Which song for musical theatre audition?

[thirdistheonewiththehairychest]

Hi,

My 10yo dd is applying for a performing arts scholarship and she's required to perform a contemporary musical theatre song.

We have narrowed it down a little, according to the songs she's familiar with, and I think she will learn/practise 3 of them in the run-up and then pick her most confident to do at the audition.

I know that what matters most is that the song reflects her personality and her ability to perform it, but do you think any of these would be worth avoiding? Either because they may have been over-done, because they're too childish, not up-beat enough or not contemporary enough?

Our thoughts so far are:
'When I grow up' from Matilda
'Somewhere over the rainbow' - from the Wizard of Oz
Can you feel the love tonight? from the Lion King
'Part of your world' from the Little Mermaid
'Ive got a golden ticket' from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Something from Hairspray, not sure which one yet.
'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' from Mary Poppins
'Any dream will do' from Joseph

Thanks for any comments - we're feeling a little out of our depth!

What sort of personality has she? Is she sweet and quiet or loud and bubbly or somewhere in between? Is she capable of acting a bit outrageously? Or would she be more comfortable singing a sweet, thoughtful song?

There's The Girl I Mean to Be from The Secret Garden ...out of the ones you've mentioned, I don't see anything that makes me think Ah! Yes...good choice! I'd avoid Rainbow unless her voice is absolutely perfect and delectable...is it?

I would honestly not overthink it - see which one suits her voice/range/personality the best and do that one. Good luck to your DD!

the main thing is that she should love the song I think. And it should be one which she's very comfortable singing...don't worry if they've heard it before. They've heard them ALL before....what matters is giving her own, amazing performance.

She's very expressive and tends towards thoughtful songs rather than outrageous ones I would say. The song she's playing and singing on repeat at the moment for example is 'A moment like this' by Leona Lewis.

Another couple of ideas I've had are 'Somewhere that's green' from the Little Shop of Horrors or 'When you believe' from the Prince of Egypt.

I think I need to just get dd to sit down and listen to them all don't I? And see which ones click...

Yes...get her to listen to the one I mentioned "The Girl I' Mean to Be"

It's a nice, thoughtful song...one they won't hear a lot of. I'd avoid Leona Lewis.

I think a lot of those choices are perhaps a little obvious, sorry. The thing is that she doesn't want to sing the same song as lots of other kids do if possible. What about 'where is love' from Oliver? What kind of vocal range has she and what is her style - does she have a pure, clear voice or a more breathy, contemporary one?

@WhereTheFuck

I think a lot of those choices are perhaps a little obvious, sorry. The thing is that she doesn't want to sing the same song as lots of other kids do if possible. What about 'where is love' from Oliver? What kind of vocal range has she and what is her style - does she have a pure, clear voice or a more breathy, contemporary one?

Where is Love is very difficult. Is that in her comfortable range OP?

I was also thinking of Blousie's song from Bugsy...very nice song but quite sad in a sophisticated way. If she could pull that off it would be wonderful but it's again, not that easy.

Those songs are all a bit obvious I think, but without knowing a bit more about her it's hard to know what to suggest or what would suit her. Does she go to any sort of MT group at the moment? If so her teacher there is probably best placed to make suggestions. If there a lot of kids auditioning something a bit different will make her stand out

If you like little shop, Suddenly Seymour is an absolutely belting option but not v thoughtful

I agree with several other posters the song choices are quite obvious. We have been through sixth form MT auditions and now going through degree ones. She needs to stand out from the crowd - we learnt that at 11+ scholarship and fixed it for 13+.
The advice is the steer away from well known songs where you will be compared to the original and choose something that suits your casting type and you can make your own. The secret of happiness from Daddy Long Legs could be a good choice sung by a little girl in an orphanage - thoughtful song.

Would she consider a boy’s song? Electricity from Billy Elliot is lovely and is quite emotional.

@Furrybootsyecomfy

Would she consider a boy’s song? Electricity from Billy Elliot is lovely and is quite emotional.

It is lovely, but not the correct casting type.

@FortunesFave I wasn't going to let her sing Leona Lewis for it!

Thank you for all of the comments and suggestions - it's all incredibly helpful! I have had a listen to some of the recommendations and they are all lovely! I will see what dd thinks.

I don't think she would mind singing a boy's song.

Most of your choices are very well-known and over-used as audition pieces. A well-known song tends to be quite "exposing" because the people listening know exactly how it ought to sound so small flaws will be more noticeable, and it's also much harder to make a familiar song sound fresh.

Some of the songs in your list are also more difficult than they seem. Somewhere Over The Rainbow is a favourite of musical theatre casting directors because it starts with an octave jump that only strong singers can manage well.

Don't worry about too childish - the usual advice is to pick an audition song for a similarly-aged character. Your DD is only 10 so I'd probably avoid songs for roles that are obviously much older (e.g. Hairspray).

I have a DS so am not super-knowledgeable about girls' songs but you could consider these suggestions (including some boys' songs that would also work for a girl):

On Your Way Home - James and the Giant Peach (love this one)
Good Girl Winnie Foster - Tuck Everlasting
No Matter What - Whistle Down The Wind (has the advantage of also being a familiar pop tune)
Giants in the Sky - Into The Woods (a bit trickier to sing)
The Girl I Mean To Be from The Secret Garden, as suggested by a pp

Quiet from Matilda is probably less well-know than WIGU, but isn't the easiest song to sing.

If Only You Would Listen from School of Rock

Born To Entertain from Ruthless is fun but more up-tempo

Take a letter Miss Jones from Blood Brothers. Fantastic audition song.

Was also going to suggest Good Girl
Winnie Foster - my DD has done well with that and not an obvious choice. Letter from Charlie Bucket is sweet too.

I Know Things Now from Into the Woods (Red Riding Hood's song, a bit tricky though)
The Girl I mean to be (Secret Garden)

Lots of the Disney songs kind of work for any age. DS once sang Someday from Hunchback for an audition when he was only about 12, and his small female friend did God Bless the Outcasts.

Of course there's also castle on a Cloud... and Maybe.... both of which suit the more thoughtful style, but perhaps you're trying to avoid anything too obvious.

@biscuitsneeded - God Bless the Outcasts is an absolutely beautiful song, great recommendation that I would second

or even God Help the Outcasts! (No idea why I wrote God bless!). There's a simplified version available for one voice,.

These are so good! Thank you so much everyone for coming to a clueless mum's rescue!

I love this! Ring of Keys, from “Fun Home”. I think the character is early teens. Slightly more mature subject but beautiful.

Also agree re Giants in the Sky & Quiet.

This is another one that is age appropriate and a bit fun - Girl Scout, Beetlejuice

We were quite taken with the vocals in the song from Daddy Long Legs mentioned by @Lonecatwithkitten and had a look at some of the other songs from that.

One song stood out because of the lyrics more than anything - Like Other Girls - but I'm not sure if it would be too poignant, given that dd will be relying on a scholarship/bursary in order to attend the school.

Is the song too personal? Or is that a good thing?

My first thought was the songs were a little bit obvious. The only ones missing from your list are Greatest Showman songs, ‘Memories’ (Cats) and ‘’Tomorrow’ (Annie)!

The school staff taking the audition are unlikely to know whether or not you've applied for a bursary.

Acting through song is a key element of musical theatre - it's not just about singing well, but performing a song in character. So it is important to choose something for a character your DD feels she can relate to. That said, I think Like Other Girls suits a more mature voice (musically and in terms of content), so whether or not it's a good choice depends on what sort of voice your DD has and how strong a singer she is. If she has a "younger" sounding voice or is a less experienced singer I'd go for something else.

As @TheatreTaxi says the ability to be able act through song is really important so to be able to relate to the lyrics is really important.
Singing an unusual song is really good it shows a wider appreciation and not just the obvious easy out of the box songs.
My DD has had big success in auditions and competitions with one perfect moment from bring it on and pretty funny from dog fight all lesser known songs that she can relate to.
Lots of people will sing Tomorrow, when I grow up, Castle on a cloud she needs to be the girl who stands out from the crowd.