The Top 20 were broadcast today (Sun 31 January 2021) within the station’s flagship musical theatre programme Elaine Paige on Sunday (1pm-3pm) during a very special weekend of programming – Radio 2 Celebrates Musicals. Listen to it now on BBC Sounds.
The Top 20 is:
1 One Day More (Les Misérables)
2 Bring Him Home (Les Misérables)
3 Defying Gravity (Wicked)
4 This Is Me (The Greatest Showman)
5 Over The Rainbow (The Wizard Of Oz)
6 Singin’ In The Rain (Singin’ In The Rain)
7 Circle Of Life (The Lion King)
8 Don’t Cry For Me Argentina (Evita)
9 Somewhere (West Side Story)
10 America (West Side Story)
11 Memory (Cats)
12 You Can’t Stop The Beat (Hairspray)
13 Summertime (Porgy and Bess)
14 Alexander Hamilton (Hamilton)
15 All That Jazz (Chicago)
16 Gethsemane (Jesus Christ Superstar)
17 You Will Be Found (Dear Evan Hansen)
18 The Room Where It Happens (Hamilton)
19 Send In The Clowns (A Little Night Music)
20 Seasons Of Love (Rent)
On hearing it had been voted the number song, talking to Elaine Paige, Alfie Boe – who has played the role of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables – said: “My goodness, that’s amazing. Thank you to everyone who voted for Les Mis in this wonderful Radio 2 chart. It’s so special to me to be a part of the show and to everyone who’s ever worked on it. The music will never die, the story is so strong, the characters are unique. Valjean is so close to my heart and it’s an honour to play him in this wonderful piece of music.
“One Day More is probably one of the biggest highlights of the show and it resonates to everybody who sings it on stage as a unified piece of music; and in this present day that we’re living during this pandemic we are unified as a nation, we are unified as a world, we are adapting as a world, we are adapting as human beings, and this song resonates so much with the present situation that we’re in. Hopefully we’ll see theatres back open really soon and we’ll all be able to enjoy live music, live performances once again.”
Elaine Paige says: “I hope my Elaine Paige on Sunday listeners enjoyed today’s countdown. What an honour to present such an iconic list of classic songs. I’m sure, like me, you can’t wait to return to the theatre to see the magic of musicals live once again!”
Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2, says: I’m hugely proud of the commitment that Radio 2 has given to shining a light on musical theatre at this difficult time. Radio 2 Celebrates Musicals has been a joy from start to finish, from Zoe Ball’s singalong on Friday morning, through to today’s chart, and tonight’s Musicals: The Greatest Show from the London Palladium. The Top 20 includes songs from the past 80 years of glorious productions, proving that the appeal of musical theatre remains as strong as ever.”
Listeners took their pick from a long list of 50 classics spanning nine decades, and cast their vote at bbc.co.uk/radio2. The shortlist was created by an esteemed panel of musicals experts, including American musical theatre actor Marisha Wallace, Baz Bamigboye (Daily Mail), Sita McIntosh (What’s On Stage), and Elaine Paige.
On Friday between 5am to 7pm, each song broadcast on Radio 2 was one of the greatest ever songs from musical theatre and film, and a national singalong featuring Mary Poppins (The Definitive Supercalifragilistic 2020 Cast Recording) – Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious; Original London Cast Of The Rocky Horror Show – The Time Warp; and Louis Armstrong – Hello, Dolly! took place on Zoe Ball’s Breakfast Show.
