Moviefan

You’ll know if you’ve followed my blogs for any period of time, I love covering villains.  Typically, I cover them and break down what makes them work/doesn’t work.   However, I’ve wanted to do something different for a while.  So over the next four blogs,  I’ve decided to cover four different categories of villains songs,  musical, TV, Hazbin Hotel, and Holiday.   Now, I know what you might be thinking, why is Hazbin getting its own category compared to TV.  Well, I’m that big of a Hazbin fan and they’d take up on the entire TV list if I didn’t.  The only rule I have for the first three lists is no Disney or MLP songs.   

For this first list, I am looking at songs sung by villains onstage. While many of these have film adaptions, I am mostly sticking to the original stage version.  I narrowed this first list down from sixteen songs to six.  As you’ll see with some entries,  not all of my choices are traditional villain songs or in some cases like Cruella DeVile or The Phony King of England are not sung by the villain but are about the villain.   

Eight. I’m Alive – Next to Normal

Our first song is not one that one might think of as a villain song but in a way I do. Next to Normal is harrowing musical bout a family struggling and the mother, Diane struggles with bipolar disorder and sees the figment of her son, Gabe as a teenager who died as a baby.

So, why do I label this as a villain song because Gabe represents the darkness mental health and the grief and trauma Diane is feeling.   In my view with the song, while Gabe is not a villain, this is Diane at her lowest fighting her trauma which is seen in Gabe and wants to give in  even though she shouldn’t.  She is so lost and hurting that giving into those dark thoughts which is what Gabe is representative of sounds better and we’ve all been there. I know I have.

Six. The Last Day of Summer – The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical

I love Percy Jackson and it is because of this musical,  I discovered Percy Jackson thanks to Annapantsu doing a cover of My Grand Plan and devoured the original series pretty quickly. While I enjoy the TV show and the less said about the movies (shudders), the musical is the best take on Percy Jackson in adaption format.

This song takes the most crucial moment of the end of the book and makes it even rawer with the reveal of Luke being the Lighting Thief by in part doing a dark reprise of Percy’s song, Good Kid.  It’s a bit low as it’s only part of a song and not a full villain number but even in that moment, the betrayal stings especially as we hear a song sung by Percy earlier in the show now being used in a villainous manner against him.

Four.  Blood in the Water – Legally Blonde: The Musical

Yeah sorry,  most of the songs on my list come from shows that are adaptions of other works but theatre has always adapted other works.   I adore the Legally Blonde musical but couldn’t care less about the musical.  The musical version of Callahan is just so deliciously evil as his introduction song shows.  As he says some lawyers are sharks and this is what we see with this number.   He has no scruples and will do whatever it takes to win.

Three.  Pretty Little Dead Things – Paddington: The Musical

After my trip to London, I became obsessed with this show and this is just a good classic villain song.   The stage version of Millicent Clyde takes everything about the movie character and amps it up to eleven.  And that is best seen in this number.  She delights in the act of taxidermy and chews every piece of scenery with this song. It is just so good and I can’t help but have a smile on my face even knowing she wants to stuff Paddington.   This clears most recent villain songs from movies (especially any from Disney).

Two.   March of the Witch Hunters – Wicked.

While The Wizard does have two songs in the show which are both good,  I think this one serves better showing how far and wide his propaganda has spread far and wide into painting Elphaba as the Wicked Witch.  This might be one of the shorter songs on the list but theatre way it hurts the lead character is immense.   IMO, a great villain song doesn’t always need to be sung by the villain of the piece to show how evil they can be. And this is a perfect example of that as in neither the original stage production or the movie adaption do we hear The Wizard during this number, his presence is felt with how he twisted the Ozian’s view of Elphie.

One.  Heaven on Their Minds – Jesus Christ Superstar

Judas is my favorite character in Jesus Christ Superstar as he is the most complex and that is in part thanks to Carl Anderson but I am not not looking at movie versions of these songs and trying to stick stage versions.  Judas is one of the first voices we hear in this Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice musical.  This number is so interesting as you really feel for Judas as he believes what he is saying and thinks he has the best of intent with airing his grievances.   This song is what leads him down the dark path of going to Pontius Pilate and ultimately leads to the crucifixion of Jesus and Judas’s Death which is another number I considered including.  I am not a very religious person by any means but I enjoy the story of this show and Judas serves as the POV character as we see the actions through his eyes and this song almost gets you on his side.   Also shoutout to the Adam Lambert and Brandon Victor Dixon takes on this song.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog and I will be looking at more villain songs I love next time with my Top 6 TV Villain songs.