In Wicked, the song is the finale for the show's first act, when Elphaba discovers that The Wizard of Oz is not the heroic figure she had originally believed him to be. Realizing this, and despite Glinda's attempts to dissuade her, Elphaba vows to do everything in her power to fight the Wizard and his sinister plans against the Animals of Oz. She sings of how she wants to live without limits, going against the rules that others have set for her. During the song, Elphaba enchants a broomstick to levitate and, pursued by the Wizard's guards, rises from the stage above the angered citizens of Oz, who try in vain to "bring her down." The song is heavily cinematic and comes to a climax for the final verse. The staging of this climax features several special effects. The actress playing Elphaba is lifted up into the air by a hydraulic launch system. The sequence relies heavily on around 60 moving lights, smoke, and wind effects. The Act One finale is "calibrated to get everyone to stick around for Act Two".
Lyrics and music analysis
The core to the song is that "Elphaba finds power through her own outsider status", which has universal appeal due to audiences rooting for outsiders. The piece begins with Elphaba and Glinda talking, then they slips into song, bickering in short sharp phrases that are reminiscent of how girls would argue in real life. At this point, the key signature is constantly shifting, creating a sense of unease. The song is in cut common time, but the duo rarely stick to the bar lines, often jumping in half way in a syncopated style. In the passage “I’m through with playing by the rules...", the song unusually contains an 11th interval. The song builds on leitmotifs established earlier in the show, and then "raises the stakes" by lifting her voice up an octave and physically lifting her up on a cherry picker, embodying the first time the audience sees her as The Wicked Witch of the West. The dramatic conclusion of the song features a "loud, screamy" climax of “bring me down” followed by a vocal riff that, according to Vulture, has the potential to destroy the performer's vocal chords. Due to the song's difficulty, it is achievable for a few and impossible for most, thereby making those who succeed outsiders by default.
Critical reception
"Defying Gravity" has received critical acclaim. Vulture listed the number as the best song from Wicked, deeming it the "crown jewel of the score", though noted it is an easy song to mock due to it being "ripe for acrid belting and silly embellishment". Vulture also described it as the "big, belt-y centerpiece of the show", and felt it had since established an "ambivalent legacy" as the "silliest, most inspiring, most enduring song in recent Broadway history".
Legacy
Occasionally, the cherry-picker tech doesn’t work, leading to the fan-favourite meme of "infamous and hilarious “no-fly” shows". The song was used to wake up astronauts aboard space shuttle mission STS-131 in April 2010 for astronaut Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger in honor of the day's planned extra-vehicular activity. Defying Gravity is featured in the Glee episode Wheels, where Rachel and Kurt sing it separately in a competition for the lead solo. This plotline was inspired by an anecdote of Chris Colfer, the actor playing Kurt. Having a countertenor range, Colfer was capable of singing the part, but he was repeatedly denied the chance during high school as it is a solo usually reserved for female artists. It was featured again in the season five episode 100, the hundredth episode in the series, this time sung by Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes.
Idina Menzel single
, having reprised her role as Elphaba in the London production of Wicked in 2006, recorded a remixed "pop mainstream" version of the song. It was released as a single on March 1, 2007, and was later included on the UK and iTunes versions of her 2008 album I Stand. The remix of "Defying Gravity" was also the anthem at the 2007 Gay Pride Parade and Festival in Los Angeles, and appears on the official CD from the event. The track charted at no. 60 on the official UK Singles chart in May 2008, shortly after a contestant sang "Defying Gravity" on an episode of the BBC television programme I'd Do Anything. She released the song as a single a second time in 2012 from her album .
