Top 10 Fastest Broadway Songs EVER

[@MsMojo]

Which of these songs do YOU think is the hardest to sing? Let us know below, and check out our video of the Top 20 Broadway Songs to Get You Pumped - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aH3Sno2ZnKiEebM

[@martynamaczyszyn]

You know that not all of the names in "Tschaikovsky (and other Russians)" are actually Russian, right? (namely Maliszewski, Moniuszko, Godowski and Dukelsky, the former three of whom are Polish). They happened to be born within the borders of the Russian Empire, yes, but weren't Russians themselves. Do your research, MsMojo.

[@brybalaton-chrimes7550]

I think therapy is delicious! What I don’t understand is WHERE IS “GUNS AND SHIPS”? Come on mojo!

[@ArtworksbyNet]

Watch What Happens from Newsies should have been on the list

[@mattman15]

I think "your fault" from "Into the Woods" should've been on the list. It's pretty fast and hard to follow.

[@ah3llfire]

I was just about to comment this

[@zwrulez185]

That one’s also made harder because of how many people it involves, with only really four or so lines before it jumps to the next person

[@xariadavis1875]

I was in this show back in high school and watching the cast struggle with the timing definitely backs this up!!! 😅

[@lucygarrett9785]

As someone who memorized the whole song, agreed

[@EmeraldSky33]

It makes it easier that the characters trade off lines, so it's much harder to sing along than it is to actually perform, IMO!

[@trinaq]

I love how "Therapy" highlights the main couple's relationship troubles by having the beat become just as manic and out of control as the argument gets more heated.

[@AnntheTheatreFan]

"Guns and Ships" literally holds the record for the fastest Broadway lyrics, doesn't it? And only honorable mention?

[@charlottehardy822]

Thought I must have been mistaken, so I checked and it is.

[@SilviaLopez-eg9wh]

Probably (and I'm not justifying them just trying to find an explanation) it's because the super fast part of Guns and Ships is just a small part of the song and not the whole of it, like most of the others. There are a couple in the honorable mentions that are faster than the top 10, though hahaha

[@EvergreenA3_KCHS]

To he fair, Guns and Ships accelerates to that speed very briefly. The other songs have sustained speeds. I'm not defending, but I do understand.

[@asterismos5451]

I wonder if this is why Preparations from Great Comet isn't on here either

[@kirajg4970]

It used to, although I believe ironically Plankton's fast rap in "When the Going Gets Tough" from SpongeBob the musical actually has both more words and more wpm.

[@trinaq]

I'm a huge fan of patter songs, and "Not Getting Married" is the perfect example of one. It certainly must be a blast to sing along to at karaoke nights!

[@DrR0BERT]

I have. I'm not a professional singer, let alone a good signer. I heard it was difficult and I decided to shock my karaoke friends. And they were floored.

[@djay1066]

Why didn't they add a clip of Beth Howland doing it from the original cast? that is so wrong. I think she did it the fastest!

[@DrR0BERT]

@@djay1066 And she did it best!

[@djay1066]

@@DrR0BERT indeed she did! Who would have thought that Vera Louise Gorman could do that! 🤣

[@lillykennedy2135]

Your Fault is another good one. Gonna brag a little bit, but when our local theatre put on Into the Woods, and someone needed in Your Fault couldn’t make it to rehearsal, they turned to me to fill in for the night. I was one of the cast mates who was most familiar with the music, so I could fill in for anyone missing.

[@rachelpellom4095]

i think because it's sung by multiple people, it doesn't count. i'ts not as difficult to sing when you sing an individual part. andrew rannells, however sung all parts in a performance which demonstrates it's speed and difficulty as a song sung by one person. much like guns and ships, parts of the song sung by individuals are fast, but the song as a whole unlike something like getting married which is constant and consistent song sung by one person.

[@lillykennedy2135]

@@rachelpellom4095 I can also sing the whole song by myself. I only filled in for certain folks.

[@Chandler.With.A.Chainsaw]

@@rachelpellom4095andrew rannells mentioned !!

[@EmeraldSky33]

@@rachelpellom4095agreed! It's only a challenge to remember when you come in 😆 "Not Getting Married" is the one I still cannot of the life of me nail

[@cc6595]

Madeline Kahn's is the ABSOLUTE definitive version of Not Getting Married. Her diction, breath control, everything is beyond perfect. Everyone else who has tried can't come close to the way she nailed that song. She made it look completely effortless, whereas the woman who was shown first had to take a breath pretty quickly. Meanwhile Madeline just breezes her way through, then easily hits a high note at the very end like it was nothing. Perfection. (also, as someone who absolutely adores Madeline, I just wanna throw in a "screw Danny Kaye" in there)

[@specksmommy]

Wait, what's the deal with Danny Kaye?

[@brentparker7359]

I was at a Sondheim sing-a-long once where the professional singers on stage performed "Getting Married Today." Unlike all the other songs in the show, they didn't even give the audience the lyrics to that one, assuming that we couldn't sing it. I was the only one in the audience who sang along.

[@moriapetersen6651]

I was really surprised that "Your Fault" from Into the Woods wasn't on the list. It was the first song that came to mind when I clicked on this.

[@zergyzerg5581]

Madeline Kahn's version was amazing! her comedic timing was so on point during that performance i keep going back to it every time i want to hear the song again.

[@JB-qf5ep]

I love her 'I'm not well so I'm not getting married' - so funny

[@jessicawiersema4850]

I agree with most of this list. The one major issue I have with it is that Guns and Ships should be on the normal list. Not the honorable mentions.

[@GuitarGirl_Sophia]

The first time I heard Getting Married Today was in choir during one of our mental breaks in class, my director played it for us, and 8 made it my mission to go home and teach it to myself. I have ADHD and talk very fast and also have an very good memory especially for lyrics. I’m also a swimmer so my breath control is pretty good…I learned to sing it in about twenty minutes and it’s stuck one of my favorite songs to sing in front of my friends just to see their eyes get wide 😂

[@WillScarlet16]

During rehearsals for the original 'Company' Sondheim once told original Amy Beth Howland she wasn't singing the right tune on 'Getting Married Today.' She responded "Can you remind me again what it is?"

[@jrlexjr]

"I've Decided to Marry You" from "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder".

[@emmadobbins694]

Doing a production of that right now-- it's a beast. So is "Stop, Wait, What"

[@jeffreyschoenberg8003]

"Worst Pies in London" from Sweeney Todd, "The Witch's Rap" from Into the Woods, "Now" from A Little Night Music. Sondheim wrote a lot of them. As for Gilbert & Sullivan, "The Nightmare Song" from Iolanthe is a real tongue twister.

[@authorguy5696]

Absolutely, but not a fast one. I think it trades off the speed for the complexity of the words. I was surprised to hear the music played at the right tempo to find out how slow it is. I tend to sing it faster but I'm not performing to a crowd that needs to hear the words.

[@markvargus6519]

If you want to go to Gilbert and Sullivan go with "My Name is John Wellington Wells" for a song that is fast and a complete tongue twister.

[@pasnom4382]

Julie Andrews has a great, expressive and extremely clear version of Not Getting Married

[@lottepegacorn]

there’s way more songs that i wish were on this list, but i’m mainly shocked by the fact that ‘your fault’ from into the woods and ‘franklin shephard inc’ from merrily we roll along weren’t included!!!

[@User1975-]

Oh the anxiety especially when we did a production eons ago but still remember our incredible AMY performed NOT GETTING MARRIED TODAY absolutely blitzed it !!!🙌🙌🙌🙌 Sondheim excellence deserves the Nunber 1 spot !!!

[@andrewbuchanan4662]

Thank you for using the correct title.

[@BethDiane]

Don’t forget Tom Lehrer’s take on the Major General’s song, The Elements, which was used in the revue Tomfoolery, in 1980.

[@authorguy5696]

A very difficult version since there is nothing to link the words together at all. You can only memorize the list.

[@TheIndigoSystem]

Also Amateur Transplants did a medicine one

[@AuthorGuy1]

​@@TheIndigoSystem there are a lot of different ones. My favorite is the Xena version, but there is a story behind that one, makes it easy to remember. The Muscles if the Kitty Cat has nothing but a lot of latin.

[@forg8519]

i love tom lehrer that man is a treasure

[@viddork]

He also did a parody version of _Tchaikovsky_ with mathematicians instead of composers.

[@ericgjovaag7958]

With three of my all-time favorite performers in it-Kristin Chenoweth, Bernadette Peters, and Madeline Kahn-this has just leapt to the top of my list of all-time best MsMojo videos.

[@Allwayspsychic]

No love for You Can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray? The nickname was you can't stop to breathe. It's incredible. Plus Statisfied from Hamilton is phenomenal.

[@brianlipensky1722]

As someone who played Professor Harold Hill in a high school performance of The Music Man, I have to go with not only Ya Got Trouble, but the other fast paced song of his, 76 Trombones. It was pretty difficult keeping up with remembering the words, and leading all those marching band performers that were blasting a John Philip Sousa song behind me.

[@What_Makes_Climate_Tick]

The opening number of The Music Man, Rock Island, is spoken, so it's more of a Broadway rap, but it also goes at breakneck speed in the middle, while starting and ending slow. The Uneeda biscuit, uneeda, uneeda, in an air-tight sanitary package made the cracker barrel obsolete, obsolete.

[@brianlipensky1722]

Goodnight Ladies is also a very fast paced song in some sections, but, in that one it's the female singers who have the hardest lines, in some places while making a cheaping bird sound along with the lyrics.

[@srldwg]

​@@brianlipensky1722Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little, CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP, talk a lot, pick a little more😂

[@brianlipensky1722]

@@srldwg 😆 At least you didn't say Balzac. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@dratchola249]

Am I the only one here that was hoping to see "Which of the Pickwick triplets did it" from Only Murders in the Building?

[@TheVoiceinTheDarkness]

Didn't think of this but now I wish it was there

[@aud_pegooey]

I cannot for the life of me get that song out of my head 😅

[@gregsemon]

The Speed Test is actually based on My Eyes are Fully Open from Ruddigore. It was then added to the 1980 Broadway revival of Pirates of Penzance.

[@rylanhefner6697]

was hoping someone else had pointed this out! ruddigore is so underrated imo

[@chelseacanales8763]

I tried singing Therapy from Tick Tick BOOM and boy is it difficult to sing at a fast pace

[@jamesinbaltimore5487]

Good list. All for the Best from Godspell and Simple Joys from Pippin always appealed to me.

[@alecljames]

when it hit #2 without an appearance from "getting married today", i knew it had to be number one. like, i could see it coming in second or third at the lowest but that song is just too fast and too *constant* to not qualify. technically, "guns and ships" has a faster rate, but those are only short bursts. whereas "getting married today" is a marathon, down to the amount of breath control required. honestly, i don't think i've really seen a bad version of that song. even the high school production i saw, it and "another hundred people" were still showstoppers. but madeline kahn, katie finneran, carol burnett, julie andrews, darren criss, *heather laws* from the 2006 revival... they're all incredible in their own ways.

[@fsutrill]

Right-hand Man from Something Rotten!

[@joyunicycle]

@MsMojo, 100 points to you for mentioning Danny Kaye (for #9)!!! Not sure why he was slower in this clip, typically he could sing the song three times the speed of that song while still impeccably pronouncing each name. To make it even crazier, he was given literally three days to memorize that song. I don't know how he did it!

[@brianbara3204]

I am proud to have conquered I Am the Very Model of a Modern General in college. The show is still among my top 5 favorites that I've ever done.

[@cedgson91]

Not getting married is hilarious and incredibly fast 😂 Also love modern major general Cannot help but smile 😊 Haven’t seen Hamilton yet Worried I might miss lyrics (Have auditory processing issues) Maybe I could see a captioned performance

[@Miss_Camel]

It’s on Disney+!! Not only were the captions well done, but there is a “Sing-along” version with the lyrics as well!

[@kathiheckenlively3974]

How could you forget All For the Best from Godspell that not only has two people singing different parts together but also get faster as the song goes along?

[@muzikmann12]

I was literally about to type the same thing!

[@authorguy5696]

It's a wonderful song but not the fastest. I've been learning that a lot of songs I thought of as patter songs were really not as fast as I thought they were, but then I always tend to accelerate the tempo.

[@marabethpereira9247]

100% agree! Should’ve been included.

[@saroska6003]

I instantly thought of "What's Gonna Happen" from Tootsie when I read the title of the video

[@stcago19]

same!

[@Luke_The_Musical]

Same, can't believe it's not on here.

[@LillyKoppMusic]

"All for the Best" in Godspell is super fast!

[@cambryn]

Godspell’s ‘all for the best’ later verses are super fast, as are parts of sweet charity’s ’rhythm of life’. into the woods ‘your fault’ is super fast. Gilbert and sullivan’s ‘if I marry you’ also gets very fast paced

[@eli_so__fly]

I performed 'Another 100 People' for a school showcase, and indeed took A LOT of breath support.

[@TheDustinExperience]

One could make this list almost exclusively of Gilbert and Sullivan and Stephen Sondheim songs.

[@staceytates5778]

As someone currently singing Diana in The Actuary Song from I Love You Because.... It deserves a spot on this list.

[@jaylayson69]

I have to agree with number one. Excellent choice. I would have gone with Pickalittle (Talk-a-Little) from the Music Man, but an excellent show so hard to choose. When I first saw the title I thought to myself “so which Hamilton song will be number one” because Hamilton seems to be the end all be all for Ms Mojo. Bravo for it not being number one.

[@EJandEF4ever]

Hamilton also only got an honorable mention in their men's ballads video.

[@larrycooper7261]

I'd like to add "Carousel" from Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. It starts slowly, but ramps up to breakneck speed by the end.

[@viddork]

As I recall (and it's been a _long_ time!), the lyrics aren't especially challenging, though. Still, I can really only remember the chorus ... the verses may have been tougher.

[@Trekkie_Gal]

I knew immediately when I saw the title of the video that "Not Getting Married" was definitely #1.

[@ILJ68]

Another wordy Sondheim song is By The Sea from Sweeney Todd. It’s not fast per sae, but there is little room to breathe. Angela Landsbury helped Helena Bonham Carter with it for the film.

[@jpetersgoyanks]

Damn, I love Company so much! My favorite musical. It’s the Sgt. Peppers of Broadway.

[@samuelcollantes1175]

It's definitely "Getting married today". Have a happy friday morning, Emily, take care and God bless you. Greetings from Colombia to you as well.

[@sharon-clare_bear3438]

Y’all didn’t even show the fastest part of Speed Test! I did it in high school when I was a freshman, and the other freshman did it perfectly every show! It was so impressive considering he was 14! He did it better than some pro actors who had to slow the bit down on stage!

[@dawnieb.7394]

They didn't show the fastest part of "Putting it Together" either

[@zachpayne3533]

The fact that "Your Fault" from into the woods isn't on this list is a SIN....come on MOJO people...

[@dawnieb.7394]

Came here to say this exact thing!

[@jennifergriffis8970]

Ever tried to sing "Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little" from "The Music Man"? Much faster and more difficult than "Trouble"!

[@melenatorr]

Not nearly enough Sondheim. Off the top of my head: The Witch's section from the "Into the Woods" prologue; as well as "Steps of the Palace" and several other options from "Into the Woods". "Worst Pies in London", and also "Kiss Me" and "By the Sea" from "Sweeney Todd". "I Shall Marry the Miller's Son", from "A Little Night Music". You could, quite possibly, fill in at least the top six slots with Sondheim songs.

[@RobPizzaSauce]

I was expecting an honorable mention at the least for Sarah Stiles singing “what’s gonna happen” from Tootsie

[@artkdz]

This was one of the ones I thought of as well.

[@McKennaFeist-hj6gf]

"franklin shepard inc" from merrily we roll along

[@brownie14000]

I loved that!! We did Sondheim on Sondheim in college and the young man who sang that role told me he panicked every time it was time to sing that song and basically blacked out. (He did a phenomenal job, too!)

[@katkni]

Compared to all the others, I don’t know if I agree with “Both Reached for the Gun” or “The Money Song.” One that I’m thinking of that could have made the list is “What’s Gonna Happen” from Tootsie!

[@RobPizzaSauce]

I’ve been scrolling through the comments because I KNEW I couldn’t be the only one expecting “what’s gonna happen” 🎉

[@backdraft916]

When you were going through various versions of different performances of each song, you missed a perfectly fun opportunity to use Picard and Data from “Star Trek: Insurrection” singing the “Major-General’s Song”.

[@clarestubbs9303]

I immediately thought of "Model of a modern major general" when I saw the title. Wow! ❤

[@BurrShotHam711Jenna]

Therapy from TTB, Satisfied and Guns and Ships from Hamilton are all amazing

[@darreylhenderson702]

No mention of the rap section of " when the going gets tough" from the Broadway production of " SpongeBob the musical" ?

[@susansokoloski2233]

"Getting Married Today" is brilliant and exquisitely difficult to perform and my opinion is that Madelin Kahn's performance is the most amazing I have seen. Thanks for including "Both Sides Of The Coin" in the mix, although maybe the OBCR would have been a better choice as your example, although I understand that maybe you wanted to give credit to to other performers since George Rose was the Greatest at "Modern Major General" and used by you already. Loved this list!

[@mithramusic5909]

Can't believe we're missing Prima Donna from Phantom of the Opera, Your Fault from Into the Woods, and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

[@authorguy5696]

This is fastest Broadway songs. Prima Donna is complex and multi-layered, but not fast.

[@mithramusic5909]

@@authorguy5696 "who'd believe a diva happy to relieve a chorus girl who's gone and slept with the patron..." and some of the recitative throughout seems comparable to some of the first few entries on this list

[@shinetilly]

I’m surprised You Can’t Stop the Beat from Hairspray wasn’t mentioned

[@Gerilyn2003]

Madeline Kahn did "I'm Not Getting Married Today" so perfectly. Why did you only show recent actresses, and NOT the best?

[@Majestic-Yeti83]

I was in the ensemble for a production of Chicago last year and let me tell you, we both reached for the gun is a DOOZY of a number to sing, especially when you have to remember all the words and the rhythms along with choreography

[@anneslabinski9463]

I would have picked, All for the Best from Godspell for this list.

[@luisenriqueporraz2806]

I don't think "We both reached for the gun" is that fast, I believed that spot should be for "Your fault" from Into the Woods

[@Anime_theatre_lover]

Me and my friend did therapy for high school thespians districts. We ended up with superior but it was still tough 😭

[@CCClarinet12]

I KNEW GUNS AND SHIPS WOULD BE ON HERE LOL😂

[@dragonlady3278]

I had to memorize Modern Major General for theater class in high school. I was the only one who knew it was from a musical, thanks grandma 🥰, I used the song to learn it.. put it on my iPod 😂 it was like 2003ish, hardest part was you had to give it as a monologue. I still can sing it to this day 😂 and he changed the arrangement of the verses too that was the hard part lol

[@marsdailey2425]

I use ‘ya got trouble’ as a diction exercise it’s so fun

[@PeterWolf1978]

in German speaking regions "The Dance Of The Vampires" is wildly popular and in this is an extremly fast song named "Wahrheit" (Truth)

[@RachRev]

What about "Satisifed" from Hamilton?

[@dragondracen511]

i also would have thought that "Your Fault" from Into The Wodds would be here, maybe it's not qualified to the rules of this list but damn it's fast

[@jenerhart7025]

I love all the songs on this list, but come on - "Guns and Ships" only as an honorable mention? The Guinness Book record holder for the fastest Broadway song ever?

[@timthorman7029]

That first number from "Thoroughly Moder Millie" is taken wholesale from Gilbert and Sullivan's "Ruddigore." Only the words have been changed.

[@Wimzey]

No matter how great the rest of this list is, they owe it all to Gilbert and Sullivan, so they should be number one. So many great patter songs! Even your number 10 is lifted from Ruddigore, not Pirates of Penzance. (It was in the Pirates movie, but it's not actually in the Pirates score.)

[@mary-jomerk3501]

COMPANY was the hardest fun I ever had. I played JoAnn so I didn’t have the challenge of “I’m Not Getting Married “ . Nonetheless I was breathless for the actress who did the song.

[@theamiablepirateroberts7839]

Melted when I saw Raul ❤❤

[@TAGwG]

I love the list, but I don't know if the song should really be added because of speed, but because of the control... "I'm breaking down" from falsettos might have garnered honorable mention

[@cesrelawrence-towner9453]

I was, but wasn't surprised that "Hot Patootie" from Rocky Horror Show didn't even make honorable mentions. They had lots of trouble casting Eddie because of the speed. In the og cast in the UK they'd often 'fake it' and then Meatloaf got ahold of it. It's a great story actually.

[@isaacanderson4915]

When the going gets tough not being in the honorable mentions is criminal

[@juliannagoodwin2875]

No one knows this musical but Page Eight At The Top from Meet John Doe is such a fast but great song. It has a similar pattern to the Thoroughly Modern Millie song from the beginning.

[@tijgerlil]

I know it's not a Broadway musical, but "Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It" would be a worthy contender if it was a real musical.

[@leigoldalagnason2291]

Where's You're Fault from Into the Woods?????

[@olleselin]

Andrew Garfield i a treasure

[@shaliseshaw9385]

You Can't Stop The Beat, Satisfied, and other fast Browdway songs should've been on the list. 🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥📽️📽️🎭🗽📺

[@miacooke718]

How did "All For The Best" from Godspell not make the list?!

[@Patm-um8tg]

Where is Call Back in the Morning from Little Shop??? That is a wickedly fast paced song that happens between two people playing Seymour and Audrey! I should know, I played Seymour in my freshman year of high school’s musical!!

[@rubygracemoseley8144]

Man I love Ya Got Trouble! 😂

[@brianb8060]

I was thinking "The Music Man", but i had the song, "Rock Island" in my head.

[@whiwhimee]

Very good, but next time do us all a favor and identify all the on screen performers singing these songs, in narration or screen pop-on titles. PLEASE.

[@lonellfletcher]

As soon as I saw the title I knew Not Getitng Married would be #1.

[@Walrussnor]

Yeah me too haha. It's a very obvious pick.

[@LoriFalce]

Guns and Ships is not an honorable mention. It's a record breaker.

[@GamerFunOriginallyAarush]

Good songs!

[@joyunicycle]

*Me during the whole list:* How do these guys do it?! How many lungs do they have?!

[@azdramallama8497]

You’ve got number one backwards - “really doesn’t matter” is only in the movie as a sendup from TMM.

[@lorihansen8674]

For the song "not getting married," you should show the clip from Glee featuring jayma Mays.

[@morganring8385]

Both Sides of the Coin deserved better than honerable mention, IMO. By the time you get to the final chorus, both the speed and the chatacters are completely unhinged.

[@brrrnaner]

You forgot "Call Back in the Morning" from Little Shop of Horrors! Its a real challenge with 2 actors passing the song back and forth like a hot potato 😂

[@comfyactor]

Beth Howland's original version of "Not Getting Married" is tops on my list.

[@bobbywise2313]

Beth was awesome!!!!

[@laureldenhartog7903]

I kept wondering if you'd remember Sondheim's masterpiece patter song about marriage. You didn't let me down.

[@elainamurdock3769]

The Brain from Young Frankenstein should have had an honerable mention.

[@blacksheep1025]

Godspell?

[@steveville54]

"My Mother's Wedding Day" from "Brigadoon".