Abbie Sears
A while back I shared my favourite Crazy Ex-Girlfriend songs that didn’t feature Rachel Bloom. Every song in the show is perfection, but there are some that speak to me and get under my skin and I never stop singing them! Today I wanted to put Rebecca Bunch and her incredible talent in the spotlight and delve into my favourite songs where she plays the main role and where her personality shines through. So let’s get to it!
‘Feelin’ Kinda Naughty’
It would be impossible for me to not start with this. I remember very clearly the first time I came across this show and this song took over my life. It’s wonderful because it’s so fun and yet with a sinister twist that some of us do indeed relate to. In a likely unhealthy way, you’ll love this long like I do when you get hopelessly attached and perhaps slightly obsessed with people you’re into. That’s how you find a partner for life, right? Feelin’ Kinda Naughty is a flirtatious song with a humorous dark side and it’s all melded together with a fun poppy beat that you can dance to while getting ready for date night.
‘The Sexy Getting Ready Song’
If this were an actual non-ironic sexy song, I’d have no interest in it. But what’s special about the songs of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is that they all, even when not featuring Rachel Bloom, all have her special sprinkle of realness that makes them appeal to us as humans. Nobody on TV is addressing the amount of work that most of us women have to do to even feel like we look ‘okay’ and that is the exact reason that this song is special! It’s so real, so human and so relatable. If anyone else did it other than Rachel, it would be seen as embarrassing. But life is like that, I wouldn’t want to be seen with my one leg up on the bath trying to shave my legs and stuffing myself into spandex but it’s what we do and Rachel somehow makes it look attractive. ‘The Sexy Getting Ready Song’, and even ‘The Trent is Getting Ready Song’, are R&B style tunes that you can practice your body rolls too.
‘California Christmas Time’
Okay, this may be my all-time favourite simply due to the fact that I am Christmas crazy, and this gets me right into the holiday spirit at any time of year! It’s such a classic Christmas sounding tune that it fills you with Christmas morning level excitement from the very first second. I long to spend a Christmas under the intense heat of the California sun getting a henna tattoo and indulging in a super tight eggnog fro-yo! This song like most Christmas anthems is the best because it’s instantly recognisable and fills you with joy and festive cheer. I love that the main cast feature in the song, especially Vella Lovell and Santino Fontana, and I love the dance number too. It feels like they had a fun time making this song and I love every moment.
In my opinion when watching the show, this song represents Rebecca’s new chapter. She is finally feeling somewhat uplifted and hopeful about her life and about Josh. Not that she should be hopeful about Josh, but i’m glad to see her feeling good in herself during this song. Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year and I like to think it adds a little bit of confidence to those feeling down too. I know that the lyrics of the song are ironic about the dark side of California too but we know Rebecca loves that place completely and it shows in the music anyway.
‘You Stupid Bitch’
This song is quite sad, and yes I’ve taken to calling myself a stupid bitch when things go wrong for me because of this very song, but it’s one of my favourites because it showcases the incredible vocal range and talent of Rachel Bloom. I could never perform some of those notes and she achieves it effortlessly and it’s hard to not be amazed. Even if you don’t sound as good, you will find yourself singing along and being mesmerised by the tone of this song and the lyrics that capture how we all feel when we screw up. Rachel Bloom is back at it again making us feel valid and accepted when we’re being awful human beings.
‘Tell me I’m Okay, Patrick’
I sang this for months after I heard it first and honestly I’m still singing it. It’s so funny to me that Rebecca is singing here to Patrick who has become weirdly involved in her life during his deliveries, I can’t help but giggle at it despite the hard time that Rebecca is going through when she insists that Patrick tell her she’s okay. It’s a wonderfully emotional ballad that is brilliant and also just silly in a fun way that will make you smile. And I’ll always appreciate an appearance by Seth Green too!
‘No One Else is Singing my Song’
The reason this song is special is the main theme of it and that is that it makes you feel like you’re not alone. It makes you emotional and it uplifts you to where you feel like the entire cast is singing with you in unison. It highlights key relationships in the show too because Rebecca and Nathaniel are feeling disconnected while they’re both sharing the same emotions, which is really meaningful to me. Even George isn’t alone, someone finally learned his name and he gets to join in with the song! I think that ‘No One Else Is Singing My Song’ is one of the most popular songs from the show for a reason. In a way, it almost represents the entire show, the basis that Rebecca spent that whole time feeling completely isolated and alone, but everyone is going through something and feeling that way inside. It links to another wonderful song sung by Rachel Bloom ‘A Diagnosis’ where she sings her heart out about how she felt that she didn’t belong and is longing for a diagnosis to fit herself somewhere with a group of people who know what she’s going through. But they are all around her!
My list of Rachel Bloom favourites sums up the very honest personality of Rebecca Bunch that is poured into every episode of the show. It’s hard for me to not feel some level of excitement when pressing play on a song from the soundtrack, they all have a way of either making you want to sing out loud or jump around dancing. Any song performed by Rachel Bloom is going to be loaded with insane amounts of talent, beauty and realness because that is what she represents and I highly recommend everyone checks out the show to become obsessed with these songs like I have.
