent-owned and operated children’s audio tech company, is getting in on all the fun with the release of their Wicked: The Soundtrack Card for $11.99, discounted from $14.99. This soundtrack card can be used with the brand’s Yoto Player, sold separately, giving your little ones control of their tunes. If your child is just as big of a fan of Wicked as everyone else is, this Yoto soundtrack card and a separate Yoto Player would make a great gift for the holidays.
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Wicked: The Soundtrack
$11.99
$14.99
20% off
Yoto soundtrack card.
The soundtrack card features 56 minutes of pure fun, including tracks from the first half of the Wicked franchise along with tracks from Wicked: For Good sung by the likes or Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey, among others. You’ve got hit tracks that have made their way onto the Billboard charts, like “Defying Gravity,” “No One Mourns the Wicked,” “The Wizard and I” and “Popular.”
The Yoto Player is kind of like a kid-friendly boombox, made for tiny hands and ears ages 3 to 12+. The player currently comes in two sizes: Yoto Player (3rd Generation) for $81.99 and the more compact Yoto Mini for $63.99. Both are on sale at the time of writing. While there are some differences in the sizes, the biggest thing to note is that the 3rd Generation produces acoustically engineered stereo sound, while the mini produces mono sound, meaning a single-channel audio format. Stereo uses two channels to create a room-filling kind of sound, giving your audio a more dynamic feel. If you or your child are a stickler for good audio, go for the 3rd Gen Yoto Player.
Yoto Player 3rd Generation
$81.99
$109.99
25% off
A Yoto audio player.
Both players allow children to play the Wicked-themed soundtrack card, along with audiobooks and so much more. The 3rd Gen is best for jamming out at home, while the mini is best for listening to your favorite tracks on the go. The 3rd Gen is equipped with more technical features than its tiny counterpart, including a nightlight, clock and even a room thermistor.
The battery life on the bigger Yoto Player is also larger, lasting up to 24 hours on a single charge, while the mini will last up to 14 hours. Both products can be hooked up to wired headphones so your kids can listen in privacy. You can also choose the color of your Yoto device on the website.
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Sometimes it rains, sometimes it pours. For Cynthia Erivo, it’s pouring, in spectacular fashion.
The award-winning actress, singer, and producer is, of course, reprising her role as Elphaba in Wicked: For Good, the sequel to 2024 feature film Wicked, which raked in nearly $750 million at the worldwide box office, the best showing ever an adaptation for a Broadway musical.
That’s for starters. The Nigerian-British star penned the newly-published autobiography “Simply More,” she’s the cover star on Britain’s GQ, and her voice is still “missing in action,” the fallout from all the promo, the extensive singing and the airmiles put in for Wicked: For Good, which arrives Friday, Nov. 21 in theaters.
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Erivo stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday night (Nov. 19) for a quiet chat about her busy schedule.
For her work on stage and screen, Erivo has won a Tony, Emmy and this week she landed two Grammy Award nominations for Wicked: one for “Defying Gravity” (with Ariana Grande) in the best pop duo/group performance category, and another for “Be Okay” in the best arrangement, instrumental or a cappella category.
“I didn’t even know we could be nominated for that,” she told Fallon. “I didn’t know we could be eligible.”
Fallon also coaxed Erivo into ranking her favorite songs from Wicked, a project not far removed from being asked to choose your favorite kids, she remarked. And she discussed the origins of that meme (it’s a story of a lost hat, with a happy ending) and recreated it for the moment.
Universal‘s Wicked: For Good should provide a Thanksgiving feast, somewhere in the order of $120 million-plus domestically and upwards of $200 million worldwide, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
With those numbers, Jon M. Chu’s film would bank the best start for a Broadway musical adaptation ever. By trying to manage expectations, the studio has suggested anything around $115 million in North America would be huge result.
Watch Erivo’s late night interview below.
