Student Blog: Why I’m Done Worrying about 'Overdone' Songs

I sing a lot of “overdone” material. And recently, I’ve come to realize something that I should have a long time ago: I don’t care.

The truth is, most songs I’m drawn to are labeled “overdone” because they’ve been made famous by big Broadway stars or come from well-known musicals. But we have to ask ourselves, is that part of what makes them so special? 

These songs became “overdone” because they connected with large groups of people (the typical theatre goer and performer). They tell stories about resilience and determination, all things that people need to hear. And if I connect with that story too, why should I silence that part of myself just because someone else already sang it so effortlessly?

For decades, singers have been walking into their audition rooms, handing their sheet music to the accompanist, singing their 8-16 bar cuts, and going on with their day. And of course, even back then, people whispered about what might have been “too popular” or “too common.” But most of that talk was just noise industry gossip.

Now, in the era of social media, that “industry gossip” has turned into pressure. There’s this unbreakable mold performers feel they need to fit such as, how we’re supposed to sound, what songs we’re “allowed” to sing, and how to present ourselves so we seem original enough but not too different. And with that mold come almost impossible expectations we place on ourselves. To sing a song the correct way or to outshine the versions we’ve heard to make it fresh and your own. 

Here’s my thought: if you love the song, if it speaks to you, and it makes you feel something… Sing it.

You don’t have to prove that you’re different. You just have to be honest. Because the truth is, no matter how many people have sung that same piece, no one else has lived your story, your life, your truth. And that alone makes your version new.