by Kara
(USA)
I have a 9 year old, and we need a piece for pageant. She has a great range for a young child that we want to show off, she prefers to sing classical, but has the most amazing stage presence in upbeat songs - Anyway I need help!
She loves Broadway music in all forms. She prefers these three songs, but I am finding problems with all:
Cry from Princess and the Pea... we are having a hard time finding- she found it on Youtube and loved it.
Maybe this time-(Cabaret)-she will sing it but doesn't love it.
She loves Life of the Party from Wild Party and performs this amazing although it's not age appropriate for public. Is there a song like this that would be age appropriate that she might love like this one?
Kara
Dana:
Hi Kara,
Okay, I'm going to give you some suggestions for fun songs, and the first three I can think of probably aren't suitable for a 9-year-old!
"I Cain't Say No," from Oklahoma. "Honeybun" from South Pacific is really fun and singable, but again, the subject matter is a bit old for a little girl, though she could probably get away with it. "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" is also, perhaps, too old.
But "I Enjoy Being a Girl" is a terrific high-energy song and doesn't get more risque than "I flip when a fellow sends me flowers."
What about "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" from My Fair Lady, the song Eliza Dolittle sings, or "Getting to Know You" from The King and I? "Matchmaker" from Fiddler on the Roof is a favorite of young girls.
In a more unusual vein is a song from The Fantasticks called "Much More". ("I'd like to swim in a deep blue sea where the water is icy cold...")
How about "I've Got the Sun in the Morning" from Annie Get Your Gun? It has a real driving rhythm. "Singing in the Rain" is nice, but pretty easy and too repetitious, I think, unless you sing AND dance like Gene Kelly did.
"Never Smile at a Crocodile" from Peter Pan is pretty cute -- several of my younger students have really liked it.
I also could not find "Cry" from Princess and the Pea -- not on Youtube or Sheetmusicplus.com. But "Once Upon a Mattress" (a musical version of Princess and the Pea) has a song called "Shy"... surely that is the song your daughter heard. It's a big, bouncy song. That music is available in Great Songs from Musicals for Teens, Young Women's Edition.
In fact, this is a great book! I just realized how many of the songs I recommended are actually in this book:
Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend
Honey Bun
I Enjoy Being a Girl
I Got the Sun in the Morning
Much More
Shy
And one last funny song that requires an extrovert to sing it (or an actress, anyway): "Popular," from the Broadway musical "Wicked." It's very fun and sassy, but requires excellent diction so the laugh lines aren't lost.
Good luck!
Dana
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