Choosing songs to practice singing is different than choosing songs for a singing audition. You want to practice songs that expand and challenge your vocal technique. Just remember that audition songs should highlight your strengths and accomplishments.
For your singing audition, you need at least one ballad and one up-tempo song. Utilizing songs with stories and range should be a priority in your decision making. Everyone has a preference, some love ballads and others hate them. Those singers that only love up-tempos usually agonize over their choice of the ballad. When you choose a ballad, pick one that you can really relate to and the slow tempo areas will not seem so long. The hardest part of auditioning is choosing the songs to sing. Choosing songs that are really perfect for you and that show off your talents is an art. This artful skill takes time to develop, so keep looking at songs to continue expanding your book of songs.
Variety is the spice of life, and your choice of songs should offer variety. This will allow you to bring forth a well-balanced set of songs. A good choice is to start off with glorious high notes in the first song and then switch gears in the second.
You definitely want songs that will show off your strengths and versatility. Always make sure you search for songs that show off high notes once you’ve finished your belt song. Remember that range is the highest and lowest note that your voice can get to and all the notes in between. The biggest thing that you want to avoid is having every song be the same kind of character and same kind of vocal sound coming out of your mouth, because the auditioner won’t get to see that you’re a skilled actor who can sing and play different kinds of roles and can add variety and spice to your character’s life throughout the show.
At many musical theater auditions, you may be asked to sing a pop song, but to show a variety of song styles, you want to have early musical theater songs, later songs, and pop/rock songs, too. Don’t fall into the trap of confining yourself to singing contemporary songs. That’s a great start, but keep on looking for songs that are written in or are meant to portray an earlier time period.
Once you walk through the door everyone will have their eyes on you, even before you sing. You want to show your body and look great in your outfit. Take into account what the character looks like. It’s good to suggest the character, but not dress exactly like them. Also remember that you may not be cast the first time you audition, but you need to make a good impression. Sometimes directors ask you back to audition again so make sure that you’re outstanding every time you audition and not just on a good day.
So now you know how to choose the right song for a singing audition, you might also be interested in perfecting your singing voice. For a professional singing sound, I strongly recommend the Bristow Voice Method. And if you and your band are still struggling to get auditions and gigs, you’ll definitely want to check out Social Bandmaker.

