"I'm Not that Girl" is a song from the musical Wicked

Wicked (musical)

Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...

, based on the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is a parallel novel published in 1995 written by Gregory Maguire and illustrated by Douglas Smith. It is a revisionist look at the land and characters of Oz from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, its sequels, and the...

by Gregory Maguire

Gregory Maguire

Gregory Maguire is an American writer. He is the author of the novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and many other novels for adults and children...

, composed by Stephen Schwartz

Stephen Schwartz (composer)

Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...

, originally recorded by Idina Menzel

Idina Menzel

Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked.-Early life:...

 on November 10, 2003, and released on December 16, 2003. It is a solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 sung by the main character of the show, Elphaba Thropp (the future Wicked Witch of the West

Wicked Witch of the West

The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

 in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...

).

Context in Wicked

The song is performed midway through the first act. During the song, Elphaba expresses her love for the Winkie prince Fiyero, the most popular boy at Shiz and Galinda's boyfriend. She accepts that she knows that nothing can ever happen between them, as she 'wasn't born for the rose and the pearl', and is an unpopular girl with green skin. She also mentions that Fiyero has feelings for her, though this was unconfirmed. In act two Glinda reprised it about Elphaba when Fiyero leaves with her.

Kerry Ellis version

Kerry Ellis

Kerry Ellis

Kerry Jane Ellis is an English stage actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music...

, who played Elphaba in the West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 and the Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 productions of Wicked, recorded a version of this song in 2008. In this version, the verses are rearranged and extra lyrics are added. It was also produced by Brian May

Brian May

Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...

 with him on guitar; fitting more into to the rock genre. The song was originally released on her extended play Wicked in Rock

Wicked in Rock

- Credits and personnel :*Kerry Ellis - lead vocals, backing vocals*Brian May - arrangement, bass, guitars, keys, production, programming*Steve Sidwell - orchestral arranger, conductor*Taylor Hawkins - drums...

but was also featured on her debut album Anthems

Anthems (Kerry Ellis album)

-Notes:* Tracks that were specifically written for this album.* Tracks that were originally songs by Queen.* Tracks 4, 5 and 10 were originally featured on Ellis' teaser album, Wicked in Rock....

. It was released as a single on September 6, 2010, accompanied by track "Dangerland" as its B-side.

Use in exams

In the 2010 Edexcel

Edexcel

Edexcel, a UK company, is one of England, Wales and Northern Ireland's five main examination boards, and is wholly owned by the private-sector Pearson PLC, a UK-based media and publishing conglomerate. Its name is a portmanteau word derived from the words "educational" and "excellence"...

Music GCSE examinations, this song was used for one of the questions. The candidates had to answer a series of short questions on a sample of the song (e.g. 'How does the song change with the lyric "Every so often, we long to steal"?')

External links