All 9 Grey’s Anatomy Musical Episode Songs Ranked From Worst To Best

The Grey’s Anatomy musical episode is still being talked about by viewers over 10 years after it first aired, but how do the episode’s nine songs compare to one another? Season 7, episode 18, “Song Beneath The Song,” aired on March 31, 2011, to mixed reactions. Still, it is one of the most iconic musical episodes in television history, and its soundtrack deserves reexamination.

It took a long time for the Grey’s Anatomy musical episode to be made, with series creator Shonda Rhimes first having the idea while they were still filming the pilot. She was eventually able to convince ABC to green-light the episode with the premise of using songs that Grey’s Anatomy had either made famous or was used in past memorable scenes of the show. The episode centered around Callie Torres, played by Tony Award winner Sara Ramirez, and featured almost the entire cast singing. It has since become something of a cult favorite episode among Grey’s Anatomy fans.

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9. “How We Operate”

Gomez’s “How We Operate” appeared in three different Grey’s Anatomy scenes before it was sung by Grey Sloan’s problematic Owen Hunt in the musical episode. While Owen’s actor, Kevin McKidd, was a talented singer who was even in a rock band as a teenager, the song didn’t do his voice justice. Gomez’s lead singer, Ben Ottewell, is known for his uniquely gritty voice, and while McKidd did his best to replicate the style, it didn’t sound quite right.

On top of this, it appeared in the episode very briefly and mostly in the background as other doctors argued over how to treat Callie. Unlike some other songs, which were a figment of Callie’s imagination, the lyrics were used diegetically as dialogue for Owen. It was the first song in the episode to do so, making it seem abrupt and awkward for those not prepared for a Grey’s Anatomy musical episode. Because of these factors, it earns the lowest ranking of the nine songs.

8. “Grace”

Sara Ramirez‘s Callie sang beautifully throughout the episode. The actor, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, was given the musical heavy lifting for “Song Beneath The Song,” which was why Rhimes chose to revolve the episode around Callie’s character. Kate Havnevik’s “Grace” is one of two solos that Ramirez sings, but it didn’t have the same impact as her big number at the end of the musical episode.

It was a soft, peaceful song that Callie performed while she was being prepped for surgery. In an interesting storytelling device, Callie appeared throughout the episode as both a patient and her doctor self before the car crash, ghostly watching over everything that was happening and providing commentary through song. It was a beautiful performance, but in a Grey’s Anatomy musical episode full of songs, it just wasn’t as memorable as others.

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7. “Running On Sunshine”

“Running On Sunshine” by Jesus Jackson was, without a doubt, the most bizarre number in the Grey’s Anatomy musical episode. It started with another Callie hallucination which devolved into some of the show’s couples singing about how they were “running on sunshine.” From Callie and Arizona to Nurse Eli and Bailey, Owen and Cristina, Teddy and Henry, Alex and Lucy, Lexie and Mark, and Derek and Meredith, it was one of two larger group numbers in the episode.

While almost the entire cast got involved, Rhimes famously decided to allow Sandra Oh’s Cristina not to join in the singing, at both Oh’s request and the belief that Cristina as a character wouldn’t sing anyway. The lyric Alex sang to his girlfriend, “something tells me your name is Lucy,” begged the question of whether Rachael Taylor’s short-lived character of Lucy Fields was written only to have Justin Chambers sing that line. It was a fun number that featured a lot of great vocal moments from the cast, but it’s hard to get past the ridiculousness of it.

6. “Wait”

Get So Go’s “Wait” was one of the most underrated songs in the musical episode. To convince ABC to green-light the episode, Rhimes had McKidd, Ramirez, and Chandra Wilson (Grey’s Anatomy’s Miranda Bailey) perform songs for executives. Wilson, another Broadway veteran, sang multiple times in the episode, but “Wait” gave her time to shine along with backing vocals from Sarah Drew (April) and Chyler Leigh (Lexie).

Like “Grace,” it was a softer song that suited the trio’s voices perfectly. The performance also took place against the backdrop of Arizona and Mark arguing over Callie’s treatment plan, which was one of the musical episode’s most powerful scenes. Drew didn’t get to sing much in the episode, which was a shame, but she got to take over vocally for an absent Leigh when the Grey’s Anatomy cast held a benefit concert in 2012. Its softer nature made it underrated, as did the more memorable dialogue that takes place during it. “Wait” is deserving of a good spot in this ranking.

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5. “Universe & U”

Grey’s Anatomy‘s Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and Callie were one of the most beloved and iconic couples in Grey’s Anatomy’s history, and “Universe & U” by KT Tunstall provided them with a duet. As Arizona begged Callie to live for her, Callie’s ghost form appeared, and they harmonized beautifully over the string-based orchestrations. Ramirez has a naturally stronger voice, but the vocal arrangements helped do Capshaw justice.

The song was in the episode for less than two minutes, leaving viewers wanting more from their big duet. Luckily, a four-minute version appeared on The Music Event album put out by the Grey’s Anatomy cast following the episode, which is still available for purchase on iTunes. “Universe & U” ranking fifth just proves how stacked and impressive the musical episode was and still is.

4. “Chasing Cars”

“Chasing Cars” was the first song on the soundtrack and was one of the most famous songs from the series. It notoriously appeared in Grey’s Anatomy when Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) died in season 2. Due to this, Grey’s Anatomy viewers knew that when the song played, it meant something heartbreaking was about to hit their screens. The inclusion of the song in the series helped the band Snow Patrol rise to fame in the early 2000s, and “Chasing Cars” will always be synonymous with Grey’s Anatomy.

It was sung by the big three of the musical episode, Callie, Owen, and Bailey, as Callie arrived at the hospital following her and Arizona’s car crash. It was the perfect song to get viewers on board with the Grey’s Anatomy musical episode, with its familiarity, powerful solo vocals, and harmonization from Ramirez, McKidd, and Wilson. It set the tone well and was certainly a memorable moment.

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3. “Breathe (2 AM)”

Chyler Leigh’s exit as Lexie in season 8 left many viewers heartbroken, but during her five seasons on the series, the younger Grey sister starred in many notable scenes. Along with the big three, Leigh was the only other actor given a true solo in Anna Nalick’s “Breathe (2 AM).” The song was featured in an episode widely regarded as one of Grey’s Anatomy’s best, season 2, episode 7, “As We Know It,” popularly known as “Code Black” or “The Bomb Episode.”

Leigh took the well-known 2005 song and made it her own with her sweet, powerful voice that had somewhat of a country twang to it, indicative of her upbringing in North Carolina and Virginia. The scene was also important for the relationship between Grey’s Anatomy’s Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) and Lexie, who were at an off-point in their on-and-off relationship. Leigh’s voice was impressive and well-suited for one of Grey’s Anatomy’s most famous songs.

2. “How To Save A Life”

Of all the songs in Grey’s Anatomy, “How To Save A Life” by The Fray is its undisputed champion, and the musical episode played a big part in that. It was such an impactful song that the episode in which Derek died at the end of season 11 was named after it. So, naturally, it was used as the musical episode’s biggest number, which was sung by almost every character while Callie was operated on.

The lyrics were perfect for the moment, as every line the characters were given fit their storylines. It was also the most viewers got to hear from the show’s star, Meredith, as Ellen Pompeo hated Grey’s Anatomy’s musical episode despite having a good singing voice. It was always powerful at any point in the series when the main characters got together for a scene, and the music just empowered that feeling and energy. Ending with both Sofia and Callie’s heartbeats going strong, it’s perhaps the only moment in Grey’s Anatomy where the playing of “How To Save A Life” actually offered viewers relief.

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1. “The Story”

At number one, there was really no other option besides the big finale number, Callie’s powerful solo of “The Story” by Brandi Carlile. It was so powerful that Ramirez’s cover entered the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at #69 following its release. “The Story” was perfect proof as to why Ramirez inspired the Grey’s Anatomy musical episode. Their cover, rather than the Carlile original, also made another appearance later in the series during Arizona’s final episode in season 14, two seasons after Ramirez’s Callie had already left the show.

Ramirez showed off their musical theater training with a strong belt, but their vocals also embraced the rock side of the track with grit and rasp. Ghost Callie ran around the empty hospital before she disappeared, and the real Callie woke up to accept Arizona’s proposal. It was a happy ending to an emotional episode and is the cherry on top of the cake that is the Grey’s Anatomy musical episode.

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