Smash is an American musical-drama television series created by playwright Theresa Rebeck. It premiered in the United States on NBC on February 6, 2012. The series revolves around a fictional New York theater community making new Broadway musicals. In the first season, the focus was on the making of Bombshell, a musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. In the second season, the show was split between taking Bombshell to Broadway and the creation and mounting of a contemporary pop musical called Hit List that was about the price of fame. Other fictional musicals that were touched on for which original songs were performed include Beautiful and Liaisons. A few of the songs were written for events outside of the aforementioned musicals.
Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote all but one of the songs in the first season. In the second season, they wrote all of the songs outside of Hit List, along with several Hit List songs, as will be noted below. All their songs written for the show, except for a couple where only a few lines were written, can be found listed in the ASCAP music database. The other songwriters are noted and referenced where appropriate.
The following list details the original songs featured in Smash.
The 20th Century Fox Mambo
"The 20th Century Fox Mambo" is an original song introduced in the second episode of the first season of the musical TV series Smash, entitled "The Callback". It was written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, but in the show's universe, it was written by songwriting team Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) and Julia Houston (Debra Messing) for their Marilyn Monroe musical Bombshell.
In the episode, Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) needs to give a dance audition for the producing team as part of trying to get the role of Marilyn in Bombshell. She works with director and choreographer Derek Wills (Jack Davenport) and then performs this song with the ensemble members in front of the producing team.
The song is reprised several more times during the first season. It is performed by Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) in the fourth episode "The Cost of Art", by Karen and Ivy separately in the seventh episode "The Workshop, and by Karen in the fifteenth episode "Bombshell" for a preview show in Boston. In the second season, the song is reprised in the thirteenth episode "The Producers" by Ivy and the Bombshell ensemble, with a little assist from Kathie Lee Gifford in a cameo, for some musical theater children.
The song, with McPhee's vocals, was originally released as a single on iTunes and Amazon.com's MP3 store and is available on the cast albums The Music of Smash and Bombshell.
A Letter from Cecile "A Letter from Cecile" is an original song introduced in the sixth episode of the second season of the musical TV series Smash, entitled "The Fringe". It was written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, but within the show's universe, it was written by an unnamed composer for the Liaisons musical that Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) is in.
In the episode, Ivy is unhappy with the direction that the Liaisons production has taken now that star Terry Falls (Sean Hayes) has gone off his various medications and has turned the show into a trainwreck. With the press in attendance to get a preview of the show, she sings this song in an operatic and comedic way, stealing some of Terry's thunder.
The song is available as a single.
A Love Letter from the Times "A Love Letter from the Times" is an original song introduced in the tenth episode of the second season of the musical TV series Smash, entitled "The Surprise Party". It was written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, but in the show's universe, it was written by Tom Levitt (Christian Borle).
In the episode, Tom recruits Liza Minnelli (playing herself) to sing this song with him to Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) during their dinner together as a surprise for her birthday to make up for their fighting over him hiring her mother for Bombshell.
The song is available as a single.
A Thousand and One Nights
"A Thousand and One Nights" is an original song introduced in the twelfth episode of the first season of the musical TV series Smash, entitled "Publicity". It was written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, but in the episode, it is presented as a character's fantasy of a Bollywood musical number so the songwriter is unnamed.
In the episode, Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) and her boyfriend Dev (Raza Jaffrey) are having a tense dinner with movie star Rebecca Duvall (Uma Thurman) at an Indian restaurant. Rebecca has taken over as the lead in the Marilyn Monroe musical Bombshell, while Karen is her understudy. However, Rebecca has taken Karen out for quite a bit of partying, which has caused tensions between Karen and Dev. During the meal, Rebecca and Dev start to argue about who is the one harming Karen. An uncomfortable Karen starts watching a Bollywood movie on one of the screens, and then imagines herself in a Bollywood-style movie with first Dev, then herself singing the song, with practically the entire rest of the main cast and various supporting players of the series performing as backup. The song is sung in the style of an Indian Bollywood song, with the performers dressed in Indian clothes.
Arthur Miller Melody "Arthur Miller Melody" is an original song introduced in the ninth episode of the first season of the musical TV series Smash, entitled "Hell on Earth". It was written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. In the show's universe it was written by songwriters Julia Houston (Debra Messing) and Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) for their Bombshell musical about Marilyn Monroe.
In the episode, Julia's husband Frank (Brian d'Arcy James) is rummaging around his wife's nightstand looking for something and comes across the sheet music. Something about it catches his eye. Julia later comes home and Frank is at the piano with the sheet music and quietly playing and singing a little bit of the song ("Arthur Miller Melody" is written at the top of the sheet music). He stops and asks her about it, saying the lyrics about Marilyn on the Brooklyn Bridge sound a little strange, voicing his suspicion that Julia is having an affair and the lyrics are really about that. Julia breaks down and admits that she was having an affair, but it is over.
By season 2, the song has developed into a solo sung by Arthur Miller, entitled "The Right Regrets". It was performed by Tom and Julia in Episode 15, The Transfer. The song is available on the cast album Bombshell.
At Your Feet "At Your Feet" is an original song introduced in the fourteenth episode of the second season of the musical TV series Smash, entitled "The Phenomenon". It was written by the show's in-house songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, but in the show's universe, it was written by songwriting team Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) and Julia Houston (Debra Messing) for their Marilyn Monroe musical Bombshell.
In the episode, we get a short segment of the song, with Leigh Conroy (Bernadette Peters) as Marilyn Monroe's mom Gladys taking young Marilyn (Sophia Anne Caruso) to Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the two perform the song. Earlier, Tom had indicated to Kyle Bishop (Andy Mientus) that Marilyn's mom had left her at the theater and so it was a sad moment, but Kyle suggests that maybe they make the number a happy one, changing what really happened in Marilyn's life to something that was more fantasy. After Kyle's death, we see the number performed during a Bombshell show as more of a happy fantasy than the sad way it was done previously.
The song is available on the cast album Bombshell.
Big Finish "Big Finish" is an original song introduced in the seventeenth episode of the second season of the musical TV series Smash, entitled "The Tonys". The song is written by the show's in-house songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, but in the show's universe, it was written by songwriting team Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) and Julia Houston (Debra Messing) for a performance at the Tony Awards.
In the episode, Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) and Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) perform this number with male dancers at the Tony Awards.
The song is available on the cast album Smash: The Complete Season 2 available digitally.
Broadway, Here I Come!
"Broadway, Here I Come!" is an original song introduced in the first episode of the second season of the musical TV series Smash, entitled "On Broadway". It was written by Joe Iconis. Within the show's universe, it was written by the songwriting team Jimmy Collins (Jeremy Jordan) and Kyle Bishop (Andy Mientus) for their Hit List musical.
In the episode, the setting has Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee), having previously become acquainted with Jimmy and Kyle in a bar they work in, finds out from Kyle they are a songwriting team working on a musical. Karen overhears Jimmy singing the song on a piano and then moves closer to watch him perform it. During the song, she dials Derek Wills (Jack Davenport) to have him listen and tells him this may be the next thing they are looking for as the Bombshell musical they were working on has temporarily shut down.
Karen reprises the song in the ninth episode of the second season, entitled "The Parents", at a rehearsal for a benefit (though she is interrupted by Derek before finishing) and then at the benefit, where she is heard singing the last few bars. Ana Vargas (Krysta Rodriguez) reprises part of the song in the eleventh episode of season 2, entitled "The Dress Rehearsal", as part of rehearsing for a new opening for Hit List. The song is reprised twice in the thirteenth episode of season 2 "The Producers", with Ana singing part of it at the beginning of a performance of Hit List while she fires a gun at an unknown person, while Karen sings it a little later in the show as part of the sequence where the Diva shoots Amanda (Karen). The song is lastly reprised in the seventeenth episode of season 2 "The Tonys", where the Hit List cast (composed of Karen, Jimmy, Ana, Sam (Leslie Odom, Jr.)) and the Hit List ensemble perform an a cappella version of the song at the Tony Awards.
The song is available as a single with Jeremy Jordan's vocals only and on the digital album Smash: The Complete Season 2 with vocals from McPhee, Jordan, Rodriguez and Odom as seen in the seventeenth episode of season 2.
Critical reception Valeria Oliveira from TVSourceMagazine said of the number in a review of the "On Broadway" episode, "And then there is Jimmy and his musical. I liked the one song from it, but I have no clue what it’s all about yet, so I’d like more information on it."
Caught in the Storm
"Caught in the Storm" is an original song introduced in the second episode of the second season of the musical TV series Smash, entitled "The Fallout". It was written by Pasek and Paul. Within the show's universe, it was written by songwriting team Jimmy Collins (Jeremy Jordan) and Kyle Bishop (Andy Mientus) as part of the Hit List musical they are working on.
In the episode, the setting has Kyle giving the song to Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee), who has become acquainted with Kyle and Jimmy, to look at to see if she knows if she can provide some help to getting their musical made. Later, Karen and her roommate Ana Vargas (Krysta Rodriguez) and Bombshell ensemble friends Bobby (Wesley Taylor) and Jessica (Savannah Wise) attend a party in Brooklyn that Jimmy and Kyle are hosting for their friends. Karen, having previously figured out the song with Ana's help, starts to sing it to Jimmy a cappella to impress him and then is accompanied by Ana on piano. Jimmy storms out because he's angry that Kyle showed his work to someone without asking.
The song is reprised by Jimmy in the fifth episode of season 2, "The Read-Through", as Jimmy and Kyle present an informal read-through of Hit List to some friends that Karen has invited to hear the script and songs.
The song is available as a single.