For Good

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This article is about the song. For the 2025 film, see Wicked: For Good. For the Supergirl episode, see For Good (Supergirl).
"For Good"
Song by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth
from the album Wicked
ReleasedDecember 16, 2003
RecordedNovember 10, 2003
GenreMusical theatre, pop, show tune
LabelDecca Broadway
SongwriterStephen Schwartz

"For Good" is a song from the 2003 musical Wicked. It is sung as a duet between Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch of the North(or South, depending on the context) as a farewell. The song's score and lyrics were written by composer Stephen Schwartz. On the Broadway cast recording, the song is performed by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. In the two-part film adaptation, "For Good" is performed by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked: For Good (2025).

Lyrics

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The song's lyrics concern how both Elphaba and Glinda have been changed by their friendship with each other. Glinda begins by saying that, while she doesn't know if it is true that people come into each other's lives for a reason, "I know I'm who I am today because I knew you." Similarly, Elphaba tells Glinda that "whatever way our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend." Elphaba also asks Glinda to forgive her for anything she might have done wrong, to which Glinda replies that "there's blame to share", but both agree that "none of it seems to matter anymore". Schwartz commented after the show premiered that for the opening of the song, he asked his daughter what she would say if she would never see her best friend again, and her answer became the first verse of "For Good".[1]

Critical reception

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Vulture ranked the song as the third-best from the Wicked score, describing it as "not particularly inventive", "comically heavy-handed", and almost overtaken by "flowery schmaltz", while ultimately concluding that the earned emotion that the show has built through the duo's relationship can "excuse all manner of lyrical sins".[2] Playbill ranked it the seventh-best Stephen Schwartz song, deeming it less flashy than other Wicked songs, unique, powerful, meaningful and an insight into how relationships make people grow.[3] Jenny Singer of The Forward wrote that it "belongs to an exclusive category: songs that have become staples at graduations, retirement celebrations and funerals".[4]

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande version

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"For Good"
File:Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande - For Good.png
Promotional single by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande
from the album Wicked: For Good – The Soundtrack
ReleasedNovember 21, 2025
Length6:17
Label
SongwriterStephen Schwartz
Producers
Ariana Grande promotional singles chronology
"The Girl in the Bubble"
(2025) 		"For Good"
(2025) 		"A Wicked Good Finale"
(2025)
Lyric video
"For Good" on YouTube

English actress Cynthia Erivo and American singer and actress Ariana Grande performed a rendition of "For Good" as Elphaba and Glinda respectively in Wicked: For Good (2025), the second of Universal Pictures' two-part film adaptation of Wicked, which was released on November 21, 2025.[5] Their version of the song was released on the same day as part of the soundtrack album Wicked: For Good – The Soundtrack (2025) by Republic Records and Verve Records.[6]

Erivo and Grande performed "For Good" with Menzel and Chenoweth for the television special Wicked: One Wonderful Night, which aired on November 6, 2025. Schwartz wrote new lyrics for the bridge, and also provided piano accompaniment for the four vocalists. The performance was filmed at the Gershwin Theatre, the home of the Wicked Broadway production.[7][8]

Track listing

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7-inch vinyl

  1. "For Good" – 6:17
  2. "For Good" (instrumental) – 6:17

Digital EP[9]

  1. "For Good" – 6:17
  2. "For Good" (edit) – 3:17
  3. "For Good" (live from the Gershwin Theatre) (with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth) – 4:31
  4. "For Good" (sing-along) – 6:17

Charts

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Chart performance for "For Good"
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 62
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[11] 49
Global 200 (Billboard)[12] 41
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 21
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[14] 5
Philippines (Philippines Hot 100)[15] 43
Portugal (AFP)[16] 178
UK Singles (OCC)[17] 14
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 43
Chart performance for "For Good" (Live from the Gershwin Theatre)
Chart (2025) Peak
position
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[19] 37

Release history

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Release dates and formats for "For Good"
Region Date Format Label(s) Ref.
United States November 21, 2025 7-inch vinyl
[20][better source needed]
Various December 12, 2025
[9]

Other versions and usage in media

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References

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  11. ^ "Cynthia Erivo Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  12. ^ "Cynthia Erivo Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  13. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ "Philippines Hot 100 for the week of December 6, 2025". Billboard Philippines. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  18. ^ "Cynthia Erivo Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  19. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ Video on YouTube[non-primary source needed]
  22. ^ Wheel of Fortune - Mark Corwin Tribute (Sept. 4, 2013) on YouTube[non-primary source needed]

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