A ‘Wicked’ Grammy Win Just Made Up for Big Oscars Snub

Whenever the Oscar nominations come out, there are always some surprising snubs. Ahead of the 2026 ceremony, no one was snubbed harder than Wicked: For Good.

It’s true that the movie musical, the conclusion to 2024’s Wicked, wasn’t as strong as its predecessor, nor did it make as much money at the box office. But Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande still turned in winning performances as Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch of the North respectively. And the first movie was so heavily favored at the Oscars — it got a total of 10 nominations, including Best Picture — that most people expected the Academy to toss something to the sequel.

But it was not to be. Wicked: For Good was completely shut out of the Oscars, with no hope whatsoever of anybody bringing home awards gold. But Wicked fans were given a bit of a balm at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, where Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their rendition of “Defying Gravity.”

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande defy the odds and take home a Grammy

Granted, “Defying Gravity” is a song from the first Wicked movie, serving as it does as the climax to the first half of the stage show. But at least it’s an award for something in the Wicked universe. And Grande and Erivo were by means a sure thing to win. Gold Derby, which reported this news, had their odds of victory at only 11.9%. They figured the award was more likely to go Rosé and Bruno Mars for their song “APT.,” or else to “Golden” from the phenomenally popular Netflix movie KPop Demon Hunters. Kendrick Lamar and SZA were also nominated in this category for “30 for 30,” as was Katseye for “Gabriela.”

Apparently neither Erivo nor Grande figured they would win, either, since neither was present to pick up the statue. The award wasn’t given out during the televised portion of the Grammys, but rather during the “Premiere” ceremony beforehand, which is when most of the winners are announced. The award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance was the very first statue distributed.

This is the second Grammy win for Erivo, who also took a statue in 2017 after winning in the category of Best Musical Theater Album Grammy for The Color Purple. Meanwhile, Ariana Grande has previously won two Grammy awards: one in 2019 for Best Pop Vocal Album, for Sweetener; and again in 2021 for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Rain on Me,” her collaboration with Lady Gaga. So Grande now has two Grammys in this category.