Ariana Grande celebrates ‘Wicked’ release and thanks fans for their “patience” during her music “drought”

Ariana Grande has celebrated the release of Wicked and thanked her fans for their “patience” during her music “drought”.

• READ MORE: ‘Wicked’ review: hit musical makes gravity-defying leap to the big screen

The singer stars as Glinda, the future Good Witch of the North, in the new film, the first of a two-part adaptation of the hit stage musical. The film, which also stars Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage and Jeff Goldblum, is in cinemas as of today (November 22).

To mark the release, Grande has taken the time to thank her “sweet, sweet fans” for sticking with her while she was shooting the film and its 2025 sequel, writing on her Instagram stories: “I’m feeling incredibly emotional today (who’s surprised?) and i wanted to just thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“Often when we meet in person, you tell me that you’ve grown up with me or about the impact that my work has had on your life but i feel like i don’t really get the chance to tell you enough about the impact that you’ve had on mine.”

“I want to tell you how grateful i am for the many ways in which you’ve held me over the years,” she continued. “You have held my hand and helped mend my heart time and time again over the past ten years and i would never be here without you. i mean that in every way you can interpret it.”

“Thank you for your patience with me. I know I disappeared into this project for a long, long time (i believe you all called it ‘the drought’!) and I know that was hard for you all. I want to thank you for your fierce protection, your passion, and your ability to see me and love me as i evolve alongside all of you.”

“I will never take your love, support or the irrevocable connection that we share for granted. From the days of doing many hour long meet n greets in the garage, when it was just us, til i am old lady Peaches, i will love you this same way. thank you for growing with me. it’s one of the greatest joys and gifts of my life.”

Wicked is part of the anticipated ‘Glicked’ phenomenon, with the film sharing cinemas with Gladiator 2 and both titles expected to take the box office by storm, much like the success of ‘Barbenheimer’ in summer 2023.

In a four-star review of Wicked, NME wrote: “Wicked flags a little in the middle, but not enough to dampen a dramatic climax in which Elphaba and Glinda travel to Oz to meet the fabled Wonderful Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). He and Yeoh sell their brief musical numbers on twinkly charisma, but Erivo and Grande are both vocally extraordinary.”

“Crucially, they also have crackling chemistry punctuated by Erivo’s bursts of intensity and Grande’s slick comic timing. By the end, you won’t quite be levitating off your seat but you’ll definitely be enchanted enough to stream the soundtrack on the way home. Funny, colourful and full of empathy for outsiders, this film really is the Shiz.”

Wicked Part Two is slated for a cinema release on November 21, 2025.

Grande released her seventh studio album ‘Eternal Sunshine’ in March this year. In a four-star review, NME wrote: “On the one hand, ‘Eternal Sunshine’ is a spacey but relatable break-up album defined by its emotional maturity. “We both know I couldn’t change you – I guess you could say the same,” she sings on the title track. On the other, it’s the most sophisticated project yet from a preternaturally talented vocalist who keeps getting better. Whatever you take away from it, ‘Eternal Sunshine’ definitely isn’t an album you’ll want to wipe from memory.”

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