Musical Theater Songs on the Charts and on the Radio
Musical Theater Songs on the Charts and on the Radio
Musical Theater Songs on the Charts and on the Radio#1
Posted: 11/1/22 at 4:17pm
I'd like to pick the collective brain of the message board on a question that puzzles me.
Despite the fact that the musical theater has, in my opinion, produced some of the most moving and memorable songs of the past forty years, very few are covered by popular artists today. Certainly not like they were in the pre-rock 'n' roll period, when the songs of Broadway and Hollywood were so pervasive they became evergreen. There are certainly exceptions, such as P!nk's "A Million Dreams."
Why do you think there are not more musical theater songs on the radio and on the charts today?
Musical Theater Songs on the Charts and on the Radio#2
Posted: 11/1/22 at 10:47pm
The divergence of pop music and musical theater I think started around the rock era, when musical theater writers were more hesitant to embrace that style (there's a great episode of the Hit Parade podcast that sort of goes through the history if you're interested), and I think the song writers have just been in different camps ever since. I can't say I know what it takes to make it onto the radio but I assume that's not a medium that theatermakers are necessarily targeting specifically. Though with the slight surge in popularity of musical theater songs as TikTok audios, I don't think it's impossible that we see it happen again in the future. (I took a friend who had never seen a Broadway show to see Six and she jolted up during All You Wanna Do because she recognized it from TikTok, and I had another friend specifically see Beetlejuice because she had heard That Beautiful Sound on TikTok as well.)
I think the shape of the music industry has changed too. Streaming makes it easier for people to diverge in tastes and there's less of a mainstream sound than there is before, so I think it's harder to come up with a surefire hit (unless you're Taylor Swift, apparently). There's also been some noticeable trends in music that have been influenced by the streaming era, like the hook coming in sooner to try to get people to keep listening, songs getting shorter, etc., and those may not be conducive to musical theater songs, which in most cases have some sort of story/journey to tell.
I do think musical theater as a genre is having a bit of a resurgence, what with more musical movies being made recently and just a better general awareness of new musicals thanks to things like TikTok. And I think there are also other pop stars that have done covers--Greatest Showman also had covers from Panic at the Disco and Kelly Clarkson (who's also featured musical theater on her talk show), Katy Perry covered Dear Evan Hansen, the entire Hamilton Mixtape had a bevy of pop stars/rappers, Ariana Grande sampled My Favorite Things (a bit of a different situation, but still), but I think cover songs also just aren't as popular as they used to be either. I was wondering if someone like Ross Golan would've tried to push some of his songs from The Wrong Man as singles, but it doesn't seem like it's happened.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
Musical Theater Songs on the Charts and on the Radio#3
Posted: 11/2/22 at 7:39am
In the 60's you couldn't turn on the radio without hearing Louie Armstrong's HELLO, DOLLY! or That Streisand Woman singing her own "People".
Later on, Judy Collins' "Send in the Clowns" was very popular.
Musical Theater Songs on the Charts and on the Radio#4
Posted: 11/2/22 at 9:12am
Am I misremembering or was there talk of Satisfied from the Hamilton cast recording being played on the radio?
As with most types of media, we’ve moved beyond the monoculture (with a few exceptions). Especially with the rise of music streaming, people don’t need to listen to the radio to hear their favorite songs or even to discover new ones.
Musical Theater Songs on the Charts and on the Radio#5
Posted: 11/2/22 at 9:59am
Broadway is largely inaccessible, and musical songs are not released like singles in the public so it makes sense that they don't get popularity/radio time. There are exceptions however. Glee did a good job of exposing musical theater songs to the mainstream.
Musical Theater Songs on the Charts and on the Radio#6
Posted: 11/2/22 at 11:23am
Thank you for your very thoughtful commentary on the topic. I'm in the early stages of writing an article on this subject and want to hear as many views as possible.
Musical Theater Songs on the Charts and on the Radio#7
Posted: 11/2/22 at 11:24am
Yes, there were a good ten or a dozen songs that made their way to the top of the charts during the 1960s and 1970s...from "Hello Dolly!" to "One Night in Bangkok."
Musical Theater Songs on the Charts and on the Radio#8
Posted: 11/2/22 at 11:25am
Good point - streaming and YouTube have changed the road significantly. I need to check the Billboard streaming charts to see if any Broadway songs have percolated up, or any Idina Menzel-esque Hollywood movie blockbuster theme songs, for that matter.
Musical Theater Songs on the Charts and on the Radio#9
Posted: 11/2/22 at 11:27am
That has been one of my questions - whether the style of Broadway music is too complex, too inextricably bound with the narrative to stand on its own, or simply too sophisticated for today's pop music enthusiast.
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