No one mourns the Wicked awards season campaign. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo opened the 2025 Academy Awards on Sunday evening with a medley highlighting musical selections from their performances as Glinda and Elphaba.

First Grande, decked out in a ruby-red gown, sang “Over the Rainbow” from the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.” Then Erivo, a white dress with adornments, belted out “Home” from “The Wiz” stage and screen adaptation. And the two divas brought it home with a show-stopping rendition of “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked.”