“The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” – Every Song Ranked

If you’ve heard of Team StarKid, there’s a good chance you’ve also heard of their horror comedy “The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals”. It’s their most famous musical from what I could gather, and many would say it’s their best.

Like every StarKid musical, I had a blast watching it. So much so, in fact, that I sat through it twice – first the 2025 “Remount” and then the 2018 original … but how would I rank every song?

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Every “Les Misérables” Song Ranked

“Nerdy Prudes Must Die” – Songs Ranked

EVERY Doctor Who Monster Ranked

Every “Elden Ring” Area Ranked

Meh

13 – Not Your Seed

One of the biggest issues people point to for “The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals”, a complaint I happen to agree with, is that its pacing is too inconsistent. It takes a while to really get going, for starters, but then there’s a stretch in the middle which felt like a slog.

The peak of this slog is “Not Your Seed”, a side quest where Paul and his coworker go to visit the coworker’s daughter but sadly arrive too late. A touching scene on paper … but what was the point of it? Poor Corey Dorris – a StarKid regular – is given the short end of the stick in this musical. None of his characters really do anything.

Plot aside, and I know this will be controversial, I found this to be the most mundane song of the musical. Mariah Rose Faith Casillas kills the vocals but musically it’s pretty thin to begin with.

Okay

12 – Cup Of Roasted Coffee / Cup Of Poisoned Coffee

Yes, I’ve lumped the “Roasted” and “Poisoned” Coffee songs together, because they come back-to-back and they’re very similar. If you don’t like it, you can take it up with my manager!

I like the old-timey feel that the tunes convey, and they’re obviously a fun jab at these happy-go-lucky business practices we see in our consumer-based world, but the songs themselves are quick and inconsequential.

11 – You Tied Up My Heart

Jeff Blim, one of the performers in the show, wrote all of the music and lyrics. Talented guy. He also ends up being the main performer in a fair few of the songs. In the case of “You Tied Up My Heart”, it feels a little self-indulgent.

The best part of the song is the shocking ending, as otherwise it’s a standard Rock ballad which mostly serves to showcase Blim’s eccentric talents.

10 – Let Him Come

“Let Him Come” is a quick song, a sort of reprise to the title track, which mainly serves as a smokescreen while the set design changes behind them for the final act. In that sense, it does the job.

It’s a smooth, catchy tune that probably would’ve ranked higher if it was more than twenty seconds.

Good

9 – America Is Great Again

When the musical first came out in 2018, “America Is Great Again” was a clear, on-the-nose critique of American politics and how ridiculous it became. It’s a sign of the times that in the 2025 “Remount” the audience was dead silent. Some topics are too scary and depressing to joke about nowadays.

It’s a good song that poses interesting questions, and I like the sinister tone it takes, but I always found the staging a bit stale – in both versions. Paul and Emma basically just stand around while General MacNamara speaks his mind. It makes the scene feel slow.

8 – The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals

“The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals”, the title track, is a bit jarring – both in hindsight and when I watched the show for the first time. It’s the kind of upbeat ditty which perhaps doesn’t represent how this musical turned out.

Still, it’s a fun, tongue-in-cheek start to the musical which both introduces the silly humour and sets the tone for the big, brash instrumentation.

As a side note, does the barista – Emma – being in this opening number (as well as some other major characters) mean that she was already compromised before the musical even started? That makes her horrified reaction in “Inevitable” a bit of a contradiction. Oh well. I’m sure there are already fan theories a-plenty.

7 – Show Me Your Hands

As I mentioned before, Jeff Blim wrote the music and lyrics for this production. And by god did he have fun with it.

His performance as the jazz-hands-wielding cop is such a delight, and I love the dance choreography throughout the song. “Show Me Your Hands” is a witty parody on American cop culture – and one of the catchiest tunes in the show.

6 – What Do You Want, Paul?

I wasn’t expecting to rank “What Do You Want, Paul?” in the top half, but it’s just too damn funny for me to ignore.

Once again it’s Jeff Blim who gives a noteworthy performance, but I also want to shout-out Jon Matteson’s horrified expressions. They’re what ground the whole thing and make it doubly hilarious.

I wish more “I Want” songs from musicals were like this!

Great

5 – Join Us (And Die)

Jaime Lyn Beatty! What a belter of a note to start the song, and that energy stays sky-high throughout.

Just when the musical was threatening to slow down to a stop in the middle, “Join Us (And Die)” throws a spanner in the works by having two of the infected attack. It’s a short number which ends abruptly, but I love how shocking it is from start to finish.

4 – La Dee Da Da Day

The title track is there to wet the appetite right at the beginning of the show, as otherwise there would’ve been a long stretch without any songs. Some of the audience might’ve even forgotten that this was a musical at all. “La Dee Da Da Day” is the first “real” song in that regard – and what an introduction it is.

I really love the choreography in the “Remount” version, with all the townsfolk surrounding and harassing Paul. It also helps that there’s a sturdy, groovy bassline underneath it all.

As I’ve shouted out every other cast member, I should probably use this slot to sing the praises of Joey Richter. He’s amazing in every StarKid show, and I especially enjoyed his performance as the homeless man here. His delighted expressions are hilarious.

Amazing

3 – Inevitable

These top three songs have all been living in my head rent free for weeks. They’d all easily make my top ten StarKid songs, so it’s incredible how they all featured in the same musical.

Coming in at third place is the finale number, “Inevitable”. It’s a devastating song which recaps every song of the musical, all while Paul and his posse try to absorb Emma into the hivemind. Lauren Lopez’s performance in this, especially as she becomes more and more afraid as the song goes on, is haunting.

When I first made this ranking, I was going to put this either second or at the very top for how powerful and affecting it is … but most of “Inevitable” is just a highlight reel. In other words, if it was more original it could’ve topped the list.

2 – Let It Out

“But what will I let in if I let it out?”

A fantastic question, one that “Let It Out” explores with surprising sincerity. This is Jon Matteson’s time to shine, and he does a great job playing a musical hater out of his element.

That chorus in particular is maybe my favourite of the whole show. If “The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” had ended with this instead of “Inevitable”, I wouldn’t have been mad.

1 – Show Stoppin Number

I can’t decide which version of “Show Stoppin Number” I love more. Both Robert Manion’s (a controversial figure, as I’ve come to learn) original and Will Branner’s interpretation in the Remount are filled to the brim with an infectious, hilarious energy.

More so than anything, I love the various premises this song sets up. A wacky, camp professor capturing two people and serenading them? Amazing. Forcing his captives to hear his pitch for a new musical? Iconic. Basing that musical on his gay (I’m assuming) adventures with his old football chums? The icing on the cake.

It’s a sultry, smooth tune which takes an extreme turn once the “Working Boys” refrain comes in, and I was busting a gut from laughing so hard – especially whenever Joey Richter’s character reacted with surprising glee. “Show Stoppin Number” is the best song of the musical, bar none – it has the funniest scenario, the most electric music and the best central performance of the lot.

If I ever do a StarKid song ranking, you can be damn sure this’ll compete for top spot.

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