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Ashtyn Riegert

ENG 1201

Professor Waggoner

16 June 2021

“Popular”

“Popular” by Kristen Chenoweth and “Popular Song” by MIKA ft. Ariana Grande both

take the same idea of being popular and run in two completely different directions with it –

musically. In one case, popularity is looked at as something worth working towards, while the

other explains it as something worth receiving bad karma for. Ariana Grande and MIKA’s

revamp of the Broadway hit, “Popular,” takes on a new perspective of being popular, giving

the word a new meaning. While the “Wicked” version of the song provides enchanting ideas

for remodeling a dull lifestyle, “Popular Song” appeals to an audience looking to get over the

past and look forward to a successful future.

Because “Wicked” is a musical, the song “Popular” is geared towards those who enjoy

theatrical performances. The musical is based off of the novel by Gregory McGuire, Wicked.

This novel was a retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, which was also

made into the well-known movie, The Wizard of Oz. Because of this fact, people who have

read the books or seen the movie might enjoy the musical and the song, as well.

In the sensational Broadway musical, “Wicked,” Kristen Chenoweth plays Glinda, the

Good Witch, and Idina Menzel acts as Elphaba, aka the Wicked Witch of the West. Obviously

enough, the two witches do not get along in the beginning of the musical. After an incident
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involving a black hat and a ballroom, Glinda finds herself feeling differently about Elphaba

and decides to take her in, mentor her, and teach her how to be popular.

“Popular, I know about popular! And with an assist from me to be who you’ll be

instead of dreary, who you were… well, are.” Glinda is a blonde, pretty girl who wears pink

dresses and who’s personality sparkles like the sun. Elphaba is, well, green. She dresses in all

black, wears glasses, and keeps to herself. Glinda decides Elphaba’s drab appearance and

haunting presence needs a makeover. Glinda then tells, or sings to, her roommate, Elphaba, all

the things she will teach her to become more admirable. In this version of the song, popularity

is seen as being someone of high class. Someone who is popular is attractive and desirable to

be or to be around. In the video, Glinda is seen dancing around the room, fixing Elphaba’s

appearance, and attempting to lure her into a lifestyle that is unknown to her. Elphaba, though,

stays put in her spot visibly feeling unpleased with the idea (Broadwaycom).

To Elphaba, being popular is not something that is important, but to Glinda, it is

everything. Sometimes in life, it is easy to get caught up in desiring attention and new things.

Receiving more attention from people, being noticed for the things you have, and being

emersed in a new world of material pleasures all sound enticing and exciting, but things such

as these will never bring true happiness to one’s life. The reason for the claim of this song is

to acknowledge the immediate pleasure being popular can be but recognize that it is not really

going to allow genuine joy.

The video for “Popular” appeals to both emotion and credibility. Pathos is brought to

life by realizing that Elphaba has been made fun of and laughed at, causing Glinda to want to

help her. There is also an emotional appeal when talking about popularity. Being popular is

often a problem subject to kids in high school. Whether they desire to be popular or they are
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dealing with “unpopularity”, the subject itself could be emotional. Ethos is brought about

when realizing that Glinda herself is popular. This gives the song credibility when

understanding that there is a reason behind Glinda’s idea of wanting Elphaba to enjoy the

lifestyle she has created for herself.

“Popular Song” by MIKA ft. Ariana Grande was released in 2013 on MIKA’s album,

Origin of Love as well as Ariana Grande’s debut album, Yours Truly. Both artists are known

for making pop music, so the intended audience would be those who enjoy such a musical

style.

“Popular, I know about popular! It’s not about who you are or your fancy car. You’re

only ever who you were.” In the 2013 remake of the Broadway hit, Ariana Grande and MIKA

bring to light a new meaning of the word “popular.” Though it seems like the only option is to

be popular when in high school, life extends beyond those four years. When a person is

dubbed as unpopular, it can seem detrimental to their social career. Ariana and Mika provide

an inspiring new definition to being popular. Their message explains that being popular in

high school might just be a way to define a bully. In the song, the bullies end up receiving bad

fortune for their wrongdoings. The line in the song, “Dunked me in the toilets now it’s you

that cleans them,” gives the idea that the “popular” kids did not continue their reign after high

school ended. The true meaning of popularity is staying true to yourself and focusing on

creating a successful future. “And all that you have to do is be true to you. That’s all you ever

need to know” (MIKAVEVO).

The “Popular Song” music video delivers a comedic display of getting through high

school and defeating bullies. It begins by showing Ariana and MIKA mixing up a mystery

concoction into a large pot, just as a witch might do. This unnerving scene sets the spooky,
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dark mood of the video. It also ties in the fact the fact that the origin of the song came from

the “Wicked” musical. The video’s coloring is dark, almost purple. The clothing worn by all

characters are white and dark colors. Ariana also wears black lipstick. To continue the

storyline, MIKA is seen sending out a message, inviting people over for a dinner party. We

then see various clips of both Ariana and MIKA getting bullied, pushed around, dunked in a

toilet, and overall, picked on by the people they have just invited to their dinner. While at the

dinner, each of their guests is seen eating a large meal and drinking out of silver cups. The

room is dark along with all of the furniture. There is a large, haunting chandelier above the

long dinner table. Their guests are enjoying the meal when one of them stops and realizes that

they have just been poisoned. Before they have the chance to run away, they are turned to

stone. Ariana and MIKA then smash their stone bodies into a million pieces with a candlestick

and a silver platter. To end off the night, they say cheers to “ending an era,” then MIKA takes

a drink while Ariana looks at him with a face of anger. A clip shows little MIKA kicking over

young Ariana’s toys, where we realize she sees him as a bully and has poisoned him, too.

The claim being made in this video is that being popular is not always a positive thing.

The “popular” kids in this video end up being defeated by those they bullied in the past. This

is a metaphor for the unprecedented ways being popular is a misfortune in some cases. The

reason for this claim is to revamp the Broadway song “Popular” and tell an audience that

becoming popular is not a desirable quality, for it often times renders unfortunate qualities in

a person. Rather than wishing for popularity, one should focus on the genuine joys in life.

This version of the song appeals to emotion and credibility, as well. Seeing people

being bullied is an emotional scene in itself. Whether is connects with a person or triggers a

sense of urgency to help, bullying is an emotional topic. The scenes of bullying also allow an
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appeal to credibility. It allows viewers to believe the singers when they say they can get past

it. They say in the song, “Standing in the field with your pretty pompoms, now you’re

working at the movies selling pop(ular)corn. I could’ve been a mess, but I never went wrong

so I’m putting down my story in a popular song.” This line provides inspiration to those who

might be struggling with the present. They can listen to this song and believe that it will get

better.

While the “Wicked” version of the song defines popularity as something positive and

necessary, Ariana and MIKA describe it as something that makes a person a bully. Glinda the

Good Witch wants to invite Elphaba into her world of popularity, showing her the happiness it

will bring. Ariana Grande displays popularity using people who are malicious and rude. These

examples show the difference between the two versions of the song. Although popularity can

be made to look desirable, it is not something that should be sought after. Popularity ends just

as high school does. In order to be truly happy, one should stay true to themselves and focus

on their future and success.

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Works Cited

Broadwaycom. “Show Clip - Wicked - ‘Popular’ - Original Cast.” YouTube, YouTube, 9 Mar.

2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4rpG-dipYA. Accessed June 22, 2021.

MIKAVEVO. “MIKA - Popular Song Ft. Ariana Grande.” YouTube, YouTube, 29 Apr. 2013,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmcdLOjGVzw. Accessed June 22, 2021.