There’s nothing worse than looking through your repertoire and realising you don’t have anything you need. Like those days you just have nothing to wear right? You want to have a great repertoire available to you for auditions and performances but you just don’t know where to start. There are so many options out there and so much you can work through – its a matter of knowing where to look. Here are some good places to look for new songs.

1. Look through your current repertoire and think about what you like from what you have. Write a list of what those things are, or what composers you may have amongst your current pieces. Search them out if you like their work and listen to some of their other music. You may find some works you never heard of that you really love.
2. Look up your favourite stars. Look for someone who has sung other songs that you have or like and see what else they have done. Another good idea is to look up people others have compared you to before or that you think you might have a similar sound/look to. In this way you are trying to access what should be achievable or might be expected by someone with a similar branding or that might be cast in roles you would normally apply for. Certainly don’t focus on trying to be someone else (you are the only you and that’s what makes you special!) but it can be a good way to pull inspiration from people playing in the same ball park.
3. Ask your friends. Ask your friends for recommendations of songs they either like or might like you to sing. Start by asking those friends who also perform and your vocal coach. And also don’t be afraid to ask those who aren’t singers. An audience is made up of many many people and while they might not know why they like something they are the ones who decide if they do. Often they have a perspective of what you can achieve you might not have thought of. And your vocal coach or performing friends might have picked up on something you can do you haven’t tried before. Give everyones’ ideas a try or sing through – you might be surprised!
4. See and listen to as much as you can!! Go to shows! Go to cabarets! Discover youTube! Buy cast albums! There is so much out there and the only way to truly discover it is to put yourself out there. Go through those anthologies of songs you bought for 5 songs and try the other 25. Sometimes you find new songs when you least expect it.
5. Know what you are looking for. Consider your repertoire like a little set of drawers covered in labels. Which drawers are still empty? There’s probably little point having the entire top drawer of sorrowful romantic ballads overflowing while all the others are empty. Remember what you need these for – to display your ability and to convey a story. And if you get to here and realise you’ve missed something important go back to the beginning with a renewed appreciation of what you are looking for.