Much of the Hazbin Hotel season one soundtrack has lived in my head rent free since it first dropped early last year. Vivienne Medrano’s cartoon sing-songy sinners know how to show an audience a good time. Though the series features Broadway alums, the songs within the show encompass a variety of genres outside traditional showtunes. The songs from composers and writers Sam Haft and Andrew Underberg vary between dance, electroswing, rock, gospel, pop, you name it, all to tell an epic story about Charlie Morningstar, the Princess of Hell (Erika Henningsen) trying to achieve her dream of using her rehabilitation hotel to redeem sinners.
Not all the tunes are winners, but many of them are catchy, earworm bangers. With season two now streaming on Prime, here’s every song from season one ranked.
16. More Than Anything (Reprise)
The initial song for Chaggie — the ship name for girlfriends Charlie and Vaggie (Stephanie Beatriz) — was deserving of an original composition rather than a reprise of a song that was specific to the reconnection of Charlie and her father, Lucifer (Jeremy Jordan). While sweet in cementing the strength between these two supportive girlfriends’s love, their fairly short duet needs its own time to shine. It is well rectified in season two.
15. It Starts With Sorry
The inventor-spy-turned-best-boy, Sir Pentious’s (Alex Brightman) duet with Charlie, which persuades him to remain at the hotel as a sinner seeking redemption, is a charming tune. But the song’s Disneyfied melody and composition are better in service to the plot than a song that is enjoyable to listen to casually on its own. It’s one of those songs you think you’d like to put on a playlist because of how enjoyable it is in the series until you do listen to it on your own and go, “Nah.” Which is applicable to, like, many Disney songs. Go figure!
14. Welcome To Heaven
Having Darren Criss sing a gospel tune for literally a minute deserves jail time. Waste of a good Criss as an angel. A Criss angel if you will. I’ll see my way out
13. Out For Love
I will never raise my voice against Daphne Rubin-Vega. I enjoy “Out For Love” because it is reminiscent of a Spanish-guitar-meets-house tune from the early 2000s, such as the Latino Mix of LeAnn Rimes’s “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” — the only version I listen to. It is a melody that serves the character and narrative, as weapons dealer and leg-heavy fighter Carmilla Carmine encourages Vaggie to discover her inner warrior and come into her own identity as protector of Charlie. All in preparation for the intense, battle-heavy climax. Rubin-Vega is performing a toe-tapper in this criminally short tune, with her voice sounding slightly off to me due to the high key instrumental not matching her vocal range. Don’t kill me, musical theater people!
12. Ready For This
In Charlie’s lively war rally song, the princess of hell emerges as a powerful leader and motivator. The lyrics are also well written, as they allow her to self-reflect on her fears of having to defend her hotel from homicidal angels from up above and getting a crowd of cannibal sinners to fight with her. Furthermore, the rhythm is reminiscent of a Mickey Mouse March, which is simply delightful.
11. Whatever It Takes
Hey, whoever wants a Daphne Rubin-Vega and Stephanie Beatriz duet in a non-In the Heights setting, this is for you. This fusion rock-love ballad by Carmilla and Vaggie has a great early-2000s vibe, a love-filled core, and a sweet harmonizing melody between the two singers. It’s a juxtapositional duet for characters proclaiming their desire to protect their loved ones, whether it be Carmilla’s daughters or, for Vaggie, Charlie. The song’s opening, which features James Monroe Iglehart as Zestial, is awkwardly timed, and it has little impact overall since Vaggie and Carmilla are unmet by that point. This is a shame, considering how hard the song goes in its chorus.
10. Respectless
This far too good of a song is as short as the Vee’s overlord Velvette (Lilli Cooper), but the piss-off between her and Carmilla has a snappy, popped-up beat and catchy lyrics that make it stand out. Songs like “Respectless” perfectly capture season one’s pacing problem — everything moves at a criminally fast pace. As a result, songs are frequently so brief as to not interfere with the show’s rigid 22-minute runtime per episode. Thank God season two doesn’t have that issue!
9. Finale
Nothing like a good ol’ classic finale to bookend a stellar first season. “Finale” does just that. Witnessing the Hazbin Hotel’s staff, who just survived a war and lost one of their own in Pentious — don’t worry, he’s redeemed — unite and rebuilding the hotel in perfect harmony brings a smile to my face. The part that teases season two’s focus on the Vees’ powergrab scheme is also a great detail.
8. Happy Day In Hell
This is a great opening musical number that highlights Charlie’s optimism and illustrates Vivienne Merdano’s sin-filled Hell. The juxtaposition of the upbeat melody garners some decent comedy whenever it gets sadistic in lyrics or visuals. It perfectly does what it sets out to do: establish the world, tone, feel, and musicality of the show. Plus proof to everyone that Erika Henningsen, Ms. Cady Heron, IS Charlie Morningstar.
7. Hell Is Forever
Alex Brightman’s high-tempo rocking villain song as the egotistical Adam, the general of the angels’ execution army, evidently demonstrates the angels are the villains of this season and they enjoy murder. I know, what a conundrum. Anyway, Brightman’s inflections teeter close to his iconic Broadway portrayal as Beetlejuice. With an 80s glam rock-like instrumental and a catchy rhythm, it’s a villainous track that has its wings and punkish edge.
6. You Didn’t Know
This number, in which Charlie confronts the head angels Sera (Patina Miller) and Emily (Shoba Narayan), demonstrating that the Extermination is unnecessary as souls can be improved, is Hazbin in full Broadway mode. In addition to driving the plot, it features a flurry of its musical theater cast — Henningson, Narayan, Miller, Henningsen, Jessica Vosk, and Brightman — at the height of their talents singing through a tense court procedural. Plus, the finale with Emily and Charlie dueting, inversing the lyrics of “Hell is Forever”, is simply epic.
5. More Than Anything
Charlie and Lucifer’s father-daughter reconciliation ballad is so sincerely pure, it’s hard not to get emotional over it. Jeremy Jordan and Erika Henningsen’s complementary voices are magical and add a beautiful depth to the characters and their humanistic souls. Even though they are demons in hell.
4. Hell’s Greatest Dad
I didn’t know there was such a thing as electroswing until “Hell’s Greatest Dad.” The radio demon/host Alastor (Amir Talai) vs. Lucifer pissing contest duet to see who is the best dad to Charlie always has me instantly dancing once it’s on my shuffle. It’s one of the best earworms from the season. It’s only slowed down by Sarah Stiles’s character Mimzy’s sudden appearance, which breaks the flow of its fun finale.
3. Stayed Gone
Before Vox (Christian Borle) takes center stage in season two, he performs his first and only song in season one. His and Alastor’s rivalry is the source of this outstanding electroswing song, which masterfully combines pop and musical theater, the bureaucracy of the hell environment, and their beef. It’s the song that frankly defines Hazbin‘s uniqueness.
2. Poison
The sole track from Hazbin season one to reach the Billboard charts underscores the series’ mature and thematic content, distinguishing it from the typical adult animated raunchy comedy. This song by sex worker Angel Dust (Blake Roman) examines and personalizes his toxic, abusive relationship with his ex-partner, Valentino, and the attachment of his soul to him. The song begins so upbeat, like a club song, and ends with Angel’s voice breaking in desperation and expressing the depth of his suffering. It is a testament to Medrano’s writing and voice that she can explore the serious topics through the real-world of her animated characters without undercutting them with a joke or anything else, making it feel real for her characters and chilling to observe. It’s why Episode 4, “Masquerade”, is the best of the season. Followed up by the second song from that same episode.
1. Loser, Baby
It’s widely known that Angel Dust and bartender kitty Husk’s (Keith David) somber, catchy, and sweet yet raunchy, character-driven jazz duet is an absolute hit. You can’t find one ranked list elsewhere that doesn’t say it. It strikes the bond between AngelHusk, it’s the best visually striking number, and in contrast to the abrupt conclusion of the in-show, it functions as a genuine song when played in isolation. I played it often when Hazbin was just coming out, never skipping it when it’s on my shuffle, and even found myself humming it in public. That’s how good “Loser, Baby” is. In my interview with Medrano in time for the first season on this very site, I thanked her for having Keith David sing “You’re a power bottom at Rock Bottom.” What else is there to say? This anthem for losers is a winner, baby.
