Hot 100 First-Timers: Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum & More ‘Wicked’ Cast Score Their First Chart Entries

The cast of the new Wicked film has an explosive week on Billboard’s charts, thanks to the release of the film’s soundtrack on Nov. 22.

The set soars in at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales, Soundtracks and Vinyl Albums charts (all dated Dec. 7, 2024), while also opening at No. 2 on the overall Billboard 200. It scores the highest Billboard 200 debut for a big-screen adaptation of a stage musical ever, dating to the list’s 1956 launch as a regularly published weekly chart.

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Seven songs from the Wicked soundtrack concurrently debut on the Billboard Hot 100, led by “Defying Gravity,” by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who play the film’s leads, Elphaba Thropp and Galinda Upland, respectively. Meanwhile, multiple members of the cast, including Erivo, earn their first career Hot 100 entries.

Here’s a recap of every song from the Wicked film on this week’s Hot 100.

Rank, Title, Artist Billing

• No. 44, “Defying Gravity,” Cynthia Erivo feat. Ariana Grande

• No. 53, “Popular,” Ariana Grande

• No. 68, “What Is This Feeling?,” Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo

• No. 86, “No One Mourns the Wicked,” Ariana Grande feat. Andy Nyman, Courtney-May Briggs, Jeff Goldblum, Sharon D. Clarke & Jenna Boyd

• No. 90, “Dancing Through Life,” Jonathan Bailey feat. Ariana Grande, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode & Cynthia Erivo

• No. 93, “The Wizard and I,” Cynthia Erivo feat. Michelle Yeoh

• No. 94, “I’m Not That Girl,” Cynthia Erivo

Erivo, Nyman, Briggs, Goldblum, Clarke, Boyd, Bailey, Slater, Bode and Yeoh all score their first Hot 100 entries. Grande, of course, is a veteran of Billboard’s charts, having now charted 90 total Hot 100 hits. She boasts eight No. 1s, including two this year: “Yes, And?” and “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” from her latest solo album, Eternal Sunshine.

While Erivo and Goldblum appear on the Hot 100 for the first time, both have previously appeared on other Billboard charts. Erivo’s debut solo studio set, Ch. 1 Vs. 1, reached No. 44 on Billboard’s Top Current Album Sales chart and No. 77 on the overall Top Album Sales chart in October 2021. Plus, her song “Stand Up,” from the 2019 Harriet Tubman biopic Harriet, hit No. 31 on Digital Song Sales. Erivo played Tubman in the film, a portrayal that earned her a nomination for best actress at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2019. “Stand Up” also earned her a best original song nomination.

Erivo previously played the lead in the Broadway revival of the musical The Color Purple. She won several accolades for her performance as Celie, including the Tony for best leading actress in a musical at the 70th ceremony in 2016; a Grammy for best musical theater album (for The Color Purple soundtrack); and a Daytime Emmy for outstanding musical performance in a daytime program in 2017.

Goldblum, who plays the Wonderful Wizard of Oz in Wicked, reached Billboard’s charts for the first time in 2018 with his debut studio album, The Capitol Studios Sessions. The set, with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Jazz Albums and Traditional Jazz Albums charts. It includes collaborations with comedian-actress Sarah Silverman, jazz trumpeter Till Br?nner and singers Imelda May and Haley Reinhart. He returned to the charts in 2019 with his follow-up album, I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This, which reached No. 2 on both Jazz Albums and Traditional Jazz Albums.

Nyman, Briggs, Clarke, Boyd, Bailey, Slater, Bode and Yeoh are all brand new to Billboard’s charts. In Wicked, Nyman portrays Governor Thropp (Elphaba and Nessarose’s father), Biggs plays Mrs. Thropp (their mother), Clarke voices Dulcibear, Boyd voices Wolf Doctor, Bailey plays Fiyero Tigelaar, Slater plays Boq Woodsman, Bode plays Nessarose Thropp and Yeoh plays Madame Morrible.

Wicked has even generated a radio chart hit, as Grande’s “Popular” debuts at No. 40 on Pop Airplay, thanks to plays on stations including KMVQ San Francisco, WBLI Long Island, N.Y., and SiriusXM’s Hits 1.

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