'Wicked' is breaking *more* records as its soundtrack dominates music charts
| 12/03/24
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VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
Just wait until you hear where the soundtrack landed in its first week.
Universal Pictures and Republic Records have announced that the long-anticipated adaptation is shattering records on the charts, making history beyond musical theatre. Here are some of Wicked: The Soundtrack's biggest accomplishments in just its first week.
Thanks to its beloved music and lyrics by legendary composer Stephen Schwartz, as well as outstanding vocals from Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Wicked: The Soundtrack debuted and has remained at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales, Soundtracks, and Vinyl Albums charts.
The track list includes:
1. No One Mourns the Wicked
2. Dear Old Shiz
3. The Wizard And I
4. What Is This Feeling?
5. Something Bad
6. Dancing Through Life
7. Popular
8. I’m Not That Girl
9. One Short Day
10. A Sentimental Man
11. Defying Gravity
12. Ozdust Duet (Bonus Track) *Digital Only
Wicked: The Soundtrack's soaring premiere has earned it the highest-ever debut for a theatrical adaptation of a stage musical.
Chicago was the last stage-to-screen musical soundtrack to debut in Billboard's top five, premiering at No. 4 in 2003 and peaking at No. 2. Les Misérables debuted at No. 33 in late 2012/early 2013 before rocketing to spots No. 2 and No. 1 in the following weeks.
It's not just musicals and adaptations — Wicked: The Soundtrack has officially had the biggest sales week of any soundtrack of the 2020s. With 85,000 albums sold in its first week, and 67.66 million streams, Wicked rivals Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born, which sold 86,000 in its second week in 2018.
Wicked has become the seventh highest-grossing movie of the year domestically, also entering the top 15 movies of 2024 internationally. It is officially the highest-grossing movie in the "Play Adaptation" category in the U.S., and the highest-grossing movie of all time based on a Broadway musical domestically.
Ryan is a reporter at The Advocate, and a graduate of New York University Tisch's Department of Dramatic Writing, with a focus in television writing and comedy. She first became a published author at the age of 15 with her YA novel "Someone Else's Stars," and is now a member of GALECA, the LGBTQ+ society of entertainment critics, and the IRE, the society of Investigative Reporters and Editors. In her free time, Ryan likes watching New York Rangers hockey, listening to the Beach Boys, and practicing witchcraft.
Ryan is a reporter at The Advocate, and a graduate of New York University Tisch's Department of Dramatic Writing, with a focus in television writing and comedy. She first became a published author at the age of 15 with her YA novel "Someone Else's Stars," and is now a member of GALECA, the LGBTQ+ society of entertainment critics, and the IRE, the society of Investigative Reporters and Editors. In her free time, Ryan likes watching New York Rangers hockey, listening to the Beach Boys, and practicing witchcraft.