The most popular audition songs for Men

Photo Credit: apadated from an image by Steven Pisano via cc

Popular can often mean ‘Overdone’

When you are looking for an audition song I always find it valuable to know what songs are popular at auditions … so I can pick something else!

My personal opinion is that a song which is being sung lots at auditions means that you are going to be compared to a lot of other people who have sung the very same song, and more importantly a popular song will often have a ‘definitive’ version and you will inevitably be compared to the version which everyone knows.

If you are confident that you can put your own spin on one of these popular songs then go for it. Interpret it in a new way or put your uniqueness on the character and show them what you can bring to the table, don’t show them you doing an ‘impression’ of someone who has sung it before you.

Here is a by no means definitive list of female soprano songs which are currently overdone at auditions. Check out our other lists to choose something more unique, or if you really want to then try and make one of these your own!

Popular Male Audition songs

When you are choosing a song for an audition then remember a panel needs to see you not just a great singer they want to test your acting chops too!

Think about the story of the song, what comes before it and how you can interpret the character.

We would love to know what song do you think is being overdone at auditions, let us know via Twitter@actorhub.

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Dancing Through Life (click to view video)
Wicked
Dancing Through LIfe is from Act One of the hit show Wicked, it is sung by Fiyero but also Elphaba, Glinda, Nessarose and Boq! However, it can easily be sung at auditions as a solo.

Fiyero, the famed Winkie prince, is new to Shiz University and sings about his beliefs about the problems with education and how he believes people should be allowed to live the “unexamined life.”

The song hints at Fiyero’s later transformation to the Scarecrow as he sings about ‘the brainless’ and ‘when you’re thoughtless’
Footloose (click to view video)
Footloose
The eighties movie Footloose was terrific (I remember it at the cinema … yes, Im that old!) in 1998 a stage musical opened and has played both Broadway and the West End.

It tells the story of Ren a Chicago teen who moves to a small town in which, as a result of the efforts of a local minister, dancing and rock music have been banned!

This song opens the show (and the movie!) Ren is dancing off his stress of his long work day on his last visit to his local dance club before he moves to the small town of Bomont!
Bring Him Home (click to view video)
Les Miserables
This song comes in Act Two of Les Mis and is a prayer from Valjean begging God to save the life of Marius and return him to Cosette. It is a beautiful song.

The song does not feature in the original French version of this musical and that is because it was written specifically for the actor Colm Wilkinson who was the original Jean Valjean in the London production.

The song is a favourite of male stage stars for their ‘solo’ albums and concerts as it has some wonderful high notes but is also filled with emotion.
Giants In The Sky (click to view video)
Into the Woods
The wonderful Giants in the Sky is sung by Jack – of the Beanstalk fame! – in Act One of Into The Woods.

Jack has been up his beanstalk and he sings this song to explain his exciting and thrilling adventures he has been on.

The song for me has hidden meaning, as it is all about Jack turning from boy to man and his relationship with ‘the female giant’. Its about Jack growing up, experiencing the real world, seeing scary but wonderful things and missing his childhood innocence.
Kiss The Girl (click to view video)
The Little Mermaid
Kiss the Girl is a song from the movie and subsequent stage musical ‘The Little Mermaid’ by Disney.

The song is sung by the crab Sebastian and is a calypso ballad encouraging a young man to kiss his female love interest before it is too late.

The song was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song but lost out to another Little Mermaid song, Under The Sea.
Empty Chairs at Empty Tables (click to view video)
Les Miserables
Empty Chairs at Empty Tables is Marius’s big solo from Les Miserables – it occurs in Act Two after the battle. Sitting on his own in the cafe he is the last of his friends to survive and sings of regret as he reminisces the loss of his friends at the barricade.

This song again did not feature in the original French version of this Musical theatre masterpiece, some of the tune the same as ‘The Bishop of Digne’

The song is pretty heartbreaking and needs a huge amount of emotion behind it. I think this version from the film is particularly strong as it is so underplayed.
Hallelujah (click to view video)
Shrek
Hallelujah is a beautiful song from Leonard Cohen which found fame through a cover by John Cale and has since been covered by Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright and Alexandra Burke.

The song pops up a lot in movies and tv shows and Cohen himself has said ” “I was just reading a review of a movie called Watchmen that uses it and the reviewer said – ‘Can we please have a moratorium on “Hallelujah” in movies and television shows?’ And I kind of feel the same way…I think it’s a good song, but I think too many people sing it.”

The John Cale version of the song features in the 2001 film Shrek but Rufus Wainwright’s version appears on the soundtrack – Wainwright suggests this might be because of his open sexuality.
Soliloquoy (click to view video)
Carousel
Carousel was the second musical by the team Rogers and Hammerstein. The story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child; after it goes wrong, he is given a chance to make things right.

When Julie has announced her pregnancy to Billy, he is overwhelmed with happiness. He imagines all the fun he will have with his son, Bill Jr, then he realises the child could be a girl, and reflects soberly on the duties he will have being a father to a girl. All of this reflection is done alone on stage in the epic musical song ‘Soliloquy’

The song is seven and a hlaf minutes long! And through it Billy daydreams happilly, then is horrified, then disappointed, then tender, and then motivated. It is a huge song for any singer and is done well can be a tour de force. It is the closest I think musical theatre gets to having an aria.

Interestingly when Sinatra released ‘Soliloquy’ as a single the song was not complete on Side A it had to continue on side B.

“I-i got to get ready before she comes!
I got to make certain that she
Won’t be dragged up in slums
With a lot o’ bums like me”
Luck Be A Lady (click to view video)
Guys and Dolls
‘Luck Be a Lady’ is a song which is now better known as a stand alone song rather than being a song from a show. The song is from the point of view of Sky Masterson, a gambler, who hopes that he will win a bet – the outcome of which decides whether or not he will save his relationship with the girl of his dreams.

It has become a signature song of Frank Sinatra’s and a ‘Rat Pack’ classic.

The song was sung by Marlon Brando in the 1955 film version of Guys and Dolls and has been recorded by all manner of artists from Dee Snyder to Chrissie Hynde to Barbra Streisand!

The song was named #42 in the American Film Institutes top 100 movie songs.
Who Am I (click to view video)
Les Miserables
Who Am I comes in Act One of Les Mis when Valjean, who is living a life in disguise, realises that he can not live a lie and let an innocent man go to trial. He decides he must turn himself in to save the man who Javert has mistaken for him.

The song is quite slow in pace and shares its melody with Valjean’s solo from One Day More.

The playing of the song requires some great acting as this song is all about a sad but beautiful dilemma – whether to continue being the kind Mayor he has become but let a man die in his place, or to reveal who he truly is and forskae all he has managed to build.

Musical Theatre Actor Hub Advice