[2026] Iconic musical numbers: from the latest releases to timeless classics!
Many of the songs used in musicals are quite famous, and you often hear them in various places—on TV, in commercials, or as background music in videos.
These pieces often include tracks that pump you up or grand, moving numbers that give you chills, touching not only musical fans but a wide range of people.
In this article, we’ll introduce a whole selection of such musical numbers!
We’ve picked broadly from a variety of shows, so you might find a tune you once heard and wondered about, or a song from one of your favorites.
Take this opportunity to give them another listen!
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[2026] Iconic Musical Numbers: From the Newest Hits to Timeless Classics! (31–40)
Where is love?Oliver
This song, sung in the musical Oliver! based on a British novel, features the young Oliver asking people, “Where is love?” The child actor’s beautiful voice, filled with emotion and tinged with sorrow and sadness, is truly moving.
There’s no business like show business.Ethel Merman
Annie Get Your Gun is a musical that portrays the story of a female sharpshooter and the star of a sharpshooting show who fall in love and ultimately face off against each other.
Irving Berlin wrote There’s No Business Like Show Business for this production.
It’s a piece that unfolds with the brilliant sound of a brass band.
The lyrics, which contain an irony toward the glamour of show business, evoke a range of emotions.
Since the song is performed multiple times throughout the show, it carries a message that gets to the heart of the story.
Do-Re-MiDame Julie Elizabeth Andrews
If we’re talking about songs known by people around the world, from children to adults, this one surely comes to mind.
Although it may seem like a children’s song, it’s actually a classic in the truest sense, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and music by Richard Rodgers.
It was sung in the 1959 musical The Sound of Music, which was also a huge hit in Japan.
In Japan, the Japanese lyrics are more famous and are very well crafted, but the original lyrics do not mention donuts or lemons.
CELL BLOCK TANGOChicago (2002 film)
Female inmates who killed men for various reasons tell their stories to a tango melody in “Cell Block Tango.” It’s one of the most popular songs in Chicago.
Once you hear those powerful, gritty vocals, this number is guaranteed to stick in your head.
Singin’ in the RainGene Kelly
Many of you have probably heard this extremely famous intro and first verse.
There are numerous versions of this historic classic composed by the prestigious musical studio MGM, and the rendition in which Gene Kelly sings it while tap dancing in the film “Singin’ in the Rain” is still loved worldwide.
In Japan, you’re almost certain to hear it at least once a year on TV or radio.
Try listening to it side by side with Kyu Sakamoto’s historic Japanese classic “Ue o Muite Arukou” (“Sukiyaki”) and see what similarities and differences you can pick up!
