Even the most mid-plots can have some redeemable qualities when daddy Amazon shills out a bunch of money to serialize them. In the case of the second season of “Hazbin Hotel”, the combined talents of Sam Haft from the Living Tombstone and multiple Tony Award winners are on full display in this season’s soundtrack.
Compiled here are THE objective top 5 songs from the second season – spoilers ahead.
5) Hazbin Guarantee (Trust Us)
The first song in any TV show sets the tone for the rest of the ones to come, and ‘Hazbin Guarantee’ is no different. Erika Henningson reminds fans why she is getting paid to voice the main character for the show. Notable parts of hers include 1) when Charlie starts crashing out mid-singing about Sir Pentious dying and 2) Charlie randomly going into a southern drawl for the call and response section with the sinners at the hotel.
The V’s – minus Valentino, are another highlight. This is the first of many instances of two time Tony winner (and three time loser) Christian Borle flexing his voice acting skills. Even with some lackluster lyrics, such as “get the f- out of my building” repeated TWICE, Borle’s delivery makes it more than bearable. The bridge for the “Trust Us” part of the song is another stand out part of the song, especially with Lilli Cooper’s beautiful vocals for Velvette.
Given all this, the best part is no doubt the ending. Henningson’s amazing delivery of “come on in” interjecting the “Trust Us” portion ends the number on a fun “Wait For It” from Hamilton type vibe. Having the lyric “see how great your after life can be” sung by Charlie and the V’s is also pure writing genius given the contrasting nature of Voxtec and the Hazbin Hotel as businesses.
With all this glaze, you would think this song would be higher, but unfortunately Valentino’s lyrics single-handedly tank the ranking. In lieu of putting the lyrics here, I’ll let you the reader experience the joys of misplaced sexual dialogue for yourself by googling it yourself.
4) Don’t You Forget (Reprise)
Ignoring how incongruous this song is with the rest of Vox’s character and his tendency to crash out at Alastor whenever the chance arises, the song is a great excuse for him to aura farm on the fraudulent, cannibal deer man.
With Borle being the amazing voice actor and vocalist he is, lines such as “I’m just like you except I’m smarter, sharper, brighter, newer” are that much better because of the perfectly in character, snarky personality he injects into them.
On the topic of lyrics, having Amir Tilal – voice of Alastor – sing “I knew you’d need me here to be/your unwilling audience/when you lose your marbles in act three” is gold in writing. On a first listen though it’s funny if you know anything about what typically happens in a third act; after finishing the show, you get the additional realization that this single line foreshadows all of Vox’s character developments at the end of the season.
So what’s the negative for this song? The ending. Specifically, another lyric I’m not typing out to be published in a school news site…
3) Gravity
The only song on this list without a single cuss word shows that this franchise could be so much better if the characters didn’t talk like teenagers discovering curses for the first time.
Vocally, this song is definitely the strongest out of the five listed here. All the musical theatre people out there were undoubtedly beyond geeked to learn that Broadway’s Elphaba and Beetlejuice were set to duet on a song, and boy did they deliver.
Jessica Vosk has a timber to her voice that is both so uniquely her and fitting for the angst ridden character of Lute. Every time she hits the high notes of “when hard rain is gonna fall down” and “the flood’s comin’” are a blessing for the ears – no pun intended. Alex Brightmen, voice of Adam, is severely locked in as well; his harmonic vocals at the end support Vosk’s incredible vocal chops in a stunning fashion.
Compositionally, the obvious crescendo throughout the song makes the pay off at the end that much more satisfying. Especially paired with a brief pause before the final chorus and background vocals in latin, it all gives off the spiritual, holy vibe a song sung by an angel should have.
The main flaw of this song is the cornball nature of half the lyrics and music video. Having an actual angel being emo over her dead love interest – and that love interest being THE first man Adam – saying things like “does no one know/who they’re dealing with” is just too corny to ignore.
2) Vox Populi
Jeremy Jordan and Christian Borle on the same song is a gift any time it happens, and this song is the gift that keeps on giving.
Jordan is magnificent in every piece he is in, and his vocals in this song will have you ascending to a greater plane of existence. Even lines such as “I am so spooky” are not too hard to get behind when Jordan’s beautiful voice is carrying you through it. Plus, the concept of the king of hell – voiced by a musical theatre legend – calling the season’s big bad “Mr. TV head man” will never not be funny. Alongside the vocals, the rock instrumental is incredibly addictive too.
There isn’t really a point in glazing Borle’s vocal talents a third time, but what makes this song that much better is the content of his lyrics. Lines like “they want us all divided/that is how they keep us down” are a nice surprise content wise. It’s not expected for a show filled with more swears than normal dialogue to bring up class consciousness, yet here we are.
Given all these strengths, the only negative is that neither Jordan nor Borle’s parts are long enough. Jordan’s part in particular – while serving as the intro to the main song – is so strong and distinctly different that it should have been cut and turned into a stand alone tune.
1) Love in a Bottle
To all my gambling addicts and chronic alcoholics (so most of the PVHS student body), this song was made for you.
Voice acting powerhouse Keith David gives a master class on characterization throughout. Transitioning from the buttery smooth singing voice he’s known for to a clearly drunken delivery during the final lines, David’s performance is beautifully in tune with what his character – a bar keep named Husk – is doing in the show.
Lyrically, the song is incredibly well written. Using gambling terms in the chorus makes the setting clear for those who are listening without watching the show. The occasional play on words littered throughout provides a fun, almost intellectual element to the song as well. The stand out lyric here is undoubtedly “love, is in the ice of the beholder,” putting a very in character spit on the well known saying “love is in the eyes of the beholder”.
Similar to Vox Populi, the only flaw with this song is that it’ll have you wanting more. Here though, it is not because the song isn’t well paced or lacking content; rather, it’ll just have you wanting to hear Keith David for hours on end.
