Wicked (musical album)

This article is about the Broadway cast recording. For the soundtrack to the 2024 film, see Wicked: The Soundtrack.
Wicked
Cast recording by
Wicked Cast
ReleasedDecember 16, 2003
RecordedNovember 10, 2003
GenreShowtunes
Length70:37
LabelDecca Broadway
ProducerStephen Schwartz
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment Weekly(C+)[2]

Wicked is a cast recording containing the majority of the songs from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Wicked, with music and lyrics by composer Stephen Schwartz and a book by writer Winnie Holzman. Released on December 16, 2003 by Decca Broadway both in physical and digital releases. The former contains a foreword and a short synopsis, provided by Gregory Maguire, who wrote the 1995 novel on which the musical is based, in addition to lyrics to those songs included.

Composer and lyricist of Wicked, Stephen Schwartz, produced the album aided by Frank Filipetti, Jill Dell'Abate, Jason Spears, Justin Shturtz, Jason Stasium and Ted Jensen. The original cast album of Wicked was recorded on November 10, 2003, with the full cast and orchestra, at then-Right Track Studios and mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City.

The cast recording has received positive reviews and has received substantial commercial success. It received the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album in 2005 and although initially peaking at number 125 on the Billboard 200 in 2003,[3] has since reached the new peak of 66 in 2013. The album was certified platinum on November 30, 2006 by the RIAA, but has since been certified double platinum, four years later, on November 8, 2010.[4] It has sold 2,670,000 copies in the U.S. as of January 2017.[5][6]

  1. ^ Wicked: A New Musical - Original Broadway Cast | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic Wicked at AllMusic
  2. ^ Frascella, Lawerence (January 9, 2004). Wicked Review Archived 2014-01-10 at the Wayback Machine. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  3. ^ "Wicked: A New Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording) - Original Broadway Cast". Nielsen SoundScan. Archived from the original on May 18, 2010. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  4. ^ "WICKED Cast Album Goes Double Platinum". BroadwayWorld.com. November 8, 2010. Archived from the original on December 4, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  5. ^ Paul Grein (19 February 2014). "Chart Watch: Taylor Swift Is 4 For 4 (Million)". Yahoo Music. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  6. ^ Keith Caulfield. "Hamilton passes 1 million sales plus chart highlights from James Arthur, Maren Morris and Taylor Swift". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2016.