WICKED Movie Release Sparks Spotify Streaming Surge for Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo

With the Wicked movie and accompanying soundtrack finally available, Broadway fans are flocking to Spotify in celebration of the film's release.

BroadwayWorld has learned that between November 22 and 24, streams of tracks from Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and more were up significantly on Spotify. Cynthia Erivo's listeners grew by 475% globally and 815% in the U.S. with Ariana Grande’s listeners increasing by 10% globally and nearly 20% in the U.S.

Streams of the Wicked Official Playlist, co-curated by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, increased by nearly 3,460% globally and 3,900% in the U.S. Gregory Maguire's original novel has been feeling the love as well, with a 1,400% increase in streams of the Wicked audiobook on Spotify in the U.S.  

As for the original cast, Kristin Chenoweth’s listeners grew by 75% globally and 90% in the U.S., and Idina Menzel’s listeners grew by 50% both globally and within the U.S. On Saturday, November 23, alone, streams of Idina Menzel's “Defying Gravity” from the Broadway cast album increased 150% vs. average in the U.S.

From Friday to Sunday, users who pre-saved Wicked: The Soundtrack from the official Countdown Page surpassed the average streaming rate for a pre-saved album during the full week after its release. Check out Spotify’s Book to Screen hub for Gregory Maguire’s Wicked universe HERE and listen to the new Wicked soundtrack below.

The Wicked film adaptation stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Ariana Grande as Glinda, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Ethan Slater as Boq, and Marissa Bode as Nessarose. The first part was released on November 22, 2024, with Part Two hitting theaters on November 21, 2025.