Season 6 Song Rankings (From Worst To Best) · 4:33pm Oct 25th, 2016
Season 6 didn't have a whole lot of songs, not counting reprises we only got 11 of them and almost half came from one episode. I think now I know why "The Fault In Our Cutie Marks" was really delayed to be the nineteenth episode to air, if it had aired as the ninth episode, the last episode this season to feature a song would've been the seventeenth episode and that would've meant we'd have gone almost ten episodes without one! Naturally, it's going to make ranking the songs a little difficult, but I'm going to try my hardest to do so. Remember, this list is the result of my opinion so feel free to disagree. Now, let's begin!
11. I Can Do It On My Own (From: Flutter Brutter)
Reason: Well, I don't think this is much of a surprise. This song isn't really bad, it's just not really good. I'm not sure why Discovery Family keeps promoting this song in their "Sing Along Sundays" promos, given the lukewarm reception this song got and still gets. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash singing a duet is fine, but "Find A Pet" did it first and did it better, and after supposedly learning not to be a quitter Zephyr Breeze almost walks out on being a mane stylist again and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash have to force him to keep at it. Zephyr doesn't sing too badly, but the lyrics and melody don't give him much to work with.
10. A Changeling Can Change (From: The Times They Are A Changeling)
Reason: I really hate to do this considering it's the first official Spike song, and he sings great. Once again, the melody and lyrics don't really play to Spike's strengths and give him little to work with. There's also the fact that this song is being used during what should be a crucial part of the narrative of the episode it appears in, Spike convincing everypony that Thorax isn't evil and to trust him. Let's hope we get a better Spike song next season now that this one proved he can sing well.
9. Giddyup Derby Racers (From: The Cart Before The Ponies)
Reason: While this song may have a better melody, the lyrics only serve to remind us of the problem of the episode, the CMC's big sisters taking over the competition and not listening at all to what their younger sisters want. It doesn't help that we see some pretty deplorable behavior from Rainbow Dash and Rarity here, the former keeps bumping into other carts to pass them, while Rarity uses the swan wings of her cart to block the lanes and keep other carts from passing her, blantantly cheating. The CMC's lines are just them whining, and if it weren't for some clever animations paying homeage to "Wacky Racers" this song would've been a dud. Sadly, much like the episode it appears in, Cheerleader Cheerilee is the best thing about it.
8. Out On My Own (From: On Your Marks)
Reason: There's nothing that really hurts this song, it's a good sad themed one and it helps to convey a passage of time pretty well. Heck, we even get a cameo from Tree Hugger. But considering we've already this kind of song from Pinkie Pie and Diamond Tiara, and the only difference aside from the lyrics is who's singing it (in this case Apple Bloom), this one doesn't really bring anything new to the table.
7. Hearth's Warming Eve Is Here Once Again (From: A Hearth's Warming Tail)
Reason: Now we're getting into the good stuff! This was the only song to get two seperate reprises in "A Hearth's Warming Tail" ("Seeds of The Past" had its reprise come right after the original in terms of song order) and it was both a fine introduction and a fine conclusion to the episode. It was actually interesting to see Sweetie Belle's parents be remembered for a change (they're seen giving the CMC a sleigh ride in the original, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are standing next to them in the reprise), though it's worth mentioning that the pony that looked like Scootaloo's mother really wasn't (the pony people thought was Scootaloo looked more like Tender Taps) though the possibility of the background Dizzy Twister being her mother got a small boost in this song (more on that when we rank the top ten pegasi). But of all the songs in "A Hearth's Warming Tail" this one is the only one that doesn't tie into the titular tale, not that it's a bad thing.
6. Seeds Of The Past (From: A Hearth's Warming Tail)
Reason: Applejack as The Spirit of Hearth's Warming Past was a surprising choice, but the symbolism in this song proved that the casting decision was a wise one. It contains some good visuals and a powerful narrative about the choices we make in the past and how they affect the present and the future, and it's interesting to have a song with Applejack that's not outright country in tone or style. Like all the songs in the episode, this one helps move the pacing along without sacrificing anything of importance in the narrative. But it just misses the top five since there were two songs from other episodes that did just a little bit better.
5. It's Gonna Work (From: Spice Up Your Life)
Reason: It's nice how they were able to work the Indian theme into the music and the song, it truly adds that hint of culture that shows why Daniel Ingram and William Anderson are so amazing and talented. The refrain has some pretty clever dueting from Kazumi Evans as Rarity and Shanon Chan-Kent as Pinkie Pie, as well as some clever imagery for a compare and contrast. Unfortunately, this song also has the problem of contributing to Rarity's bad performance in this episode, deciding to rework the Tasty Treat to please Zesty, even though all the rated restuarants were terrible and it being perfectly obvious that's not what Pinkie Pie wants. It's kind of a shame we didn't get a reprise when Rarity and Pinkie swapped roles, with Rarity bringing in customers and Pinkie fixing up the restuarant without compromising its unique identity (we got an instrumental reprise like "Winter Wrap-Up").
4. Find The Purpose In Your Life (From: The Fault In Our Cutie Marks)
Reason: Many people noticed the similarities between this song and "Hearts Strong As Horses" from "Flight To The Finish" (which Ed also wrote), especially in how they open up with that marching beat and throughout the entire song they never once lose it. This is the perfect example of how a montage song works, it conveys a passage of time while also showing important details or concepts that will come into play by the time the song ends. All three of the CMC sing wonderfully here (which is a good thing for Madeline Peters and Claire Corlett after "Giddyup Derby Racers" had their lines just being whining), and Gabby isn't bad herself. But supposedly, this song paints Gabby as what's called a "Parody Sue" since she turns out to be so good at everything and thus the CMC can't figure out what one thing to focus on. And that, coupled with some unforgettable songs in "A Hearth's Warming Tail" prevented it from reaching the top three.
3. Say Goodbye To The Holiday (From: A Hearth's Warming Tail)
Reason: What do you get when you combine Ebezner Scrooge's vocal disapproval of the Christmas holiday, with The Grinch's ambition to stop Christmas from coming, and toss in a hint of Jack Skellington experimenting with Christmas nick nacks and a culdron? You get this song from Snowfall Frost of course! It's a haunting melody that starts out slow and builds up to a powerful and quite eerie conclusion. By the end you're going to have chills somewhere, especially as we see Snowfall Frost seemingly unaware of the fact that she'll be unleashing The Windigos.
2. Pinkie's Present (From: A Hearth's Warming Tail)
Reason: While it may feel a bit like "It Feels Like Christmas" from "The Muppet's Christmas Carol" this song is Pinkie Pie as The Spirit of Hearth's Warming Present at her very best! Cheerful, upbeat, bouncing from place to place, and spreading cheer and good fortune wherever she goes. It even ends on a rather clever meta joke about how Tara Strong was originally going to be the voice of Pinkie Pie, until Lauren Faust insisted she voice Twilight Sparkle instead, and the rest is history. It's a shame we didn't get a reprise of this song (like "It's Gonna Work" we got an instrumental reprise, this time in the end credits). I'd say this song could easily be added to the list of Pinkie Pie's greatest works (alongside classics like "Smile, Smile, Smile", "Pinkie's Lament", and "The Goof Off"). So what could top it? Well, I'm sure you all know simply by process of elimination.
1. Luna's Future (From: A Hearth's Warming Tail)
Reason: It was quite surprising when it turned that Kazumi Evans wasn't singing for Princess Luna here, she was replaced by Aloma Steele (who has since tossed out the offer of a collab with Brony musicians, don't know if anyone ever took her up on it though). And perhaps because of that this song stood out even more than it already did (even if it's a bit jarring for Princess Luna to be The Spirit of Hearth's Warming Yet To Come after Applejack and Pinkie Pie were the previous two spirits). While I think Kazumi Evans sounded better as Luna (Steele sounds like she'd better be suited to singing for Zecora), Steele does a fine job here and the lyrics and visuals get rather dark and dramatic. Sure, perhaps at the end it get rushed a bit, but it's still so powerful and gripping that you can't ignore it and even look past some of its flaws.
And there you have it. Come back tomorrow when we take a look at all 143 episodes of FiM to date!
This is pretty much how I'd rank them, except Say Goodbye to the Holiday is number 1 for me instead of number 3.
Very nice blog post.
Sorry you didn't liked The Cart Before The Ponies, the song it's great in my opinion. It sounds like the episodes plot just spoiled it for you.
I wouldn't consider "Pinkie Pie's Lament" and"The pony I want to be" to be the same thing since the topic was so different tho.
It was the topic of going separated way what was new to the table even when the episode didn't focus on that subject I can see why the writers wanted to touch it.
~Leonzilla
PS:
I rewatched it just now, I can't see it. Please help.
4271649 It's when Starlight comments on how Twilight is doing her "Pinkie Pie voice". The voice Twilight is singing was the voice Tara was going to use for Pinkie Pie when she auditioned for the show, but Lauren Faust insisted she voice Twilight Sparkle instead.
4271865 Now I get it, thanks.