Stephen Schwartz shares what the creative process was like writing Glinda’s “Girl in the Bubble” and Elphaba’s “No Place Like Home.”

Wicked composer reveals what Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo asked for while writing new For Good songs

Stephen Schwartz shares what the creative process was like writing Glinda's "Girl in the Bubble" and Elphaba's "No Place Like Home."

By Patrick Gomez

Patrick Gomez is an Executive Editor at . Formerly at People magazine and The A.V. Club, the Critics Choice and Television Critics Association member has appeared on 'Today,' 'Extra!,' 'Access Hollywood,' 'E! News,' 'CNN,' and 'Nightline,' and can be seen frequently on 'Good Morning America.' Follow the Texas Native at @PatrickGomezLA wherever your media is social for all things 'For All Mankind' 'Top Chef,' and puppy related.

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January 4, 2026 9:00 a.m. ET

Cynthia Ervio and Ariana Grande promoting 'Wicked: For Good'. Credit:

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Adding to his beloved *Wicked* score was never going to be easy, but Stephen Schwartz knew there was one thing he'd never have to worry about when crafting new songs for *Wicked: For Good* stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

"Both Cynthia and Ariana, of course, have extraordinary vocal instruments — and the ability to do just about anything with them that they want," the lyricist and composer tells **, "so it was just a matter of what would make each of them most comfortable in doing the songs."

So what made Erivo comfortable singing Elphaba's "No Place Like Home" and Grande performing Glinda's "Girl in the Bubble"?

"Cynthia asked for a couple of small word changes in 'No Place Like Home,' where she felt there was one too many syllables here or there," says Schwartz. "She asked if I could find a way to phrase some things a little bit differently, so she could take a breath."

"Then with Ariana, we just worked on vocal placement, because we felt that it was important," he shares. "Since this is the moment at which Glinda changes — that both Glindas, both the private self where she sings in chest voice, or whatever you want to call it, and her public persona where she sings in soprano.... She's going to give up both of those and become her authentic self. And therefore, we needed both of those voices in the song, so we found where would she do the soprano, and how would we do that in a way that was comfortable for her."

Glinda (Ariana Grande) singing 'Girl in the Bubble' in 'Wicked: For Good'.

"'The Girl in the Bubble' is such a beautiful and important narrative piece for Glinda, because that's when we see the final layer of her shielding bubble pop," Grande said in a recent video interview exclusive to EW. "It is a shift that happens for her where she realizes something's gotta change."

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The actress went on to say it was "a really surreal thing to be trusted with an original Stephen Schwartz song — but also to be responsible for showing the audience for the first time this very pivotal, sacred moment in Glinda's life."

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) singing 'No Place Like Home' in 'Wicked: For Good'.

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Erivo echoed those sentiments in another exclusive video: "'No place like home' is originally said by Dorothy [in *The Wizard of Oz*], and so to take those words and put them into the Wicked Witch of the West's mouth, it's a really big responsibility."

"I think it really becomes a beautiful song of resistance," Erivo concluded. "I loved singing it and when we did it on the Yellow Brick Road, which is really iconic and special, it felt really powerful. That home that she's known and loved this entire time might not want her but it doesn't mean that it makes it any less like home."**

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Source: “EW Movies”