Skip to main content

The Hardest Song on Broadway

Summer is approaching, and if you remember last summer, which some of us do, you’ll remember Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods. (Or something along that line.) It was a crappy show, but somehow, it managed to pull my whole family together, and we were glued to the TV every Monday night. The winner of the show was a girly girl named Bailey Hanks, which didn’t really surprise me. She seemed to have an edge.

But the point I’m trying to make is on one of the episodes, they declared that a number from Legally Blonde: The Musical (So Much Better) was the hardest song to sing on Broadway.


Here is the Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WT4HR_rDJU

While I was hearing that I was rather shocked, but I have really bad delayed reactions, so I’m not commenting on it until nearly a year later. Like any outstanding journalist I decided to poll people who were active in musical theatre as to what they thought the actual hardest Broadway show tune is, and here is what I got. And I will say that any of these songs listed here are more difficult than “So Much Better,” from Legally Blonde.

Male Vocal Numbers:
Flying Home from Songs for a New World -------------by Jason Robert Brown
Moving Too Fast from The Last Five Years ------------by Jason Robert Brown
Every Other Song from The Last Five Years------------by Jason Robert Brown
**And yes I actually mean every other song, that isn’t a title.

Female Vocal Numbers:
Your Daddy’s Son from Ragtime---------------by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Aherns
Le Jazz Hot from Victor Victoria --------------by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse

Okay, so not all of these songs have been performed on Broadway, but they’re still show tunes.

QATFYG: So if you haven’t answered, what is the hardest song on Broadway? Isn’t Jason Robert Brown the man? And have you heard Songs for a New World yet? You should.
Jason Robert Brown

Comments

  1. defying gravity from wicked. the only song I've ever heard from wicket but DAMN.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ah, good choice!
    Another one I heard someone say was Dancing Through Life also from Wicked M & L by Stephen Schwartz.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dancing through life isn't that difficult vocally

      Delete
    2. ....I have no idea. O_O Nader, Nader?

      Delete
  3. uh, also, I don't know why I feel I should share this, but I totally watched The Search for the Next Elle Woods; I saw every episode. I was rooting for the old girl (old = 25).

    ReplyDelete
  4. ooh, I'm on a roll now, if anyone cares: I wonder if they're taking into account how much dancing is going on during that number? Because with like, Your Daddy's Son, from Ragtime, it's an insanely difficult song (it was written for Audra MacDonald), but it's just Sarah, standing in an attic, singing. Isn't that Legally Blonde song crazy with dancing?

    ReplyDelete
  5. this is a really popular post. I never watched the show because I always forgot? but that girl's hot. the guy not so much. I have to go now.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Everything is taken into account.
    What makes your daddy's son a difficult song is the fact that the vocals need to completely mesh with the background music, which takes a lot of rehearsing.

    PS: Yay Audra MacDonald
    Referrence: Zara O!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I still can't believe that with all of the research I've done that nobody has yet acknowledged the craziness of "No Good Deed" from Wicked.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I generally any song from Phantom of the Opera is quite hard. But I think the actual son Phantom of the Opera - sung by Christine and The Phantom is quite vocally challenging, especially at the end.

    ReplyDelete
  9. "Confrontation" from "Jekyll and Hyde" is an extremely hard one!!! I sang it for my audition song and it literally started taking my breath away, it was hard!! Luckily, they liked it and I got the the part of Jack on "Into The Woods"

    ReplyDelete
  10. I still have nothing to contribute to this conversation.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I can sing defying gravity from wicked with no issues.. some of these others are all about having the range and the ability to hold your breath long enough to get everything out... also singing isn't just through the mouth for breathing.. you can breath in through your nose to replenish some of the air if your unable to take in a full breath... you also need to have the ability to push the sound out without running out of breath, which your body can learn to do. I would say hitting the correct pitches, and the timing, and annunciating the words are the most difficult. however, most of these can be corrected through training as long as you have the range to be able to hit everything. ive won karaoke contests singing defying gravity. its always a crowd pleaser and always super fun for me to sing.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Mon Soleil" - Ashley Park

If there's anything people take away from my piss-poor legacy, I hope it's what a huge, unabashed fan of "Emily in Paris" I am and will continue to be. People love "90 Day Fiancee," "The Bachelor," and other garbage - allow me "Emily," which is at least harmless, kind of goofy fluff (which does, unfortunately, lean into some stereotypes, as the country of Ukraine knows ). I have already watched Season 2 twice. And honestly my favorite part of this show (despite my crush on Camille Razart and Lily Collins channeling Audrey Hepburn hardcore ) is Ashley Park. This woman has superstar written all over her. She's a bona fide Broadway star, and "Emily in Paris" has served as her pivot into the zeitgeist.  "Emily in Paris" is also showcasing her vocal prowess front and center this season, with her covering BTS, "All By Myself," "Sympathtique," and Marilyn Monroe. But the real standout performance is th

Appropriate Holiday Gift Ideas for the Single Lady

While some people may see it as a drag, there are plenty of benefits to being single during the holiday season. During this time of the year, there are tons of parties you can attend that you may not have had the opportunity to if you were in a relationship. There’s also not as much stress on you as a single gal during the holidays because you don’t have to shop for your partner and extended family members  or  stress over where to eat Christmas dinner.  Not everyone sees the bright side of being fancy free during the holidays, and, tragically, they aren't afraid to let us single ladies know. Not only are single women subjected to even more harassment and ridicule during the holiday season, they’re also given the most obnoxious gifts by those who can’t comprehend how anyone can be both happy and single. Whether it’s a self-help book (desperately) trying to reinforce how great is to be single or the gift of a year-long subscription to Match.com , single women are presented with

Give JR a Break

Recently, I've been reading some sites that have criticized James Roday, the lead actor on the USA show PSYCH for an apparent weight gain. But you know what? Who gives a flying fizzle stick if James Roday is slightly larger than he was 4 years ago. Apparently, it wasn't enough to scare away his current girlfriend/ co-star Maggie Lawson. (Who is one hell of a Catch!) And NO they are not engaged. That seems to be nothing more than a rumor, but there is a very high chance of it happening in the near future. Anyway, as long as PSYCH continues to entertain I don't mind about James Roday's waist. He, and Dule Hill, and Corbin Bernson too, can eat all the fried broccoli they want. The last episode of PSYCH wasn't so smashing, but I don't blame it on dietary issues. QATFYG: Are you keeping up with Psych? And who is hotter, James Roday or Maggie Lawson? (Trick Question but idk why) PS: If you have heard any more news on Roday and Lawson becoming Roday-Lawson, send it