Most overdone audition songs right now- Page 2

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 4:44pm

i say almost everything from ANNIE,especially "Maybe" and "Tomorrow"
ugh

[SpamalotDiva]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 4:44pm

hmmm well i have sheet music from popular shows (check out my signature and go to that site if you want or need any)... so i stick to The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Wonderful Town, and sometimes Spamaot(only because certain people can pull off a mean lady of the lake and not to brag but i can. lol.and you would be very suprised how many people around here know what it is, but just dont know the score... its rather scary)

Updated On: 8/9/06 at 04:44 PM

[LeadingDude]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 5:00pm

I think "On My Own" is a very over-used song. I don't know why either.

I don't think it's good auditon technique to sing any song from a show that is still on broadway. You just don't do it. Also songs from really popular shows i.e. Les Mis, Annie, J&H, etc. but those tend to be the most popular.

[theatrewolf]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 5:05pm

A friend of mine years ago auditioned w/ Under the Sea from the Disney movie Little Mermaid. W/ an accent. It wasn't pretty.

[SarahBeth]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 5:11pm

A friend of mine sang Les Poissons from Little Mermaid as a complete joke with an accent. It was the funniest thing i've ever heard but if it was for an actual audition I would've murdered him.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 5:17pm

I never object to hearing Rodgers and Hammerstein songs at auditions. They are perfectly crafted and if you perform them incredibly well, they are always impressive. I know more people who have been cast in Broadway shows singing "If I loved You" than any other song...

Some songs like "Bring on the Men" from J&H and "I Could Have Danced all Night" you hear a lot at chorus calls; but they are fine because they have fantastic 8 or 16 bar cuts that show off vocals very well. For a chorus call, that is all they want.

I would definitely add "All that Jazz" to the don't sing mix. Without the dancing, its just not very interesting.

[Weez]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 5:49pm

But if you're stonkingly good at a song, then don't let the fact it's done all the time necessarily put you off. I'm sure people hear "I Cain't Say No" all the time, but the fact is it's a good up-tempo comic song that's absolutely perfectly suited for my voice. I'm not just doing it because it's well known or whatever, I'm doing it because I can give off the best impression of me with it. So if you really can do an incredible "On My Own" and you're not just singing it because it's the first thing that sprung to mind, it might be worth giving it a shot.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 5:56pm

I just discovered Les Poissons, and it's now one of my favorite songs.

[EmieMarie]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 5:57pm

my voice teacher says les poissons is a great character song and he loves it...

[Hairspraydoll]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 6:08pm

I'm a theatre teacher:

Wicked
Rent
Avenue Q ( mostly guys singing Purpose)
Hairspray
Millie

Every audition and festival competition this is what I hear. I forbid my students.

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 6:43pm

For my show, three guys sang "Luck Be a Lady" from Guys and Dolls. They were all great, but I was going to kill someone by the third rendition.

We had two Homes from Beauty and the Beast and two Happily Ever Afters from Once Upon a Mattress, but those were the only repetitions.

If I Loved You is pretty overdone where I am. My voice teacher hates that song. Never audition for her with that song because you won't get what you want.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 7:02pm

Michael Bennett--

At some chorus calls do they actually give people only 8 bars? That is ridiculous!

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 7:10pm

Last year the auditions at my school were about 2 weeks after the Rent movie opened. I heard 5 different kids sing Seasons of Love, and a handful of others sing various Rent songs. 'twas painful.

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 7:10pm

Are Kander and Ebb usually safe?

[EmieMarie]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 7:15pm

depends on the kander and ebb musical, most of chicago is overdone

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 7:17pm

Cabaret?

Posted: 8/9/06 at 7:17pm

GIMMIE GIMMIE....Gimmie a break from that song. In auditions you can hear it ringing from the rooms...no,no,no...

JRB and maltby and shire...usually end up being too hard for most accompanists to play....

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 7:36pm

You say ALL Jason Robert Brown. Does this still include Parade? I think some of the songs there wouldn't be done as frequently. Maybe I'm wrong.

[deardarling]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 7:43pm

Girls-
Maybe
Tomorrow
On My Own

Guys-
Music of the Night
Bring Him Home

hands down.

[Weez]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 7:59pm

I was under the impression Jason Robert Brown was mostly frowned upon because if you're a pianist coming at his music for the first time, you're going to get a fright. Although I can see how you'd get bored of "Climbing Uphill" SUPER quickly. O_O

[broadwayxminixidina]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 8:07pm

Here is what I've heard that is really common:

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
"Defying Gravity"
"The Wizard and I"
"Maybe"
"Tommorrow"
"Seasons of Love"

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 8:16pm

"Parade" is probably the "safest" Jason Robert Brown show to choose from, but I still would recommend staying away from him for auditions.
I also agree that just because a song is overdone, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it, you just have to make sure the song displays your skills and that somehow it applies to you as an artist. In the past auditions I've done casting for I've heard plenty of "Soliloquy" from Carousel, "Losing My Mind" from Follies, and "I Won't Send Roses" from Mack & Mabel, yet I never got tired of those because the choices made sense to me. With The Last 5 Years and Songs For A New World audition songs, I just wanted to shoot at the person by the 5th "Moving Too Fast" or "A Summer in Ohio."

[somanysongs]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 8:18pm

brdwybound-- The song you were wondering about sounds like one from "john and jen" by Andrew Lippa....

"I'm gonna be like an eagle
Wings as wide as an airplane
I'm gonna stand on a treetop
and fly far away.
I'm gonna never feel frightened
I'm gonna always feel safe
and live in a kind place
where no one can find me
and stay there forever....
I'm not like an eagle,
but someday,
I'll fly."

(Beautiful song!)

-A

[brdwybound2]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 8:42pm

Yes! Catstagestud PMed me about it.. that is the one. Haha I don't really know what I was talking about with the whole Jim and Bob thing.

Also, I've heard that Come to Your Senses from TTB is overdone... what do you guys think? I don't have the music or a clue where to find it, but I think it could fit my voice if I worked on it.

[MissElphie]

Posted: 8/9/06 at 8:43pm

I can't even imagine attempting Defying Gravity for an audition...