Hey guys, resident cartoon junkie Brandon Jones here ready to RANK some songs! Hazbin Hotel Season 1 has concluded on Amazon Prime, reportedly achieving record streaming numbers for the platform. However, verifying these records entails numerous caveats and seems impossible without a literal “detective board” of connecting red threads. Nonetheless, disregarding the streaming platform’s secrecy, it’s safe to say that this musical journey into Hell has been a smash hit, given the engagement and reaction to the weekly dropped episodes.
With the original pilot amassing 98 million views on YouTube, it comes as no surprise that the hype for this series was real. When you combine that with literal Broadway stars in your voice cast, it’s easy to see why the music for this series is lighting up Spotify and YouTube. So without any further ado, let’s rank all 16 songs from Hazbin Hotel!
[WARNING SPOILERS FOR HAZBIN HOTEL SEASON 1]
16. More Than Anything (Reprise)
This one is at the bottom because it might be the most disappointing of the series. Charlie and Vaggie have never had a duet throughout the season, despite being the show’s main couple. So the fact that they only get about a minute-long reprise of a much better version is pretty lame. Thus, I’ve ranked this one all the way back at 16 for not allowing Stephanie Beatriz and Erika Henningsen to have a full love ballad.
15. Welcome to Heaven
This one gets one slot higher than Reprise simply for being a full song. There’s not much here to really sink your teeth into as an audience member. It’s an uplifting beat but there’s not much in the way of humor or story and Heaven is lacking a cool factor like Hell does in Medrano’s signature style.
14. Starts With Sorry
The only other song that I don’t have much to say about. It’s short and to the point as it acts as Pentious’ first steps into redemption. And the show’s final episode elevates its significance a little. But with Alex Brightman not being able to really hit his range while doing his Pentious voice, this one lacks as a true duet.
13. Ready For This
The music here is very nice, and the theming with the story works, but I would honestly call this one a bit of a miss in terms of lyrics and structure. Something about the medley-like style of the song doesn’t mesh well as it progresses. While the lyrics don’t feel like they quite fit the verses. It feels like some of the words were CRAMMED into the tune, resulting in something a little clunky here and there. This makes it stand out in the wrong ways for me. So it gets the unlucky thirteen slot.
12. Happy Day in Hell
Okay, from here on, I think everything is musically great, and these spots just come down to personal taste. I believe this song is probably the most important one thematically as it sets us up for Charlie’s dream, her attitude toward others, as well as the overwhelming social change she has to fight for with her blinding optimism. Hell is a terrible place, but to Charlie, it’s worth helping. The people are worth saving. The idea of starting our musical journey here is a smart one because it exemplifies everything we’re about to see in the season. That said, for me, these openers rarely hit the home run like later entries tend to do, and “Happy Day in Hell” is no different.
11. Out For Love
This one crept its way up the list out of nowhere. I certainly wasn’t put off by anything here at first; it just seemed that nothing really grabbed me apart from the Spanish musical influence. That said, the more I listened to the soundtrack, the more this one kept sticking in my head. I was singing this one more than others because it’s super catchy. A lovely earworm with Daphne Rubin-Vega belting out the chorus with stunning purpose.
10. Loser Baby
You know, it says something about your OST if the Keith David song is this far down my list. But that is more telling of the songs to come than of “Loser Baby” itself. A wonderfully fun twist on the “Buddy Musical Dance Number” as Husk and Angel relent on the fact that they are in hell, being tormented and have little-to-no freedom from the demons that hold their contracts. But if they stick together, maybe they can make something decent out of their situation. It’s a dark concept with a wholesome uplifting note, exemplifying that hope is something you give yourself in times of despair. Silver linings all the way with this number!
9. Whatever It Takes
The longest song that Stephanie Beatriz gets to perform the whole season, and it’s still only HALF a performance. That said, it’s a wonderful performance along with Daphne Rubin-Vega. They tie these two characters together quite well throughout the season, so much so that I actually surmised they had more of a connection than would later be revealed. Still, their vocals paralleling their desire to protect the ones they love is a great starter for the first scene in which they would interact. Good foreshadowing overall.
8. Hell’s Greatest Dad
We kick off the top half of the list with Lucifer’s first attempt to woo his daughter back into his life by performing his Big Shot Dad routine. Jeremy Jordan really kills his vocal performance as well as his timing with comedy. The barbs and insults thrown out by Lucifer and Alastor make this one a real pleasure to listen to again and again. Not to mention, it’s a brilliant way to introduce a completely new, self-centered character.
7. You Didn’t Know
There’s so much going on in this song in the best possible way. It starts off slow and controlled but erupts into 3 different styles of back and forth singing. It mimics a courtroom drama, quickly reaching a boiling point and spilling over. It’s the musical equivalent of the “RABBLE RABBLE” scenes from South Park but with much more purpose and precision. The way the music ramps up and changes tempos depending on who is making their arguments is great to hear. Not to mention, we go through quite a bit of plot in this scene with little breath to take. It might be a little quick for some, but for me, I think it hits the courtroom tone perfectly.
6. Hell Is Forever
Adam and Lute may be the top bad guys in this season and complete scumbags. But their back-up band ROCKS! Alex Brightman kills his performance as Adam, and the Rock Ballad sounds whenever these two get going fit perfectly. It’s decidedly different from any of the Hell residents as well as anyone else in Heaven. A great mix of what I can only call Holy Rock and Roll. Hell may be forever… but this song rules!
5. Poison
So this one might be a little higher up on my list than most people’s, but believe it or not, this is actually the highest it has been on this list and just kept creeping up from WAY down. When I first heard this song, I thought it was a lesser version of “ADDICT” from the show’s original pilot years. I also felt the visuals dragged it down a little bit as it’s pretty hardcore and hard to separate the wonderful vocals from the brutal things happening on screen. After listening to the song many times, I have come to the conclusion that this was all bunk. The song is superior to “ADDICT” in every way and hits the theme of abuse right in the audience’s face. It’s a great song that deserves to be in the top five.
4. Finale
The final song of the show, and man, is it a good one. Starting off with a somber tone with Charlie, melding into a comforting ballad from her father, and then to all of her friends encouraging HER in the same way she has been doing for them. I can’t help but smile as the song goes from sad to uplifting and inspiring. The culmination of Charlie’s efforts finally lifting her up from her lowest point and helping her to rebuild what she started. Punctuated by a set up for what’s to come with the show’s villains. The Vee’s vying for power and Alastor, having almost died, is more desperate to break his contract and gain his freedom. A perfect wrap-up for the season.
3. Respectless
Dueling duets can be a lot of fun, and this one takes it up a notch with two female vocalists with completely different styles. The majestic Spanish sounds contrasting with Velvets’ Pop Rock attitude give a perfect sense of the divide between the old and new overlords in hell. The Vee’s are upstarts, and the Overlords are set in their ways. That can’t be contained for much longer, and it comes to “a head” in this song (forgive the pun). But what “Respectless” does expertly is introduce a plot point into the show that gives the audience a lot of intrigue. And it comes as a genuine surprise without resulting from nowhere. I can say this song might be where I was really hooked into the plot outside the hotel and looking forward to revelations down the line.
2. Stayed Gone
“Stayed Gone” is probably the one I flipped on the most. For much of the creation of this list, this song was at the Number 1 spot several times. I love villain songs, and I love dueling songs. So a “Dueling Villain” song was a shoe-in to make it high on my list. The charisma from Christian Borle as Vox solidified the spot as he was able to exude unearned confidence and nervous bravado toward his hated rival. Even when he devolved into outright spitting venom at Alastor, he kept the melody running. And of course, I can’t go without mentioning Amir Talai’s ability to have fun and be terrifying at the same time. The end monologue by Alastor is something special as it signifies the danger that lurks beneath this roaring 20’s Radio Demon. Top-tier work all around. But it doesn’t quite make the top spot.
1. More Than Anything
This one might be a little too obvious for many of you, considering it’s the most Disney-esque song on the whole soundtrack, but the performance by Jeremy Jordan sends this one way over the top. But it doesn’t just shine solely on his merits. Erika Henningsen shows more of her range here than I’d argue in any other song in the series. Take those two playing off each other, and add in a perfect narrative of a father and daughter reconnecting over their dreams and aspirations—it’s magical. Lucifer regaining his love and hope for his own vision by seeing how he once inspired Charlie to fight so fervently for her dreams is wonderful poetry, and this song sums it up beautifully.
For more Hazbin Hotel content check out our TWO PART episode on the Animation Destination Podcast