Erivo and Ariana Grande win Grammy for 'Defying Gravity' after Wicked: For Good Oscar snub

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards for their rendition of "Defying Gravity," a small consolation after Wicked: For Good was completely shut out of the Oscars, MovieWeb reported. MovieWeb noted that ahead of the 2026 Academy Awards the sequel was seen as the biggest snub: the follow-up to 2024's Wicked didn’t match its predecessor critically or at the box office, yet Erivo and Grande still delivered acclaimed performances as Elphaba and Glinda.

"Defying Gravity" is a song from the first Wicked movie, and Gold Derby had given Erivo and Grande just 11.9% odds to win; other nominees in the category included Rosé and Bruno Mars for "APT.," "Golden" from Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters, Kendrick Lamar and SZA for "30 for 30," and Katseye for "Gabriela." Neither Erivo nor Grande was present to accept the award, which was handed out during the Grammys' Premiere ceremony and was the first statue distributed.

This marks Erivo's second Grammy win (she previously won in 2017 for Best Musical Theater Album for The Color Purple). MovieWeb reported that Ariana Grande had won Grammys in 2019 (Best Pop Vocal Album for Sweetener) and 2021 (Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Rain on Me" with Lady Gaga), and that she now has two Grammys in this category.

Wicked: For Good was released November 21, 2025, with a 137-minute runtime, directed by Jon M.

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