Originally appeared on E! Online
Ariana Grande knows how to be pop-u-lar.
As "Wicked" continues its run on the big screen, fans are getting a special look at a deleted scene featuring the "7 Rings" singer's Glinda character teaching Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba how to turn heads at Shiz University.
In the deleted scene, shared on the Dec. 26 episode of "Today," Grande demonstrates Glinda's signature hair toss and excitedly adds, "Ooo, I forgot to tell you, there's another version. You can do: toss, toss, leg. Toss, toss, leg."
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
Elphaba tries her best, but unfortunately Glinda is less than thrilled and dramatically falls to the ground in defeat.
But the future "Good Witch" has another trick up her sleeve, telling Erivo's character, "I'm gonna teach you how to talk with your eyebrows. When you got something to say, but you can't really say it and you wanna get your way. Raise ‘em."
This attempt goes much better, with Glinda later praising Elphaba, "That's good."
Entertainment News
READ: Wicked movie vs. Broadway musical: Breaking down the biggest differences
Naturally, the never-before-seen clip defied gravity for fans.
"HOW COULD THEY CUT THE EYEBROWS PART THATS SO FUNNNY OMGGG," one wrote on YouTube. Another added, "The pause. The Keel over Why did they delete it i'm CRYING."
Fans were also clamoring for more deleted scenes, with one saying, "Now we need wicked the extended edition."
The praise for both Grande and Erivo's performances has been universal, with each nabbing a 2025 Golden Globe nomination. And, as Grande previously explained, the 2003 Wicked musical — which the movie is based on — had been a huge part of her life.
"My first time seeing Wicked, I was 10 years old, and I am so lucky," she told Deadline in November. "I got to see the original Broadway cast. I just remember my life changing, and knowing my life in two chapters: before seeing Wicked and after seeing Wicked."
Still, Grande knew she had to work hard to prove she could be that girl when it came to casting Glinda.
"She auditioned many times," director Jon M. Chu told Vanity Fair in November, adding that the Grammy winner would often show up 30 minutes early to auditions. "I sort of didn't want to believe that she could do this. It seems almost too easy to say, ‘Oh, Ariana Grande.'"
But as he explained, "Every time she came in, she was the most interesting person. You just couldn't take your eyes away."
While Grande and Erivo made the roles of Glinda and Elphaba their own, there was a time when a very different set of actresses could have taken on the characters.
