Are You Singing It Wrong? 'Wicked' Divides the Internet Over Whether "Popular" Lyrics Say "Poise" or "Ploys"

For those who are familiar with the ridiculously popular musical Wicked, you're in for quite the ride today. It's not uncommon for people to mishear or mis-sing lyrics, especially when it comes to musical theater and you might not have a CD jacket in front of you to read the lyrics from. Or, if you were born in this century, you might not have a lyrics site to refer to.

But some songs are easy to distinguish, so the misheard lyrics don't apply. Or do they? Superstar and Wicked star Ariana Grande recently stirred controversy after calling out the official Wicked film account on social media for posting the wrong lyrics. The thing is, most people didn't realize they were the wrong lyrics. Now everyone's in turmoil, and it's all over a single word. Or words, rather.

The song "Popular" is sung by whichever actress scores the coveted role of Glinda, which in this case is Ariana. Many people believe the lyrics read, "Popular! You're gonna be popular! I'll teach you the proper poise / When you talk to boys." And the internet seems to roundly agree that the word is "poise."

As it turns out, the internet and everyone who's been saying "poise" is wrong. Including the official Wicked account. In a lyric music video, they posted the above lyrics. And quintessential theater kid that she is, Ariana had to politely correct them. In the comments of the Instagram post, Ariana wrote, "it’s “ploys” !!!!!! i love you @wickedmovie."

Understandably, this threw nearly everyone for a loop. Of course, Ariana is right. The original sheet music does in fact read, "ploys". Yet the revelation has thrown the internet into disarray, with many content creators saying that they have most definitely been singing "poise" for most of their lives.

On Instagram, most of the comment replies to Ariana are simply sharing their adoration for the singer and actor. With ample hearts and "I love yous", it's clear that people forgive Ariana for the revelation even as they have been thrown into turmoil. Elsewhere on the internet, however, it's a different story.

On TikTok, creators have been sharing their surprise. And comments are weighing in, with one user writing, "I always thought it was poise too!" And another adding, "WDYM it's 'ploys'?!?!"

But the OG theater kids have weighed in too, with one user writing, "Idk I don't even think 'poise' makes sense. Like I get it, but it's ploys. Always has been." And others say that they learned of this back when they themselves either performed the song or became obsessed fans back in the day.

Whether or not you were previously on the "poise" or "ploys" train before, it's clear that the song lyrics actually read "ploys." And that might just take a little getting used to for some people.