Find Your Perfect Vocal Audition Piece
As some point or another, every vocalist has to come to terms with the fact that there are a lot of great singers in the world. Auditions become less about sheer talent and more about your ability to stand out from the crowd. And believe it or not, song selection can make a huge difference!
It’s very likely that you will be asked to audition with a piece “in the style” of the show or performance you’re auditioning for. For example, if you’re auditioning for the Steven Schwartz revamp of Godspell, you’ll want to find a pop or rock tune that has Folk and R&B! On the other hand, if you’re auditioning for Newsies, you’ll want to stick with a song on the Disney spectrum that demonstrates living in a legitimate style with a pop sensibility. (Click here to read about a few things you should definitely avoid when choosing your audition piece.)
To help you choose the perfect audition piece, Musicnotes has teamed up with Sheri Sanders, the pioneer behind the musical theatre revolution Rock The Audition. Since judging panels or creative teams typically ask for 16 or 32-bar excerpts of music, we’ve taken the liberty of already arranging these shortened versions to give you Musicnotes Audition Cuts. These short arrangements are arranged by genre (or style) to make it easy to find the piece you need. In addition, each selection designed to show off your voice from top to bottom in a short amount of time.
And now, it’s time to pick out the perfect song for you. Remember that you can preview and listen to the audition excerpt by using the buttons above the sheet music. And lastly, don’t forget to check for transpositions. If you’re worried about a particular selection being in a difficult key, many of these arrangements offer various transpositions, so make sure to check before you move on to something else!
Musical Theater Audition Cuts
- “She Used To Be Mine” from Waitress
- “And All That Jazz” from Chicago
- “Watch What Happens“ from Newsies
- “On My Own” from Les Misérables
- “Before It’s Over” from Dogfight
- “Someone Like You” from Jekyll & Hyde
- “Adelaide’s Lament” from Guys and Dolls
- “Astonishing” from Little Women
- “One Perfect Moment” from Bring It On: The Musical
- “The Life I Never Led” from Sister Act (The Musical)
- “Thank You for the Music” from Mamma Mia!
- “Everything Else” from Next to Normal
- “Pretty Funny” from Dogfight
- “As Long as He Needs Me” from Oliver!
- “I’m Not Afraid of Anything” from Songs for a New World
- “Let Me Be Your Star” from Smash
- “With You” from Ghost: The Musical
- “Waving Through A Window” from Dear Evan Hansen
- “Giant In The Sky” from Into The Woods
- “I Believe” from The Book of Mormon
- “Feeling Good” from The Roar of the Greasepaint-The Smell of the Crowd
- “Alone in the Universe” from Seussical the Musical
- “Stars” from Les Misérables
- “For Forever” from Dear Evan Hansen
- “Michael in the Bathroom” from Be More Chill
- “Lost Boy” from Darling
- “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady
- “Run Away With Me” from The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown
- “Corner of the Sky” from Pippin
- “This Is the Moment” from Jekyll & Hyde
- “Suddenly Seymore” from Little Shop of Horrors
- “If I Loved You” from Carousel
- “Somewhere” from West Side Story
- “Journey to the Past” from Anastasia
- “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman
- “Never Enough” from The Greatest Showman
- “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman
- “Audition” from La La Land
Disney Audition Cuts
- “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from The Little Mermaid
- “Almost There” from Princess and the Frog
- “Be Our Guest” from Beauty And The Beast
- “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas
- “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana
- “Reflection” from Mulan
- “Let it Go” from Frozen
- “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid
Pop Audition Cuts
- “Daydreamer” by Adele
- “Broken Wings” by Mr. Mister
- “Evergreen” by Barbra Streisand
- “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” by Celine Dion
- “All Through the Night” by Cyndi Lauper
- “Daydream Believer” by The Monkees
- “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John
- “Confident” by Demi Lovato
- “Dangerous Woman” by Ariana Grande
- “The A Team” by Ed Sheeran
- “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus
- “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars
- “Nobody Love” by Tori Kelly
- “Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles
- “Wake Me Up” by Avicii
Jazz, Motown, and Blues Audition Cuts
- “Chances Are” by Johnny Mathis
- “Hallelujah I Love Her So” by Ray Charles
- “Freeway of Love” by Aretha Franklin
- “I Say a Little Prayer” by Aretha Franklin
- “Hit the Road, Jack” by Ray Charles
- “I Was Made to Love Her” by Stevie Wonder
- “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” by Etta James
- “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” by Marvin Gaye
- “My Prayer” by The Platters
- “Rise Up” by Andra Day
Rock, Folk, and Country Audition Cuts
- “Lilac Wine” by Jeff Buckley
- “Barton Hollow” by The Civil Wars
- “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles
- “America” by “Simon & Garfunkel“
- “You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King
- “I Want to Know What Love Is” by Foreigner
- “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac
- “Blinded By the Light” by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
- “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz
- “Sweet Child o’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses
Still not finding the perfect audition piece for you? Browse our ever-growing catalog of Audition Cuts, filter by genre, or even try searching for the specific piece you’d like. Check out this message from Sheri to help you in your search!
If you’re on the other side of the spectrum and feeling a little overwhelmed by the options, check out our post, “50 Best Songs for Vocal Auditions” arranged voice type to help you narrow down the search. And if you’re by chance off to your very first audition, check out our article, “Vocal Audition Etiquette: 6 Things to Keep in Mind.”
We hope you feel a little more prepared heading into your next vocal audition, and we wish you luck!