Will we ever hear Broadway on mainstream radio again?

What was the last showtune that cracked it's way into mainstream radio? I wonder if we will ever hear Broadway on mainstream radio again. Even the biggest Broadway hit of the last decade (Wicked) has never been on the radio. Defying Gravity might actually be the most recognizable Broadway song to the public, and I doubt we'll ever hear it. Not even a Hamilton song could crack in. So what about Broadway has changed?

Updated On: 12/17/15 at 06:46 AM

Defying Gravity is around 6 minutes and the buildup to the climax (which only lasts for around 1 minute) making not the ideal peice.

As for Hamilton, there's no real song that would work unaltered for radio. My shot is the closest, but even then, it's length could be the reason why not everybody is listening.

But why you wouldn't hear Broadway on radio is the fact that people know what they want to hear. If you turn on your radio to a mainstream station, chances are that they are just cycling through 5 songs, with an equal amount of ads and content. The fact of the matter is that there's no room for Broadway. I mean, most artists that are mainstream can't get their songs on the air.

If you want to hear showtunes on radio, you probably have to go to siris or your local college station (look through their schedule.)

What is this thing you call "mainstream radio?"

If Lin Manuel Miranda gets a mix tape that includes people like Nikki Minaj, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Usher, Alicia Keys -- any of whom could cover a song from the score - I'll bet that those tracks could easily get mainstream play.

I don't really think Hamilton will ever get radio play because the songs are too tied to the world and narrative of the show. Satisfied and Wait for It, for example, are great songs that sound like modern pop and R&B, but they're very specifically about Angelica and Aaron's respective situations. So in a broader context, they may not have the same impact.

21 Guns from the American Idiot cast recording got a good amount of mainstream radio play when the show was on Broadway.

Have you heard of the Broadway station on XM and Pandora?