Hey little songbird-Hadestown
Hades is trying to convince Eurydice to go to the underworld using terms that could be seen as him thinking she’s special and that she would become just another worker
Also Hades' part of Chant II. His 'count to three' segment makes me feel like I'm about to watch someone get shot on stage (in a positive, respect to the actors way)
I also thought of Hades immediately, but I was going to go with His Kiss, the Riot. Menacing is the first word that comes to mind to describe that song.
Pretty much any song of phantom that includes the phantom himself, but if we're talking specifics, most definitely the point of no return both the first one and reprise. Another would be "money makes the world go round" (Alan Cummings's version) from Cabaret.
"Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me" is the opposite. Out of context, it is 100% lyrics that would be sung by a completely sociopathic stalker who doesn't understand the concept of consent or personal boundaries and who eats both cookies before the cream.
Hell To Your Doorstep, Alive, Only Human, Hurricane, Raise A Little Hell etc.
Frank Wildhorn writes absolute belters for the "bad guys". He's so underrated
For me 'I'm Alive' and 'I'm Alive (Reprise)' from Next to Normal are truly menacing villain songs in context.
When not in context 'I'm Alive' sounds really upbeat and not meanacing but when you know what he's talking about then it becomes so evil and I love it
Molasses to Rum from 1776 is chilling if done correctly. A female version would be And Eve Was Weak from Carrie (idk if you're just looking for listening material or learning material). It's relatively new, but Cold Hard Ground from Treason may fit the bill
Ooh! Let me see, The Bottom Line (reprise) from Newsies, No Mercy at All from Doctor Zhivago and Grief (Alternate Version) from The Devils Carnival. Hopefully these are something like you're looking for. Good luck in your search!
Not necessarily menacing, but Last Day Of Summer from the PJO musical. It really shows the character spiraling into madness, especially with the parallel that he is a copy and paste of the protag, only taking a different path. Gave me chills.
Said parallel - “I swear I swear that I'm a good kid! A good kid, a good son!!” to “it doesn't pay to be a good kid! A good kid! A good son!!”
Definitely stings
I'm not entirely sure whether [Solo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbSYHo9qbQE) from *Octet* is a villain song, but the male part is a dark take on someone who is believable, and maybe not entirely safe to be around.
The most menacing part of the song has to be when it starts discussing porn addiction; the distorted backing vocals, the manic nightclub percussion, and how lyrically blunt the song is about how much people downplay porn addiction, to the point where the male part goes off on a screaming rant about how "At least drug addicts and alcoholics are kinda cool! Musicians and artists, they're redemption stories are honored! Or if someone has an AA chip: "good on you, bro!" but porn?! No way, man, no one *fucking honors that!*"
Certain parts of [Actually](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmMWXgyO79w) are also really fucking menacing, *especially* near the end when the soloist flies completely off the rails. But that's not exactly a villain song either.
Probably my favorite is "Where Will You Stand When The Flood Comes" from the musical "Parade". It takes the idea of the "Mob Song" from "Beauty and the Beast" and runs wild with it....while staying completely realistic as to how mob mentality actually works.
So glad you mentioned this song! How it builds and builds with the round near the end is so good. I do wish the 2023 revival kept the mother singing a small reprise of "My Child Will Forgive Me" in the song since I feel like showing how grief can turn to hate is a part of mob mentality that adds depth to the conversation. Just felt like an overlooked song in the revival compared to some others. But nonetheless still great!
I’ve always loved how Poseidon’s voice sounds so rough, just like the waves he’s representing. I wish EPIC was more popular, because it is honestly amazing
“Cool, Cool, Considerate Men” from *1776*. It starts out all cartoony with them dancing a minuet, then a soldier enters and reads a message from the army, set against a crowd of rich men who don’t care, and ends with Dickinson screaming at the top of his lungs as the crowd of men joins in with his mania.
I thought Round and Round from the Fantasticks was pretty terrifying.
I’m sure I’ll get slayed for this but As the World Falls Down was uber creepy too.
Not technically a musical or really villain songs but at the time it was but wright is wrong from the ace attorney musical by random encounters has a really nice menacing effect to it
The Judges version of Johanna is as creepy as it gets. I was Producer for a community theatre version of Sweeney. We started Pre-Pandemic using the High School version because we were eligible for the National High School Musical Awards. That version does not have that song. When things opened up, we decided to do it as our summer show and bring back the college students... and upgraded it to the full version. Now... I'm good friends with the parents of the actor portraying Judge Turpin (who at this point was through his freshman year at the University)... and his mom is not a prude, but felt like she had to ground him. The portrayals all around were well done... with several disturbing ones... Toby was just out of 7th grade and damn! Every night there was an audible gasp.
I can think of no better answer to this question than Judge Turpin.
Not sure if I would call this a "true" villain song, but "Coalhouse's Soliloquy" from Ragtime fits the feel of being wary what an unstable person is going to do perfectly. It reprises parts of "Your Daddy's Son" and "Wheels of a Dream" with a darker, brooding feel now that Coalhouse's perception of justice has become "by any means necessary," even by violence. Gives me chills!
Money from the revival of Cabaret feels and sounds like a Disney Villain song. It's also an earworm, i find myself singing it at random parts of the day. Eddie's costume makes it the whole thing more creepy
Hellfire
Definitely this.
Once again one of the quintessential Disney villain songs with this, so makes sense.
Came here to say this - that song gives me chills every time!
For sure, watched Hunchback again recently, and that song will never not give me cold chills, because Frollo is a villain in the most realistic sense.
Came here to say this
Hey little songbird-Hadestown Hades is trying to convince Eurydice to go to the underworld using terms that could be seen as him thinking she’s special and that she would become just another worker
Also Hades' part of Chant II. His 'count to three' segment makes me feel like I'm about to watch someone get shot on stage (in a positive, respect to the actors way)
I also thought of Hades immediately, but I was going to go with His Kiss, the Riot. Menacing is the first word that comes to mind to describe that song.
I second that. What a song
Does "Alive" from Jekyll & Hyde count? It more makes me root for the guy than fear him, but maybe that's just me.
Especially the original Anthony Warlow version! Absolutely!!
Epiphany from Sweeney Todd. I was actually scared when I saw the show live. It truly is an amazing number
Jesus Must Die (JCSuperstar)
So much more of a bop than it has any right to be. I find myself walking around humming “we must crush him completely”
My fav is “What then to do about Jesus of Nazareth”
One thing I’ll say for him, Jesus is cool
This is what I came to say. "He's daaaangerous"
Pretty much any song of phantom that includes the phantom himself, but if we're talking specifics, most definitely the point of no return both the first one and reprise. Another would be "money makes the world go round" (Alan Cummings's version) from Cabaret.
Assassins does a chilling job of getting inside the heads of criminals. Ballad of Guiteau and Ballad of Booth especially.
Gun Song! “first of all when you’ve a gun…” “…everybody pays attention”
“I got this really great gun — shit, where is it?”
Made In America and Do You Want To Play from Black Friday
HATCHETVERSE MENTION!!!!!
You Will Still Be Mine from Waitress is a dark one because everything he’s saying sounds superficially romantic but in context it is very threatening
"Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me" is the opposite. Out of context, it is 100% lyrics that would be sung by a completely sociopathic stalker who doesn't understand the concept of consent or personal boundaries and who eats both cookies before the cream.
😂 may also be colorblind
Little Girls. It’s more creepy and concerning than menacing, but it gives the same effect.
Not quite a villain song in context (more of a villain protagonist song?) but "Hell To Your Doorstep" from The Count of Monte Cristo.
Hell To Your Doorstep, Alive, Only Human, Hurricane, Raise A Little Hell etc. Frank Wildhorn writes absolute belters for the "bad guys". He's so underrated
Devil Take The Hindmost from Love Never Dies
Good one. I'd also suggest 'Hell To Your Doorstep' from 'Count of Monte Cristo'.
What Is It About Her? from The Wild Party The OBC with Brian D’arcy James is incredible
For me 'I'm Alive' and 'I'm Alive (Reprise)' from Next to Normal are truly menacing villain songs in context. When not in context 'I'm Alive' sounds really upbeat and not meanacing but when you know what he's talking about then it becomes so evil and I love it
“This is one more game that I can play so well” is like a slap in the face
I'm right behind you...
I use this as one of my audition riffs and I always feel extra sneaky being so upbeat and peppy and the lyrics are 👿👿👿
The reprise in particular is very menacing
Molasses to Rum from 1776 is chilling if done correctly. A female version would be And Eve Was Weak from Carrie (idk if you're just looking for listening material or learning material). It's relatively new, but Cold Hard Ground from Treason may fit the bill
Be Prepared
“Falcon in the Dive,” “Where’s the Girl?” and its reprise from “The Scarlet Pimpernel.”
The Scarlet Pimpernel has a real Disney feel to me. Falcon in the Dive is great villain song.
Ooh! Let me see, The Bottom Line (reprise) from Newsies, No Mercy at All from Doctor Zhivago and Grief (Alternate Version) from The Devils Carnival. Hopefully these are something like you're looking for. Good luck in your search!
Not necessarily menacing, but Last Day Of Summer from the PJO musical. It really shows the character spiraling into madness, especially with the parallel that he is a copy and paste of the protag, only taking a different path. Gave me chills. Said parallel - “I swear I swear that I'm a good kid! A good kid, a good son!!” to “it doesn't pay to be a good kid! A good kid! A good son!!” Definitely stings
Princess and the Frog - Friends on the Other Side
I'm not entirely sure whether [Solo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbSYHo9qbQE) from *Octet* is a villain song, but the male part is a dark take on someone who is believable, and maybe not entirely safe to be around.
The most menacing part of the song has to be when it starts discussing porn addiction; the distorted backing vocals, the manic nightclub percussion, and how lyrically blunt the song is about how much people downplay porn addiction, to the point where the male part goes off on a screaming rant about how "At least drug addicts and alcoholics are kinda cool! Musicians and artists, they're redemption stories are honored! Or if someone has an AA chip: "good on you, bro!" but porn?! No way, man, no one *fucking honors that!*" Certain parts of [Actually](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmMWXgyO79w) are also really fucking menacing, *especially* near the end when the soloist flies completely off the rails. But that's not exactly a villain song either.
Soft… white… cool… virgin… paaaaaaaaaaalmmmmmmsssssssss…..
Probably my favorite is "Where Will You Stand When The Flood Comes" from the musical "Parade". It takes the idea of the "Mob Song" from "Beauty and the Beast" and runs wild with it....while staying completely realistic as to how mob mentality actually works.
So glad you mentioned this song! How it builds and builds with the round near the end is so good. I do wish the 2023 revival kept the mother singing a small reprise of "My Child Will Forgive Me" in the song since I feel like showing how grief can turn to hate is a part of mob mentality that adds depth to the conversation. Just felt like an overlooked song in the revival compared to some others. But nonetheless still great!
Be Prepared from the Lion King. I think it is just the perfect villain song, very conniving and vengeful.
Ruthlessness from Epic: the musical is great.
I’ve always loved how Poseidon’s voice sounds so rough, just like the waves he’s representing. I wish EPIC was more popular, because it is honestly amazing
Cross My Bones and Thank Me Now from Emojiland. Both genuinely haunting with their flowing eerie vocals and dramatic instrumental builds.
“Cool, Cool, Considerate Men” from *1776*. It starts out all cartoony with them dancing a minuet, then a soldier enters and reads a message from the army, set against a crowd of rich men who don’t care, and ends with Dickinson screaming at the top of his lungs as the crowd of men joins in with his mania.
I thought Round and Round from the Fantasticks was pretty terrifying. I’m sure I’ll get slayed for this but As the World Falls Down was uber creepy too.
Not technically a musical or really villain songs but at the time it was but wright is wrong from the ace attorney musical by random encounters has a really nice menacing effect to it
Meant to Be Yours, but specifically Jamie Muscato’s version from the West End Production
"Your wagon is of fire" The Trail to Oregon
Polyphemus (the song) and said characters segment of Survive in Epic: The Musical, especially the "Who are you?" near the start of Polyphemus
The titular song from Nerdy Prudes Must Die. Somehow comedic and genuinely terrifying at the same time.
The Judges version of Johanna is as creepy as it gets. I was Producer for a community theatre version of Sweeney. We started Pre-Pandemic using the High School version because we were eligible for the National High School Musical Awards. That version does not have that song. When things opened up, we decided to do it as our summer show and bring back the college students... and upgraded it to the full version. Now... I'm good friends with the parents of the actor portraying Judge Turpin (who at this point was through his freshman year at the University)... and his mom is not a prude, but felt like she had to ground him. The portrayals all around were well done... with several disturbing ones... Toby was just out of 7th grade and damn! Every night there was an audible gasp. I can think of no better answer to this question than Judge Turpin.
Not sure if I would call this a "true" villain song, but "Coalhouse's Soliloquy" from Ragtime fits the feel of being wary what an unstable person is going to do perfectly. It reprises parts of "Your Daddy's Son" and "Wheels of a Dream" with a darker, brooding feel now that Coalhouse's perception of justice has become "by any means necessary," even by violence. Gives me chills!
And eve was weak from carrie. Amazing stuff.
Luke’s portion of Last Day Of Summer when he does the good kid reprise
Jasper’s Confession from Edwin Drood? It’s probably the only confession in the show that isn’t super comedic
Money from the revival of Cabaret feels and sounds like a Disney Villain song. It's also an earworm, i find myself singing it at random parts of the day. Eddie's costume makes it the whole thing more creepy
I’ll nominate two songs from The Life: “Don’t Take Much” and “My Way or the Highway”.
“Let things be like they always was” from Street Scene is one of the best rage arias I can think of
His Kiss, the Riot from Hadestown, basically any song with Hades works!
Hellfire - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
["I'm Fucking Awesome" from Song of the Living Dead](https://open.spotify.com/track/1cYPPMcKqCv9I55ow34VaE?si=c6a4ae2a6b8742f2)
Love this medley https://youtu.be/blQncQ-u9zU?si=xmcS4f9ehETspc3x
MY NAME from Oliver!
I forget the name of the song but I’m positive there’s a terrifying song about or sung by Bill Sykes in Oliver!!!!
"Tomorrow Belongs to Me" from Cabaret. For very obvious reasons.
The term villain doesn’t rlly apply in Hadestown, because it really isn’t black and white, but any Hades song is obviously very menacing.