Pop songs for music theatre auditions

There are thousands of pop songs that will work in a music theatre audition – indeed, we’ve seen great auditions done with really daggy songs! So, for this edition of the Warm Me Up blog, we’ve decided to take a slightly different approach. Rather than giving you four of five specific examples of pop songs that would be good in music theatre auditions, we thought we’d share the qualities of a good audition pop song.

Here’s what to look for when hunting down the ideal song:

Does it help you show off the skills you’d like to display?

If you’re a great belter, does it have a killer money note? If the show requires falsetto singing, does it give you the opportunity to show this off? If you’ve got a large range, does it have both high and low notes? You get the idea.

Does it have something to say?

Music theatre is about story-telling and therefore, even when we’re dealing with pop, the text is important. It doesn’t have to say much but it has to say something. And that’s why you should steer clear of Bieber’s “Baby baby baby ooh, my baby baby baby ooooohh” and instead look at “Believe it or not, I’m walking on air”. Do you see the difference? Even some classic hits don’t have much to say – how do you tell the story of Whiter Shade of Pale if none of us really know what it’s about?!

Does it suit the style of the show?

If you’re auditioning for Jersey Boys, you might not want to rock up with your “Hits of the 90s” anthology tucked under your arm. If you’re auditioning for Rock of Ages, don’t try and recycle the song you sang for a Jersey Boys audition the month before. However, don’t get too hung up on the actual year the song was released – we’ve heard singers say, “they’ve asked for a song from the 80s and this was written in ’91 so I can’t sing it”. Rubbish! As long as it sounds like it belongs to that era, it will do the job.

Does it suit the character?

This isn’t super important but you do have an opportunity to get the panel thinking the way you’d like them to. So, if you’re auditioning for Grease and you think you’d be great in the role of Rizzo, choose a song that has a strong and defiant feminine voice – maybe “You Don’t Own Me” or “Leader of the Pack”. If you see yourself as more of a Sandy, take in “I Only Want To Be With You” or “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”

Hope that gets you thinking! Let us know what great pop audition songs you’ve got in your folder – we’d love to hear your thoughts.

And don’t forget to warm up thoroughly before rocking up to audition. Warm Me Up for smartphone is great for in the car or the waiting room.