I can’t believe toys spoiled the ‘Wicked’ movie’s most famous songs

The release of the much-anticipated Wicked movie—directed by Jon M. Chu and adapting the blockbuster Broadway musical of the same name—is little more than a month away, and we’ve officially entered press tour territory.

Trailers are out, and the movie’s stars—Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who play protagonists Elphaba and Glinda, respectively—are sitting down for interviews, and Wicked-themed audios are going viral on TikTok. It’s exactly what should happen in any good press run.

Given that Wicked is a musical and many of its songs are classics, it should come as no surprise that fans are buzzing to get their hands on the movie’s official soundtrack to hear the cast’s take on well-known numbers, of which we’ve only heard short snippets throughout teasers and trailers. But while the soundtrack is set to be released on November 22, just like the movie itself, there might be a way to catch an earful without having to wait, and it’s all thanks to the movie’s tie-in toys.

The release of a massive movie like Wicked is, of course, accompanied by an equally massive merch roll-out that has already hit shelves at major stores across the United States—there’s a Stanley collab, but also a whole array of toys. That is to be expected. What might come as a bit of a surprise is the fact that some of those toys feature extended clips of the songs fans are all anxious to hear. 

Take the Glinda and Elphaba Mattel dolls—or more accurately, Mattel’s “Singing Fashion Dolls.” Both dolls reproduce quite a large snippet of the most famous song sung by each of the two characters, which means we get to hear Ariana Grande’s take on “Popular” and Cynthia Erivo’s “Defying Gravity.” 

There are also videos of a toy karaoke microphone circulating the internet blasting a major chunk of the song, intended as a base track for people to belt their hearts out to.

It’s certainly quite a curious move, considering the release date scheduled for the official soundtrack. That would suggest wanting to create as much anticipation as possible around the movie’s songs, and yet two of its most popular numbers are already floating around the internet, just a few clicks away on the social media app of your choosing. Then again, hearing them on full power in a dark theater will be a completely different experience that I can’t wait to sit down for.