‘Wicked’ receives 4 Grammy nominations just 2 weeks before ‘Wicked: For Good’ hits theaters
The first Wicked movie is still defying gravity almost a year after it dominated the theatrical box office and the Billboard music charts.
On Friday, the nominations for the 2026 Grammys were unveiled and Jon M. Chu‘s blockbuster movie adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical received the following four bids:
- Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, cast
- Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, for composers John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
- Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, for “Defying Gravity” performers Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande
- Best Instrumental Composition, for “Train to Emerald City” composers Powell and Schwartz
This news comes just two weeks before audiences will finally see the highly anticipated conclusion, Wicked: For Good, which floats into theaters on Nov. 21. Reviews for the sequel film aren’t out until Nov. 18, but first reactions are already calling it “triumphantly magical” with a “haunting brilliance.”
For Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, Wicked competes against Timothée Chalamet for A Complete Unknown, and “Various Artists” from F1 The Album, KPop Demon Hunters, and Sinners.
Powell and Schwartz’s fellow composer nominees in Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media are Powell (How To Train Your Dragon), Theodore Shapiro (Severance), Ludwig Göransson (Sinners), and Kris Bowers (The Wild Robot).
For Best Instrumental Composition, Powell and Schwartz’s “Train to Emerald City” faces off against Remy Le Boeuf‘s “First Snow,” Miho Hazama‘s “Live Life This Day: Movement I,” Zain Effendi‘s “Opening,” Sierra Hull‘s “Lord, That’s A Long Way,” and Ludwig Göransson‘s “Why You Here/Before the Sun Went Down” (from the movie Sinners).
And the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance race features Erivo and Ariana’s “Defying Gravity” going up against Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami‘s “Golden” (from the movie KPop Demon Hunters); Katseye‘s “Gabriela”; Rosé and Bruno Mars‘ “Apt.”; and SZA with Kendrick Lamar‘s “30 for 30.”
In addition to Erivo’s Grammy nomination for “Defying Gravity,” the multihyphenate entertainer is also up this year for Best Arrangement, Instrumental, or A Cappella for her R&B/soul song “Be Okay.”
Erivo previously shared the 2017 Best Musical Theater Album Grammy with her costars in The Color Purple. She is three-fourths of the way to EGOT status, having also claimed the Tony for starring in The Color Purple in 2016, and the Daytime Emmy for performing “I’m Here” on the Today Show in 2017. She just needs the Oscar to complete her coveted EGOT.
Grande, meanwhile, is a two-time Grammy champion for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (“Rain on Me”) in 2021, and Best Pop Vocal Album (Sweetener) in 2019.
While this would be Powell’s first Grammy victory, Schwartz already has three trophies, for Best Score from an Original Cast Show Album (Godspell) in 1972, Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television (Pocahontas) in 1996, and Best Musical Show Album (Wicked) in 2005.
Grande and Erivo in ‘Wicked’Universal Pictures
The first Wicked made $473 million at the domestic box office and $756 million worldwide. It won two trophies at the 2025 Oscars for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, and received eight other nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress (Erivo), Best Supporting Actress (Grande), Best Film Editing, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Score, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects.
Gold Derby has learned that Wicked: For Good is officially campaigning in 16 Oscar categories this year, including Best Song, where Schwartz is eligible as the composer and lyricist of two original tunes: “No Place Like Home,” sung by Erivo; and “The Girl in the Bubble,” performed by Grande. Both songs will be eligible at the 2026 Oscars and 2026 Grammys.
