I think the song, Popular best expresses the meaning of Wicked. In this song, Galinda is teaching Elphaba how to be popular. Popular is associated with fitting in and having a lot of friends. Galinda tells Elphaba “what shoes to wear,” how to dress, and how to flirt with boys. According to Galinda, Elphaba should be smart, good at sports, and “hang out with the right cohorts.” Galinda considers herself a good friend because she is going to help Elphaba do all these things to become popular.
Musically, this song has polyphony and polyrhythm. The song begins with dialogue from Galinda and Elphaba. Then there is a short bell ring to start the first layer of the song. Galinda is the only female vocalist heard throughout the whole song. Elphaba is heard, but she only has short dialogue. The timbres include female voice, strings, brass and bells. The song has a disjunct melody; this is especially heard when the word, “popular,” is sung. The female voice has a lot of range throughout the song because there are big steps between some of the notes. The melodic contour is most clearly heard when the melody is sung because that is where the voice has the most range. When the main melody is sung, the instruments play staccato notes to accompany the voice. The first time the melody is sung, the bells are heard playing staccato notes with the brass and string instruments. The bells are also heard the third time the melody is sung. There are repeated melodic motives because the same melodies are repeated throughout the song; both the melody that the female voice sings and the melodies that the accompaniment plays are repeated. Short phrases are sung throughout the song. However, some phrases are slightly longer than others because some notes held longer than others. For example, one of the last layers has longer phrases because the notes are held longer; the rhythm slows down.
There are polyrhythms because each timbre has their own rhythm. These rhythms are repeated throughout the song. For example, the same rhythm is played and sung each time the melody is heard. The accompaniment starts with a slow rhythm and picks up when the melody is sung and the verses begin. The rhythm that the instruments play depends on the vocalist. When the vocalist sings short phrases, the rhythm is faster than when the vocalist draws out the phrases. This also means that there are different speeds in each layer. For example, the rhythm when the first verse is sung is much faster than towards the end when the soloist is singing “la la la…”. The same timbres are not heard in every layer. For example, the bells are heard the first time the melody is sung, but not the second time. The bells are also not heard when most of the verses are sung. When the rhythm is slows, only the string instruments are heard with the voice; when it picks up, there are more instruments heard.
Most of this song has a duple meter. The tempo changes when the rhythm changes; they affect each other. They are not the same in every layer. Swing is not present in this song. Each word that is sung has its own note. There is also spoken text, but it is limited. There are time motives because certain rhythmic patterns repeat. There are not many dynamics heard in this song. Since there is only one female vocalist, there is no harmonic character in the vocals.
I think this song reflects the meaning of the show because of the messages it presents. Some of the lyrics clearly give specific messages that are integral to the show’s meaning. One example is “it’s all about popular!” This expresses the idea that everyone should want to be popular. Everyone should want to be the same. Conformity is valued. Another phrase, “it’s not about aptitude, it’s the way your viewed,” expresses this idea too. It’s not about what you do, but how you do it. It’s all in the act; if you act “popular,” then it doesn’t really matter what you do exactly. This song emphasizes popularity, which represents conformity. Everyone should be the same and the people that aren’t, should learn. Conformity is good; difference is bad.
