Her ‘Wicked’ duet with Kristin Chenoweth went viral more than a decade ago. It changed her life for good

Kristin Chenoweth doesn’t always sing “For Good,” the soaring duet of heavenly harmonies from the musical “Wicked,” at her shows. But the petite powerhouse, who originated the role of Glinda, really wanted to do it over her two-night run at LA’s historic Hollywood Bowl in 2013. Sarah Horn is glad she did.

Kristin Chenoweth doesn’t always sing “For Good,” the soaring duet of heavenly harmonies from the musical “Wicked,” at her shows. But the petite powerhouse, who originated the role of Glinda, really wanted to do it over her two-night run at LA’s historic Hollywood Bowl in 2013. Sarah Horn is glad she did. Chenoweth chose Horn at random, even if it didn’t seem like it to the audience or the millions who would watch the moment in viral clips online. Horn knew every word, every intonation and hit every note of the song. The audience roared, seemingly with joy and surprise in equal measure. At one point, after Horn seamlessly harmonized, Chenoweth exclaimed, “Holy crap!” As Horn made her way backstage after the show, “Glee” star Darren Criss was the first face she saw, and he began to chant her name. “Even today, more than a decade later, I still have people that are saying that they’re re-watching the video, and it’s bringing tears to their eyes,” Horn told CNN in a recent interview. “It just touches my heart so much that that moment is still ringing so clear and true and poignant for people.” The Broadway musical, which serves as prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” has been a reminder of how powerful music can be as it’s brought millions of people together since it debuted in 2003. As “Wicked” comes to theaters for the first time this weekend via Jon M. Chu’s two-part film, Horn is just one of those millions of people that have been affected by the beloved musical. In her case, it put her on a path that changed her life, in her words, “for good.” When Horn was picked from a crowd of thousands to take the stage with Chenoweth, she was working as a voice teacher at California Baptist University and had performed mostly in small musical theater productions. After the moment went viral, she started to get calls for stage productions that she didn’t even have to audition for and was invited to sing at venues all over the country and abroad.