Top 10 Most Emotional Singing Performances in Movies
These performances turned the silver screen into a Broadway stage. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most stirring and powerful moments where movie characters break into song.
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00:00 [Music]
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most stirring and powerful
00:11 moments where movie characters break into song. We're sticking to songs that are sung in the
00:16 universe of the film, so beware of potential spoilers ahead.
00:20 [Music]
00:29 Number 10. I Dreamed a Dream. Les Miserables.
00:32 The cast of this epic Broadway adaptation was tasked with singing live on set instead
00:36 of lip-syncing to a backing track.
00:38 "At the end of the day, there should be nothing but trouble.
00:41 And I struggle for all, and I struggle for one."
00:44 It's a major risk, but it pays off in Oscar winner Anne Hathaway's big number.
00:49 Playing the impoverished and hopeless Fonteyn,
00:52 Hathaway makes one of Broadway's most famous ballads her own.
00:55 "I dreamed that love would never die. I dreamed that God would be forgiving."
01:07 She doesn't just play the grief and hopelessness of the song.
01:10 She's also angry at the way her life has turned out, and the camera lingers on all of it.
01:15 The result is a riveting experience that brings us to our knees.
01:20 [Music]
01:31 Number 9. This Is Me. The Greatest Showman.
01:34 The Hugh Jackman-led P.T. Barnum musical made a lot of money,
01:38 and has won over many audiences.
01:40 Its soundtrack, and this tune in particular, is a major reason why.
01:44 [Music]
01:54 This Is Me is a forward-driving, pop chart-friendly theme of empowerment and self-love
01:59 led by Keala Settle, who plays Barnum's bearded lady.
02:03 The soaring choir and overwhelming percussion moves us,
02:06 while Settle's voice beautifully rises over it all to cut right to the song's core.
02:10 [Music]
02:21 When she sings, she believes it, and so do we.
02:24 In a lot of ways, This Is Me captures the story's heart, and we have Settle to thank for that.
02:29 [Music]
02:36 Number 8. I Will Always Love You. The Bodyguard.
02:39 The private plane is pulling away.
02:41 [Music]
02:54 Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner's characters have said their goodbyes.
02:57 Their romance will just be a memory.
02:59 Then, pop star Rachel Marans stops the aircraft,
03:03 rushing to give her loyal bodyguard one final embrace.
03:06 Throughout, Whitney's "I Will Always Love You" begins playing.
03:09 [Music]
03:22 The scene shifts, and we see the star performing the number like the powerhouse she is.
03:26 Her take on the Dolly Parton song would have been amazing as just a single,
03:30 yet being able to see her embody it in character amps up the stakes,
03:34 further cementing it in our memory.
03:36 [Music]
03:43 Bittersweet and devastating, the rendition will forever be part of movie history.
03:48 Number 7. The Edge of Night. The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King.
03:53 The epic scope and spectacle of Peter Jackson's trilogy is definitely moving,
03:58 but few moments could make a grown nerd cry like The Edge of Night.
04:01 [Music]
04:10 Famed for their many battle scenes,
04:12 The Lord of the Rings movies never fail to deliver on drama, action, and violence.
04:18 But in the third film, The Return of the King,
04:20 Jackson slows things down to let us take in the depressing reality of war.
04:24 The hobbit Pippin solemnly sings The Edge of Night,
04:27 while the cruel and callous Denethor gorges himself.
04:30 [Music]
04:39 Actor Billy Boyd's voice then echoes as Denethor's son,
04:42 Faramir, and his men are needlessly brutalized in battle.
04:46 It is one of the trilogy's most measured, graceful, and devastating moments.
04:50 [Music]
05:14 Number 6. Edelweiss - The Sound of Music.
05:17 Faced with either joining the Nazi party or having to leave their homeland of Austria,
05:21 the von Trapps tug at our heartstrings by performing Edelweiss at a festival.
05:25 [Music]
05:32 Realizing this may be the last time he'll see his home,
05:35 Captain von Trapp begins to falter,
05:37 only to be helped by Maria, his children, and the audience.
05:41 The gentle lullaby of a song becomes a powerful note of defiance against a fascist tide.
05:46 [Music]
05:52 The moment is extra poignant since the tune also helped unify the family earlier in the story.
05:57 It may not be actor Christopher Plummer's singing voice we hear,
06:01 but he and playback singer Bill Lee give us the movie's most beautiful moment.
06:05 [Music]
06:18 Number 5. Tiny Dancer - Almost Famous.
06:21 [Music]
06:32 Following an aspiring music writer as he joins rock band Stillwater on tour,
06:36 Almost Famous is a story of excess and camaraderie.
06:39 Perhaps its most famous scene occurs when everyone is on the bus,
06:43 not speaking a word to one another.
06:45 But Elton John's Tiny Dancer is playing on the radio,
06:48 and soon, that shifts the entire dynamic.
06:51 [Music]
07:02 The tune breaks the ice as each individual begins singing along.
07:05 Music allows them all to reconnect and bond over the pure joy that music provides.
07:10 [Music]
07:18 It's hard to stay composed as we watch the exuberant cathartic display.
07:22 Number 4. Let It Be - Across The Universe.
07:26 [Music]
07:32 Two storylines, one about the Vietnam War and one about the 1967 Detroit riots,
07:37 converge in this 2007 Beatles jukebox musical.
07:40 The funerals of two young people are juxtaposed while Carol Woods and Timothy T. Mitchum
07:45 sing a gospel rendition of Let It Be.
07:47 [Music]
07:55 The scene takes what is already one of the Beatles' most stirring and spiritual songs,
07:59 and launches it into the stratosphere.
08:02 It's packed with power and raw emotion.
08:04 Woods and Mitchum make brief appearances,
08:06 but their choir-backed duet is what you'll be thinking about long after the credits roll.
08:11 [Music]
08:20 Number 3. My Man - Funny Girl.
08:23 In this 1968 classic, Barbara Streisand once again assumes the role she played
08:28 on Broadway to glorious effect.
08:30 "Oh my man, I love him so. He'll never know."
08:37 The climax finds entertainer Fanny Bryce abandoned by the man she loves,
08:41 whose gambling problem and shady business dealings have landed him in prison.
08:44 Though she sticks by him, they part upon his return.
08:47 But that doesn't change how she feels.
08:50 My Man is a classic torch song.
08:52 "For whatever my man is, I am his forever more."
09:03 Bryce is on stage, but the way the scene is filmed makes us forget there are people watching her.
09:08 It's just her, the darkness, and us.
09:11 Of course, Streisand nails Bryce's devotion in the face of all the reasons she should forget him,
09:16 gutting us in the process.
09:18 "All my life is just despair, but I don't care."
09:24 It's no wonder she got the Oscar.
09:26 Number 2. And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going - Dreamgirls.
09:30 "And I am telling you, I'm not going."
09:39 Broadway fans waited over 20 years to see Dreamgirls come to the silver screen,
09:43 but it was worth it.
09:44 The moment Effie White is foisted out of that girl group she helped start,
09:48 abandoned by her friends and betrayed by her lover, is particularly poignant.
09:53 "And I'm waking up tomorrow morning and finding that there's nobody there."
10:01 When Jennifer Hudson launches into the big number,
10:04 she brings it to life in a way that gives us major goosebumps.
10:07 Every word is felt, every note is magnetic, and every minute is absolute magic.
10:13 "And I'm telling you, I'm not going."
10:25 The pure emotion permeating Hudson's moment is impossible to ignore,
10:30 and never fails to get the tears flowing.
10:32 Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
10:36 Moon River - Breakfast at Tiffany's.
10:38 Audrey Hepburn's wispy voice and guitar strumming make an unforgettable movie moment.
10:43 "You heartbreaker, wherever you're going, I'm going your way."
10:55 La Marseillaise - Casablanca.
10:58 Rick Blaine's customers defy the German officers by singing the French national anthem.
11:02 [Singing]
11:20 Wise Up - Magnolia.
11:21 A group of struggling people sing along to this Amy Mann song.
11:25 [Singing]
11:37 Llorendo - Mulholland Drive.
11:39 A haunting and surreal performance.
11:41 [Singing]
11:55 Falling Slowly - Once.
11:57 Two musicians fall in love over a song.
12:00 [Singing]
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12:28 Number 1 - Over the Rainbow - The Wizard of Oz.
12:31 [Singing]
12:43 Judy Garland had a powerful voice, but the real power came in her ability to channel pure emotion through it,
12:49 like she did in Meet Me in St. Louis.
12:51 Her singing in The Wizard of Oz is the best example of this phenomenon.
12:55 Dorothy Gale is just a girl who dreams of getting away from her family's farm,
12:59 and Over the Rainbow is her wondering where she belongs.
13:02 [Singing]
13:13 As Garland looks to the sky,
13:15 she sings what has since become one of Hollywood's most touching and elegant songs.
13:19 Her interpretation is beyond reproach,
13:22 with her character's innocence and hopefulness still resonating with people all over the world.
13:27 [Singing]
13:37 Which of these performances had you clutching your tissues?
13:40 Tell us in the comments.
13:42 [Singing]
13:49 Do you agree with our picks?
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13:57 [Music]