Hello All!!!
I am so sorry I have not posted in a while but I do have several drafts started so I should be posting more often now!
So today I wanted to discuss "overdone" songs...
An "overdone" song or a song on the "Do Not Sing List" is usually a song that is done often at auditions currently. Usually consists of songs currently on Broadway, or songs from shows such as Wicked, Les Miserables, or Thoroughly Modern Millie.
We all probably have at least one "overdone" song in our books. I know I have several (many on this list lol). So here are some alternative songs to try that are inspired by some "overdone" songs that might be in your book.
(I have based the "overdone" songs on this list based off of some research over the years as well as my own personal experience hearing certain songs sung by multiple people in college.)
1. "Right Hand Man" (Something Rotten)
Try Instead: "I'm Your Man" (Meet John Doe) or "See What It Gets You" (Anyone Can Whistle).
"Anything you need done, I'm the one for the job."
"And if I'm not ready and lightheaded, I can't stand here dumb. So, ready or not, here-I hope-I come!"
2. "Pulled" (The Addams Family)
Try Instead: "I Want More" (Lestat) or "Circus" by Drew Gasparini
"Don't chastise me, I'm a child acting as a child does. You ply me with lifeless dolls when what I want is blood."
"Just the thought of him can take you to some new dimension, so you do what you can just to get his attention, it drives you to boil, right up till you spill, It can drive you to bliss, It can drive you to kill."
*"Circus" is honestly one of my favorite musical theatre songs of all time hehe.
3. "Maybe I Like It This Way" (The Wild Party)
Try Instead: "This Is Not Love" (Lizzie) or "The Love I Long For" (Sadie Thompson)
"I want to feel that I can fall and not be made to feel a fool. I wanna look up and see a bright light shining through."
"Too late says a voice inside me."
4. "Vanilla Ice Cream" (She Loves Me)
Try Instead: "What Happened To Me Tonight?" (Kwamina), "I've Been Invited To A Party" (The Girl Who Came To Supper), or "Show Me" (My Fair Lady)
"Can this change that I feel, really be real, or will it fade away?"
"Before the night is through I'll be drinking champagne out of everyone's shoe."
*This is such a cute underrated song that has so many potential options!
"Don't talk of stars burning above. If you're in love, show me."
5. "I Can Cook Too" (On The Town)
Try Instead: "Raunchy" (110 In The Shade), "The Love of My Life" (Brigadoon), or "I Wanna Get Married" (Follow The Girls).
"When the men folks see me shimmy by gonna break right out in shingles 'cause I'm guaranteed to satisfy"
"He had lots of charm an' a certain kind o' touch, an a certain kind of eagerness that pleased me very much."
*The little things in this song are SO GOOD and the choices you can make are endless.
"I wanna get married. I wanna get spliced. I long to be knotted and see my friends potted. I wanna be confettied and riced"
6. "All Falls Down" (Chaplin)
Try Instead: "Turn Back, O Man" (Godspell 2012), Jenny's Blues (It Shoulda Been You), or "You Can Always Count On Me" (City of Angels)
"Earth might be fair and all men glad and wise. Age after age their tragic empires rise"
*THAT ENDING BELT
"I pulled this off without a glitch. So say goodbye, I'm done. I'm gonna have some fun. I'm tired of being your bitch."
*I do think "Jenny's Blues" is becoming more popular (I have been hearing it more often) so keep that in mind.
"Men don't give a warranty."
7. "When He Sees Me" (Waitress)
Try Instead: "Good Thing He Can't Read My Mind" by Christine Lavin, "Gotta Get Out" (Ordinary Days), or "Stranger Here Myself" (One Touch of Venus)
"I am not complaining I'm just making observations. Expanding your horizons is a sign of maturation."
"Trust me I'm not crazy I can see you making faces in the rearview mirror."
"I'm unfamiliar with this part. I am a stranger here myself"
8. "A Summer In Ohio" OR "Climbing Uphill" (The Last 5 Years)
Try Instead: "Getting There" (in transit), "Do What I Do" (in transit) or "Daphne Dreams" (Fly By Night)
"So this is what it feels like to be here, instead of getting there."
"I told myself I'd be on Broadway by thirty but I blinked, and poof! I turned thirty-three."
"I won't ever feel complete reading plays from off a page. Watching, sitting from my seat. I won't stop until I'm center stage!"
9. "Here I Am" (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)
Try Instead: "Shimmy Like They Do In Paree" (Death Takes A Holiday), "I Never Met A Wolf Who Didn't Love To Howl" (Bombshell/ SMASH), or "The 20th Century Fox Mambo" (Bombshell/ SMASH)
"We'll shake and shimmy, pushing the bounds of taste"
"The Hunter gets captured by the game, then Leo the Lion will be roaring your name!"
"Now I'm blond but I ain't so dumb. Hollywood will be under my thumb. I'll change partners until I become the 20th Century Fox Mambo!"
*I know there are some SMASH songs that are "overdone," but I do not hear these more uptempo numbers as often.
10. With You (Ghost)
Try Instead: "Miss You Like Hell" (Miss You Like Hell), "Not Quite Ready To Grieve" by Scott Alan, or "I'll Be Here" (Ordinary Days)
"There is a hole in the world in the shape of you. I miss you like hell."
*PLEASE only sing this if you are Hispanic/ Latinx. (It is also a great alternative to "Everything I Know")
"And how do I move with the rest of the world when my heart's broken."
"'Because I'll be here right beside you as long as you want me to be. There's no question."
11. "I'd Rather Be Me" (Mean Girls)
Try Instead: "Never Shut Up Again" (Heathers) or "Bleed You Dry" by Ryan Scott Oliver.
"I bit my tongue so long. I learned to count to ten. My silence made me strong. I did my time and then a house dropped on her head."
"My love won't bleed me dry. Survive! Survive! I choose me. I see now I've got the guts and I gotta survive. I gotta survive as this door shuts."
12. "Shy" (Once Upon A Mattress)
Try Instead: "Nobody's Chasing Me (Out of This World), "This Really Isn't Me" (First Impressions), or "Down With Love" (Hooray for What)
"The breeze is chasing the zephyr. The moon is chasing the sea. The bull is chasing the heifer, but nobody’s chasing me."
"This really isn't me, but I like it oh so well."
"Down with love, let's liquidate all its friends."
13. "Astonishing" (Little Women)
Try Instead: "Watch Me Soar" by Scott Alan or "Life!" (The Ballad of Little Jo)
"And I don't need you to love me, that's not what I asked. I just want you to see that I'm more than my past."
"It's my turn to win, so I'm rushing in, keeping my goals in clear sight."
14. "Gimme, Gimme" (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Try Instead: "For The First Time" (Tarzan)
"I'm finding who I am, cause for the first time, I have no doubt"
*It might sound like a weird choice. But, both women are realizing they want to be in love with their person over pursing their original objective. (I also just LOVE Tarzan so much).
15. "Pretty Funny" (Dogfight)
Try Instead: "Perfect" (Edges), "A Quiet Night at Home" (bare: a pop opera) or "Beautiful" (It Shoulda Been You)
"I don't want to be alone. Please don't let me be alone."
"Ships and princes. All gone home. Alone again. Again alone. A quiet night at home with thoughts of why. A quiet night at home spent, getting by."
"Why won't someone say, "Hey, you are beautiful. Through and through."
So there you go! I hope you found this to be helpful or at least exposed you to some new material you might be interested in. Again, I used the "overdone" songs as inspiration so I know there are huge differences in some of these songs. A great thing about audition songs is that *sometimes* you can take them out of context and interpret the lyrics however you need to. :)
Love,
Amanda Zaida Hansen <3
P.S. If you love your "overdone" song, and you make it special and you have a connection to it. Do not let anyone make you feel bad for singing it. It is so much more important to sing a song you love than to sing a "lesser-known" song. Every panel is different. Just because one person thinks the song is "overdone" does not mean everyone will. <3
P.S.S. I will be posting a male version of this list and maybe do a part two in the future! Please comment below any other suggestions for songs or other "overused" songs for part two!
P.S.S. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU VOTE!!!!! (https://vote.gov/)
And continue to support and uplift BIPOC voices!!!
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