Cynthia Erivo Is Not Tired of Singing ‘Defying Gravity’

Cynthia Erivo is happy to continue belting out “Defying Gravity” for the foreseeable future.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times published Wednesday, June 4, the Grammy winner, 38, admitted she has not tired of Wicked’s iconic song “Defying Gravity,” despite its immense popularity.

“I don’t think I am, because of what it means to people,” Erivo shared in the interview, adding that when she performed the song at the 97th Academy Awards, she ignored the teleprompter offering up the lyrics.

“You can see I’m not looking at it at all,” Erivo said of her Oscar performance. “It’s definitely one of those things that’s ingrained in my brain forever.”

Erivo noted she has not one but three favorite sections of the song, which was composed by Stephen Schwartz — including the intro that starts with “Something has changed within me” and Elphaba’s infamous “war cry” that concludes the song, which Erivo said is “delightful to sing.”

In fact, it’s so addictive that fans even keep randomly singing it to her.

Finally, the Harriet actress said the section just before the epic conclusion is special to her.

“But there’s a bit that comes before that — ‘And nobody in all of Oz / No wizard that there is or was / Is ever going to bring me down’ — that’s like a burgeoning of something before you get up there. You have to earn it,” Erivo explained.

Both the entire Wicked soundtrack and “Defying Gravity” garnered impressive success, with the film’s soundtrack hitting No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The placement is the highest debut for a movie adaptation of a stage musical in the chart’s history, according to Billboard.

Seven songs also landed on the Billboard Hot 100, including Erivo’s “Defying Gravity,” which earned the highest position among them at No. 44. On Spotify, “Defying Gravity” has been streamed over 145 million times.

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Wicked: For Good, the sequel to Wicked: Part I, arrives in theaters on November 21, and Erivo recently teased what fans can expect.

While visiting PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly’s red carpet pre-show ahead of the 2025 SAG Awards, the actress said fans of the movie musical can expect the story, which will cover the second half of the iconic Broadway musical, to feel more mature.

“I think you can expect a little bit of spice in the second part because they’ve grown up a little bit,” Erivo said of the characters she, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater and more from the movie’s cast portray throughout the two-part movie. “They’re not in school anymore; they’ve stepped into their careers and stepped into their choices and we’ll see a little bit of spice, I think. For sure. It’s necessary.”

As for what songs from For Good Erivo thinks fans will enjoy as the movie’s standout numbers, she said, “I think ‘For Good’ might have a little something, and maybe ‘No Good Deed’ might have a little something in it, maybe. One of those.”