20 Contemporary Musical Songs You Should Listen To Before You Die
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20 Contemporary Musical Songs You Should Listen To Before You Die

If you need more musical variety, look no further.

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20 Contemporary Musical Songs You Should Listen To Before You Die
NYC Tourist

For those who only know Hamilton and Wicked and need more variety in their theatre music library, this is for you.

1. "Defying Gravity" from Wicked

This one is a personal favorite and the first proof the IDINA IS QUEEN!

2. "Baptize Me" from Book of Mormon


All of the songs from "Book of Mormon" are absolutely fantastic. It's written by the same people who wrote South Park and, oddly, Frozen. But this song is one of my favorites from the show because it contains both hilarity and sexual innuendos.

3. "Once and For All" from Newsies


Newsies is another musical with a slew of amazing songs. "Once and For All" is found near the end of the musical and is filled with energy and spite. It's a great song for going into finals week.

4. "I'm Alive" from Next to Normal


"Next to Normal" tells the story of a family dealing with the death of a son and the mental decline of a mother. Sound depressing? It definitely is. It also won a Pulitzer Prize the year it was released and contains some amazing and heartbreaking music.

5. "Dyin' Ain't So Bad" from Bonnie and Clyde


Bonnie and Clyde never did great on the Great White Way, but it contains two Broadway gods, Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes. Their voices are both angelic and Bonnie's ballad in Act II shows this magnificently.

6. "So Much Better" from Legally Blonde


Legally Blonde the Musical is a shockingly great musical that contains so many fun and upbeat songs. "So Much Better" is definitely one of those roll-down-the-windows-and-belt-your-face-off songs.

7. "Always Starting Over" from If/Then


Second piece of proof that IDINA IS QUEEN. Bae.

8. "Ring of Keys" from Fun Home


Sydney Lucas burst onto the scene in 2015 when she sang the hauntingly beauitful "Ring of Keys" at the Tony awards. The musical, Fun Home, made history because it was one of the first musical to feature a lesbian lead actively revealing her sexuality at such a young age. And it's beautiful.

9. "Schadenfreude" from Avenue Q


Hilarious musical set up like Sesame Street for adults. It also features great songs like "The Internet is for Porn" and "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist."

10. "Moving Too Fast" from The Last Five Years


The Last Five Years was just released as a movie featuring Broadway god, Jeremy Jordan and Pitch Perfect goddess Anna Kendrick. Literally all of the songs in this musical are amazing and it was really hard to choose just one. But "Moving Too Fast" won because it gives you four minutes of listening to Jeremy Jordan's sexy voice.

11. "Mama Who Bore Me" from Spring Awakening


Note: I included the Tony Awards presentation of this song which also included "Mama Who Bore Me (reprise)", "B*** of Living," and "Totally F***" because all the songs in "Spring Awakening" are great.

12. "Gimme Gimme" from Thoroughly Modern Millie


Two words: Sutton Foster. Bae.

13. "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray


Hairspray is fantastic and this song is so upbeat and fun that it needed to be included.

14. "Breathe" from In the Heights


With the Hamilton craze larger than ever, we need to take a moment to remember Lin Manuel Miranda's first musical. In the Heights won a Tony award in 2008 and it's soundtrack is also filled with Hamilton-level awesomeness.

15. "Live in Living Color" from Catch Me If You Can


Aaron Tveit. He's up there in Broadway god world with Jeremy Jordan.

16. "History of Wrong Guys" from Kinky Boots


Kinky Boots is another amazingly fun musical with a variety of exciting songs. This one is my personal favorite because it's incredibly relatable. Also, if you look up the clip of this song, Annaleigh Ashford is singing with shoes on her hands. It doesn't get better than that.

17. "When I Grow Up" from Matilda


*BRB crying*

18. "Sugar Daddy" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch


Neil Patrick Harris is amazing in everything he does and Hedwig is no different. That car wash though.

19. "Crazier Than You" from The Addams Family

Not the best musical overall, but Addams Family contains some really good songs.

20. "Wait For It" from Hamilton


I had to include at least one.

Disclaimer: All the songs chosen for this article were at the author's digression. To be qualified as a "contemporary musical" the show must have been on Broadway after the year 2000. Only one song was pulled from each musical.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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