Greys Anatomy Musical Episode Songs & Videos

Grey's Anatomy Musical Episode Songs and Videos

Did you watch the Grey's Anatomy musical episode?

What did you think?

Is the O.R. really the right place for this kind of show?

When I first heard that Grey’s Anatomy were doing a ‘musical’ episode, I thought it was a stupid idea. Were they going to perform CPR with a drum and bass backbeat?

Someone’s chest being pumped 2,3,4.

It seemed a strange marriage – heart surgery performed delicately to hip hop, maternity wards ringing with screams and warbling midwives , urgh!

But you know, it worked; well it did for me anyway.

The jury is still out of course, lots of TV critics said it was way too cheesy but for the fans out there – it was either one or the other, so do you say “Cheers!” to Sara Ramirez tour-de-force performance, aided and abetted by quite a few others on set that day or do you say “cheese’ to this type of gimmick?

Did Grey’s Anatomy really need to move in this direction? Shonda Rimes, Grey's Anatomy's dynamic creator thinks that the show needs to be kept fresh and different, did she get it right? It was like Glee in scrubs but we still watched it.

Grey's Anatomy's Multi-Talented Cast

But Grey’s Anatomy’s producers were blessed with an important asset; quite a few of their actors could actually sing.

Sara Ramirez was a revelation, singing the biggest numbers.

A later browse on the internet revealed that she was already a Tony winner for ‘Spamalot’ on Broadway, a role she eventually left for the Grey’s Anatomy role.

Indeed, ABC liked her so much, they allowed her to choose the pick of their shows and she chose Grey’s Anatomy because she watched it herself.

Cast Members Who Joined the Fun

Other actors to show their vocal skills were Kevin McKidd, Chyler Leigh and Chandra Wilson. McKidd is also no newbie to singing - he appeared in the 2004 musical DeLovely.

Chyler Leigh had absolutely no singing experience before the musical episode, in fact when asked by Xfininty, this was her response "No. Not at all. But I sing by myself and a lot with my kids. My husband knows I sing and close friends do, but I’ve never done it to any degree like what we did. It was a really, really exciting adventure and we got to work with a really wonderful vocal coach and I just went right into it."

She did a fantastic job but I think she had some help from vocal correction software (you can hear it if you listen carefully).

Chandra Wilson has also had a taste of musical success in her role as Mama Morton in the Broadway production of 'Chicago'. Mama Morton is a big role, requiring someone with great stage presence; reviews suggest she was more than capable of fitting the bill.

So without further ado - here are the musical numbers and some info about the songs and their original artistes.

I include this clip for 'Cosy In The Rocket' although Sara Ramirez doesn't burst into song until near the end. The song is actually the theme tune to Grey's Anatomy but it has a really long lead in and you don't ever get to hear the lyrics.

The band who wrote and song the band are called Psapp (Wikipedia) and the type of music os often referred to 'toytronica'. If you get a change, go to YouTube and hear the full version with lyrics, it's well worth the trouble.

Chasing Cars was a huge hit for Snow Patrol and has become a love anthem for many people from all corners of the world. I'm not sure they quite pull this off with multiple vocalists. It would take a lot to sing this song as well as Gary Lightbody, Snow Patrol's lead-vocalist but I give it 6 out of 10 for effort.

Singing through masks......very cheesy! Eventually all those long notes would leave breath marks on them; very unhygienic - MRSA waiting to happen!

Chyler Leigh has a good voice and this song suited her range perfectly.  She has had the benefit of some vocal editing after the recording but not in too many places.  She carries it off quite well.

Kevin McKidd has a great voice and the director cuts away from this song for most of the time he's singing in the operating room. Even McKidd looks as though he can hardly believe he's singing! This is a good song for his voice - I think he could belt out most songs. He's got good pipes!  The conversation between Meredith, Alex and Cristina makes a good counterpoint to the song.  The episode relied on songs with dialogue punctuating the musical element; it must have been incredibly hard to write because every single word matters.

At last, Chandra Wilson gets her solo with Get Set Go's "Wait" and is ably accompanied in harmonies by Chyler Leigh and Sarah Drew.  Again, the dialogue takes forward the action and acts like a punctuation for the 'score'.  

If this had been a stage musical then "Running On Sunshine" would have been the show-stopper but it's the one song that doesn't belong here.  It's really great to see a lot of the main characters getting a chance to show of their vocal talents but that's as far as it goes.  Poor Kevin McKidd has the added struggle of fitting his kisses in around the lyrics and he only just manages it.  I wonder how many takes his scenes with Sandra Oh took?

This scene is a sort of turning point as we've seen Arizona feel marginalised by the events and the decisions being made by others. Sara Ramirez makes a good fist of this song. If you listen to the KT Tunstall version, you'll hear that it is a tricky song to sing because of some unusual key changes but Ramirez is up to the challenge, ably assisted by Jessica Capshaw. The slight movement of Callie's finger at the end of the scene suddenly gives Arizona hope.

Kate Havnevik's Grace is Sara Ramirez at her best. How I would love to hear her belt out a whole album of ballads. The harmonies on this song (provided by other cast members) are also really good. The gurney being pushed down the corridor has Sara Ramirez atop it, rather than the injured Callie and viewers dare to start to believe she might make it. Sara Ramirez gives this song an emotional poignancy, it is one of the highlights of the episode.

Nobody can better The Fray's version of this. Nuf said. And again, singing behind their masks; it doesn't quite work.

Even Brandi Carlile would have been proud of Sara Ramirez' rendition of 'The Story'. This song isn't easy to sing, it goes up an octave in the chorus and changes from a gentle ballad into a hard assed rock ballad in the space of a verse and a chorus.

Grey's Anatomy's Sara Ramirez has since sung this song live on a number of occasions, most notably on Ellen Degeneres' chat show and I daresay, it will continue to get lots of hits on You Tube, because it's a great song and she treated it as such.

The Grey's Anatomy musical episode may not be the last of its kind but most of us enjoyed it, cheesy or not!