Now I know not many people are total fans of your typical show tune and that is perfectly understandable. However, I’ve come across some tunes that might completely change your perspective on the whole musical theatre genre.
1. Dead Girl Walking – Heathers the Musical
This is a masterpiece. I’d highly suggest looking up some live performances from this entire musical in general. It’s a perfect mix between classical melodies and contemporary rock. The vocals are insane and you are definitely going to be blown away.
2. First Date, Last Night – Dogfight
Rose and Eddie. Oh, how I love them. This musical is not set in our time period but that doesn’t stop it from fitting into modern music. The second I heard this song, I was mesmerized.
If you are a fan of rap and Latin music, this whole musical will be your cup of tea. Lin-Manuel Miranda does an incredible job telling this story through tunes familiar to his Latinx audience. It’s catchy and tongue twisting; 96,000 definitely classifies as a song I could jam out to in the car.
Rent is probably one of the most known musicals in the mainstream world. Most people have heard of the iconic song, “Seasons of Love”. While that is a classic that will never get old, we also have this fun bop that could be seen as too ‘liberal’. It’s all about fighting the man and giving power to the people to do as they please – including the LGBTQ+ community, the “outsiders”, and others who just choose to express themselves differently. It’s one of the most empowering songs, in my opinion, Rent showcased.
5. Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) – Hamilton the Musical
Yet another masterpiece by Lin-Manuel Miranda. This is honestly just one song out of a beautiful musical. All of the songs convey some kind of emotion in you. 10/10 would recommend. (Tip: Wear waterproof mascara when you get to the end of the album)
