40 Fresh Contemporary Audition Songs – by Vocal Type
Looking for contemporary musical theatre songs for an upcoming audition or project? Well, first you should check out our giant database of audition songs for specific musicals. But if your show hasn’t yet been covered by us, you can go through these fresh contemporary audition songs, sorted by vocal type.
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First Step: Read your audition details
Please read your audition details carefully, as they sometimes specify the type of song they’d like to hear (a ballad, something uptempo, etc.). Make sure to select a song that’s appropriate for your specific casting call.
Altos
“Just Not Now” – I Love You Because
“Manhattan Bridge” – Next Thing You Know
“Say the Word” – The Mad Ones
“Smiling” – Jagged Little Pill
“When the Music Played” – Doctor Zhivago
Baritones
“Dust and Ashes” – The Great Comet
“Footprint” – The Theory of Relativity
“Human Sacrifice” – Stephen Ward
“Morning After Omelet” – Next Thing You Know
“To Break in a Glove” – Dear Evan Hansen
Basses
“Adrian” – Rocky
“Mrs. Remington” – The Story of My Life
“Night Will Come” – Groundhog Day
“Something About Her” – Pretty Woman
“The Great Comet of 1812” – The Great Comet
Contras
“It Means Beautiful” – Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
“Playing Nancy” – Groundhog Day
“There Was John” – Tootsie
“Thin Air” – Amélie
“When I Go” – We Aren’t Kids Anymore
Psst… Here’s where you can find out your vocal type!
Mezzo-Sopranos
“Everything Changes” – Waitress
“I Don’t Need Your Love” – Six
“No One Else” – The Great Comet
“On and On and On” – We Aren’t Kids Anymore
“Remember This” – The Mad Ones
Sopranos
“How Will I Know?” – Death Takes a Holiday
“I Still Believe” – Amazing Grace
“Once Upon Another Time” – Love Never Dies
“Pink” – War Paint
“Tuesdays, Thursdays” – Far from Heaven
Tenors
“I Never Knew” – Far from Heaven
“Whatever” – It Shoulda Been You
“Isn’t That Enough?” – Honeymoon in Vegas
“Only You, Lonely You” – Bad Cinderella
“The Wall in My Head” – Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Trebles/Kids
“Now I See” – Junie B. Jones
“One Pal” – Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical
“Quiet” – Matilda
“Ring of Keys” – Fun Home
“Time to Play” – School of Rock
Want more songs? Check out these DIY Rep Books for EVERY vocal type!
Which of these contemporary audition songs did you choose?
And what are your favorite modern musical theatre songs at the moment? Feel free to share in the comments below!
Author: Stacy Karyn
Stacy Karyn is the founder of Theatre Trip, author of The Thespian’s Bucket List, and creator of The Cast Album List. She holds a BA in theatre, a TESOL drama certificate, and has worked and interned with Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.