Songfacts®:

• "As Long As You're Mine" is the central romantic duet from Wicked, performed by Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero) in part two of Universal's two-film Wicked adaptation. Their version was released on November 21, 2025 as part of the soundtrack album Wicked: For Good.
• Elphaba and Fiyero sing "As Long As You're Mine" in Act II of the stage show while fleeing the Wizard's goons. Elphaba's last line - admitting that she feels "wicked" for the first time - winks at British slang, her public reputation, and the emotional sequel to "I'm Not That Girl," which is the "Should've Said No" of the Wicked universe if we're mixing Broadway and Taylor Swift.
• Director Jon M. Chu recognized early on that the original stage choreography, where Elphaba and Fiyero kneel and passionately sing to each other for nearly four minutes, would not translate effectively to cinema.
  
  Instead, Chu opted to depict the couple in a more gradual, emotionally layered manner. The film shows Fiyero visiting Elphaba's hidden treehouse lair, where he explores her world and falls deeper in love as he sees how she lives.
• Jonathan Bailey wanted the duet to sound like the gloopy power ballad era of 1980s and 1990s FM radio; think "I Want to Know What Love Is," but with more sorcery. Bailey had only four days of rehearsal for both films, which included preparing for this pivotal duet. He credited the expertise of those around him for making it possible, relying on his instincts and his understanding of Fiyero's character.
• One unplanned moment became instant legend: Bailey devoted 20 full minutes in rehearsal to carefully taking off Elphaba's cape in a scene that wound up lasting about eight seconds on film.
  
  "He was like, 'I want to take off her cape so she can feel what it feels like to let go,'" Chu recalled to Entertainment Weekly of the rehearsal. "And this moment was way longer than what they did in the film. I mean, it was f---ing 20 minutes. They just stared at each other."
• Stephen Schwartz originally composed the melody in the early 1970s, then squirreled parts of it away. Decades later, he repurposed the tune for Wicked, turning it into the show's lone love duet.
• Schwartz was moved by the film version. He noted that much of its impact comes from Bailey and Erivo's chemistry, despite the characters remaining fully clothed throughout.
  
  Schwartz highlighted a specific moment: "I think Johnny drops a suspender or something, and people are hooting at the screen, because it's so sexy. So that certainly changed my perspective about that song."
• Now, to the cardigan. Yes, the chunky gray cardigan worn by Elphaba, which social media promptly dubbed the "sex cardigan." Costume designer Paul Tazewell defended the choice, saying it emerged from the practical question of what Elphaba would have access to while living alone in hiding.
  
  "She's got a loom in her treehouse, where she's weaving her own clothing," Tazewell explained to NPR. "She's manifesting all these things from the elements around her, and the sweater is just in keeping with that."
  
  He explained that a "black, slinky peignoir" would have been unrealistic for Elphaba's circumstances, and the cardigan serves as another choice defining the character.
• The scene culminates with Elphaba levitating the couple into the air as they fall in love. Chu described it to Entertainment Weekly as "like a scene from a Warner Bros. cartoon, they soar when they fall in love. Just when you think they are drifting far apart, they land together on their knees."
  
  It's hard to think of another musical that ends a love song with aerial romantic altitude, unless you count "Can You Feel The Love Tonight," in which case no one levitates, but Simba and Nala roll and tumble together in slow motion.