kids encyclopedia robot

Wicked (musical album) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
For the musical, see Wicked (musical).
Quick facts for kids
Wicked
WickedCastRecording.jpg
Cast recording by
Wicked Cast
Released December 16, 2003
Recorded November 10, 2003
Genre Showtunes
Length 70:37
Label Decca Broadway
Producer Stephen Schwartz
 Professional ratings
Source Rating
AllMusic 3/5 stars
Entertainment Weekly (C+)

The Wicked album is a special recording. It features most of the songs from the popular Broadway musical Wicked. This musical won a Tony Award, which is like a big prize for theater shows. The music and lyrics for the album were created by Stephen Schwartz. The story for the musical was written by Winnie Holzman.

This album was released on December 16, 2003. You could buy it as a physical CD or download it online. The CD version had extra cool stuff. It included a message and a short summary from Gregory Maguire. He wrote the 1995 book that the musical is based on. The CD also had all the song lyrics.

Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the songs, also produced the album. He had help from Frank Filipetti and others. The original cast album was recorded on November 10, 2003. The full cast and orchestra were there. They recorded it in New York City.

The Wicked cast recording has been very successful. People really liked it! It even won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album in 2005. When it first came out in 2003, it reached number 125 on the Billboard 200 list. This list shows the most popular albums in the U.S. Later, in 2013, it climbed even higher to number 66! The album was certified platinum in 2006. This means it sold over a million copies! Four years later, in 2010, it became double platinum. By January 2017, it had sold over 2.6 million copies in the U.S.

Songs from the Show

This album includes almost all the songs from the musical. It is divided into two parts, just like the show.

Act One Songs

All songs written and composed by Stephen Schwartz. 

Act One
No. Title Performer(s) Length
1. "Overture / No One Mourns the Wicked"  
  • Kristin Chenoweth
  • Sean McCourt
  • Cristy Candler
  • Jan Neuberger
  • Original Broadway Cast of Wicked
 6:40
2. "Dear Old Shiz"  
  • Chenoweth
  • Cast
 1:26
3. "The Wizard and I"  
5:09
4. "What Is This Feeling?"  
  • Chenoweth
  • Menzel
  • Cast
 3:32
5. "Something Bad"  
  • William Youmans
  • Menzel
 1:39
6. "Dancing Through Life"  
  • Norbert Leo Butz
  • Chenoweth
  • Christopher Fitzgerald
  • Michelle Federer
  • Menzel
  • Cast
 7:37
7. "Popular"   Chenoweth 3:44
8. "I'm Not That Girl"   Menzel 2:58
9. "One Short Day"  
  • Chenoweth
  • Menzel
  • Cast
 3:03
10. "A Sentimental Man"   Joel Grey 1:15
11. "Defying Gravity"  
  • Menzel
  • Chenoweth
  • Cast
 5:53

Act Two Songs

Act Two
No. Title Performer(s) Length
1. "No One Mourns the Wicked (Reprise) / Thank Goodness"  
  • Chenoweth
  • Shelley
  • Cast
 6:22
2. "Wonderful"  
  • Grey
  • Menzel
 4:57
3. "I'm Not That Girl (Reprise)"   Chenoweth 0:49
4. "As Long as You're Mine"  
  • Menzel
  • Butz
 3:45
5. "No Good Deed"   Menzel 3:31
6. "March of the Witch Hunters"  
  • Fitzgerald
  • Cast
 1:30
7. "For Good"  
  • Chenoweth
  • Menzel
 5:06
8. "Finale: For Good (Reprise)"  
  • Chenoweth
  • Menzel
  • Cast
 1:41
  • The song "No One Mourns the Wicked (Reprise)" is joined with "Thank Goodness" on the album.
  • Some songs from the musical are not on the album. For example, "The Wicked Witch of the East" is missing. The people who made the album thought it was too hard to put on the CD. They also felt it would give away too much of the story.
  • Short parts of "The Wizard and I" and "A Sentimental Man" are also not included. These are not full songs.

Special Editions of the Album

Over the years, special versions of the Wicked album have been released. These often include bonus songs.

Fifth Anniversary and Deluxe Editions

Wicked: 5th Anniversary Special Edition
Cast recording
Released October 28, 2008
Genre Show tune
Length 34:30
Wicked: Deluxe Edition
Cast recording
Genre Show tune
Length 37:49

A special edition came out on October 28, 2008, for the musical's fifth anniversary. It had a bonus CD with extra songs. These included songs from the Japanese and German versions of Wicked. There were also songs by Kerry Ellis and Stephanie J. Block. Idina Menzel's dance mix of "Defying Gravity" was on it too. Plus, "For Good" sung by LeAnn Rimes and Delta Goodrem.

Later, a "Deluxe Edition" was released. It came with new artwork and a booklet. The booklet had new writings by Stephen Schwartz and Gregory Maguire. This edition included all the bonus tracks from the fifth-anniversary edition, plus one more song.

Bonus Track List

No. Title Performer(s) Length
1. "For Good"  
4:15
2. "I'm Not that Girl"   Kerry Ellis 3:49
3. "Making Good"  
  • Stephanie J. Block
  • Stephen Schwartz
 4:00
4. "Solang Ich Dich Hab" (German: "As Long as You're Mine")
3:47
5. "Gutes Tun" (German: "No Good Deed") Willemijn Verkaik 3:33
6. "Jinnsei Wo Odori-Akase" (Japanese: "Dancing Through Life")
  • Li Tao
  • Company
 7:37
7. "Popyuraa" (Japanese: "Popular") Miyuki Numao 3:45
8. "Defying Gravity" (Dance Mix - Tracy Young Flying Monkey Radio Mix) Idina Menzel 3:44
9. "Popular Song"   Mika featuring Ariana Grande 3:19

German Language Recording

Wicked Das Musical - Die Hexen von Oz
Cast recording
Genre Show tune
Length 71:31

In 2007, the cast of the German Wicked show recorded their own album. It was called Wicked Das Musical - Die Hexen von Oz. This happened before the show opened in Stuttgart, Germany. The German lyrics were written by Michael Kunze. The music was conducted by Sebastian de Domenico. The orchestra music was the same as the original album.

German Track List

All songs written and composed by Stephen Schwartz. 

No. Title Performer(s) Length
1. "Keiner weint um Hexen"  
  • Lucy Scherer
  • Stefan Poslovoski
  • Emma Hunter
  • Francesca Taverni
  • Original Stuttgart Cast of Wicked
 6:42
2. "Gutes altes Glizz"   Cast 1:26
3. "Der Zauberer und ich"  
5:12
4. "Was fühl ich in mir?"  
  • Scherer
  • Verkaik
  • Cast
 3:36
5. "Nicht ist mehr geheuer"  
  • Michael Günther
  • Verkaik
 1:41
6. "Tanz durch die Welt"  
  • Mark Seibert
  • Scherer
  • Stefan Stara
  • Nicole Radeschnig
  • Verkaik
  • Cast
 7:38
7. "Heißgeliebt"   Lucy Scherer 3:48
8. "Ich bin es nicht"   Verkaik 3:02
9. "Nur ein Tag"  
  • Scherer
  • Verkaik
  • Cast
 3:05
10. "Ein seelenvoller Mann"   Carlo Lauber 1:18
11. "Frei und Schwerelos"  
  • Scherer
  • Verkaik
  • Cast
 6:00
12. "Wie herrlich"  
  • Scherer
  • Wedekind
  • Cast
 6:25
13. "Wundervoll"  
  • Lauber
  • Verkaik
 5:00
14. "Ich bin es nicht (Reprise)"   Scherer 0:52
15. "Solang ich dich hab"  
  • Verkaik
  • Seibert
 3:48
16. "Gutes tun"   Verkaik 3:33
17. "Marsch der Hexenjäger"  
  • Stara
  • Cast
 1:33
18. "Wie ich bin"  
  • Scherer
  • Verkaik
 5:10
19. "Finale"  
  • Scherer
  • Verkaik
  • Cast
 1:42

German Cast Members

15th Anniversary Special Edition

Wicked (15th Anniversary Special Edition)
Cast recording
Released February 8, 2019
Genre Show tune
Length 86:23
Label Verve Records

This album was re-released on February 8, 2019. It celebrated 15 years of Wicked on Broadway. This version included four extra songs. These songs were recorded live from a TV show. The show was called A Very Wicked Halloween. It aired on NBC on October 29, 2018.

Bonus Tracks for 15th Anniversary

All songs written and composed by Stephen Schwartz. 

No. Title Performer(s) Length
1. "For Good - Live"  
4:22
2. "What Is This Feeling? - Live"   Pentatonix 3:37
3. "The Wizard and I - Live"   Ariana Grande 3:55
4. "As Long As You're Mine - Live"  
3:47

Songs Released as Singles

Sometimes, popular songs from an album are released on their own. These are called "singles."

  • In 2007, Idina Menzel recorded a solo version of "Defying Gravity." She released it as a single.
  • Kerry Ellis recorded rock versions of "Defying Gravity" and "I'm Not That Girl." These were for her 2008 album, Wicked in Rock. Queen's guitarist, Brian May, produced them.
  • Julia Murney recorded "I'm Not That Girl" for her album, I'm Not Waiting (2006). She chose this song because it was not about flying or wizards.

Album Popularity (Charts)

The Wicked cast album has been very popular. It has appeared on many music charts. These charts show how well albums are selling.

  • The album reached number 66 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
  • It reached number 1 on the U.S. Cast Albums chart many times. This chart is just for musical albums.
  • The German version of the album also appeared on charts in Austria and Germany.
kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Wicked (musical album) Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.