Ranking the Fluttershy Songs (From Worst to Best) · 9:35pm Jan 7th, 2022
Fluttershy is one of the characters who didn't have a singing double, Andrea Libman sang for her as well as voiced her. This may be because Andrea said in interviews that the Pinkie Pie voice took a tole on her, so just doing it must've strained her and made singing harder than with Fluttershy. Strangely enough though, Fluttershy has had nine songs to herself with two even technically coming from another persona of hers, giving her more than you would expect (and more than Rarity). Just like with Rarity and Pinkie Pie, I'm not only ranking her songs based on personal enjoyment, but also how they represent her as a character. Of course, just like the previous lists, this is purely the result of my personal opinion.
9. Can I Do It On My Own? (Flutter Brutter)
Why it's on the bottom: This barely even counts as a Fluttershy song, despite her being the one to initiate it. It comes completely out of nowhere, with zero provocation or explanation. Rainbow Dash asks a question and Fluttershy immediately bursts into song. Of course, the intended focus is on Zephyr Breeze, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are just there to encourage him. It does count as a Fluttershy song in that it showcases the growth she's had as a character: She's going to be firm with her brother, but she also can understand his feelings to some extent. But it's time for Zephyr to stand on his own and do something on his own, he can't run back to anyone else. Fluttershy is definitely good at moral support. However, not only is this not really her song, but it also doesn't do a good job of showcasing Zephyr's supposed growth when he gets frustrated and gives up, requiring Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to more or less tell him to get back in there.
8. Hush Now Lullaby (Stare Master)
Why it's not on the bottom: It's a lullaby plain and simple. It could be sung by any character and would accomplish much the same. But Fluttershy's soft and soothing voice definitely works wonders, capturing the intended feeling nicely for her version. It's too bad we never got an extended version of her take, using the lyrics from Sweetie Belle's rocking take but using Fluttershy's soothing voice so we don't have to have our eardrums be assaulted. It's not much of a character showcase for Fluttershy, but her initiating the lullaby does give her something.
7. Music in the Treetops (Filli Vanilli)
Why it's in the bottom three: Fluttershy channeling her inner Disney princess, particularly the Snow White homage. That's pretty much what this song is all about. It's a fine song for what it is, and only Fluttershy could've pulled it off (even Sweetie Belle would've required some tweaking to at least the justification to burst into song). The only problem is how they're using this song to claim Fluttershy has never been overheard singing before, as if all the other group songs and solo songs featuring her didn't count. It kind of stretches the suspension of disbelief a little too far. Plus, we already had Twilight and Pinkie Pie doing this whole routine about how happy they are in song before. Those leaned more heavily into the Disney vibes.
6. Evil Enchantress Flutterguy Version (Bridle Gossip)
Why it's in the bottom half: It's definitely the superior take on the song, largely boosted by how utterly bored Fluttershy as Flutterguy sounds. And it contrasts against the smooth jazz accompanying this reprise. Fluttershy's look really conveys a "I'm going to kill you for this" kind of vibe, indicating how much she doesn't want to do this. But in terms of actual character there's not much to go on. The lyrics themselves don't do anything, it's just the accompanying visuals and the tone of singing that provide hints of how much Fluttershy doesn't want to do this but is doing it anyway.
5. Find the Music in You (Filli Vanilli)
Why it's in the middle: You could argue that this is meant to be more of a Big Macintosh character song since Fluttershy, as Flutterguy, is lipsyncing for him (it's only a crime if you get caught). But considering we get treated to not only Flutterguy reprises, but also a reprise with Fluttershy singing it properly at the end of the episode, I think it's meant to be more of her character song. However, the lyrics are kind of a letdown. The message boils down to: Learn how to express yourself, which is something Fluttershy should already know how to do. And no one likes a hypocrite. There's a good backing beat, but since Flutterguy was not only being voiced by someone different but had an entirely new singing voice, the intended fanservice doesn't work. And even then, fanservice can't make up for character regression or a horribly OOC portrayal of a main character.
4. Stop the Bats (Bats!)
Why it's in the top half: Even if they're trying to strawman Applejack by using dark tones and shades for her part, while making Fluttershy's parts lighter, this is a nice contrast between the two. Both deal with animals and nature as part of their professions, but they have different ways of dealing with it. Fluttershy, as an animal lover, wants a more humane (or equine I guess) solution than pest control. In and of itself that's not a bad suggestion, and Fluttershy wanting to defend the animals when no one else will is a good show of her character. She wants to show that there's another side to them, that they deserve care and respect too. The problem stems more from having this song be used to persuade the rest of the mane six on a dime to join Applejack, then claiming afterward that Applejack made the better point. It's just a cheap trick to try to further make Fluttershy sympathetic by turning everyone against her. But there's a right way and a wrong way of going about it, of forcing a character to stand alone for what they believe in. And this song and the episode it's a part of are textbook examples of how not to do it, using a song to cheapen arguments just because it's quicker. Plus, we already saw before the song that Fluttershy had lost her only bargaining chip, her ability to talk to the animals. As soon as she couldn't do that with the vampire fruit bats, her entire argument was robbed of any support it could've had.
3. Find a Pet (May The Best Pet Win)
Why it's in the top three: They even elude to this song by episode's end when Fluttershy suggests they sing a song, so this song has to have taken place in real time at least partially. Fluttershy opting to show off her collection of animals to Rainbow Dash, confident that she'll find one to take home as a pet is perfectly in character. And Rainbow wanting to set some terms and conditions is also in character. The problem is that the song wastes a long time repeating the same arguments: Rainbow Dash proclaims herself best pony, insisting she wants something fast to keep up with her and something that can fly. Yet Fluttershy takes forever to clue into this obvious fact. It does pick itself back up when Fluttershy joins in with Rainbow Dash at the end for a lovely duet, though I'm not entirely sure she'd be onboard with a contest when Rainbow doesn't seem to know what she wants in a pet (and the episode goes on to rise the question that she may not understand what a pet really needs). It's a good showcase of Fluttershy's character, but not the best.
2. So Many Wonders (The Cutie Mark Chronicles)
Why it's not on the top: I know, right? I'm as shocked as you are that this song isn't the best representation of Fluttershy's overall character. It is certainly a strong contender. Fluttershy discovering the ground and singing about her newfound fascination with it is in character. But keep in mind that this is before she's gotten her cutie mark, before she knows for sure that animals and ground life are where's she meant to be. She feels strongly about it, but not strong enough to trigger her cutie mark to appear. There's also the sudden tone and even genre shift near the end, when it suddenly becomes a swinging musical number like something out of a Broadway play. That throws you for a loop. And the line about the "pegasus race" is misleading, it was just a random incident that caused Fluttershy to end up on the ground. Three children hardly count as a representation of an entire race.
1. So Much More to Me (Equestria Girls: Better Together Season 1)
Why it's on the top: Yup, human Fluttershy's only song is the one that tops all the ones performed by her pony counterpart. As predictable as it may be in its lyrics and message, it really does sum up Fluttershy the best. There's more to her than just being shy, more to her than she might initially let on. Yes, it's kind of unfortunate that yet again we're reminded of the fact that this is a one-dimensional copy of a much more enjoyable character. But it fits Fluttershy well as both a human and a pony. It speaks the most about her character, which is what elevates it over the competition.
And there you have it, come back tomorrow when we'll look at and rank all the Applejack songs.
I think in So Many Wonders, the “Pegasus race” line isn’t about their species at all; what it meant was like a speed contest performed by Pegasi: therefore, a Pegasus race? Sorry if I didn’t explain this well enough..
5625220 Ah, I see. That would make more sense. But they could've probably changed "the" to "that" to indicate what they meant.
5625227
Totally agree! :D