Ariana Grande, JAY-Z & 13 Other Artists Who Interpolate Broadway Songs

Sampling of songs is no new thing, but sampling and interpolating Broadway songs isn’t as talked about as some other song samples. Ariana Grande’s new track “7 rings” might have brought back the conversation of the usage of Broadway songs as samples, but artists have been covering and taking inspiration from musicals for decades. Some musicals are just so influential they’re hard not to notice in their sample counterparts, but others drop more subtle hints of their Broadway influences. From The Sound of Music to Annie, there’s a plethora of musicals to sample and these artists have oded well to their inspirations.

Scroll below to see if you ever realized these 15 songs took inspiration from broadway!  

1. Ariana Grande - “7 rings”

Ariana’s latest hit “7 rings” samples the melody of “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music at the beginning of the song.

2. Panic! at the Disco - “Build God, Then We’ll Talk”

Panic! at the Disco’s song “Build God, Then We’ll Talk” features an interpolation of “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music as well.

3. Madonna - “Hung Up”

Madonna samples the infamous beat from ABBA’s “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight) in her song “Hung Up”. ABBA's song was in Mamma Mia.

4. Jay Z - “Hard Knock Life”

It’s not hard to figure out, but Jay Z’s “Hard Knock Life” samples “It’s A Hard Knock Life” from the famous musical Annie.

5. Beyoncé - “Sorry”

During the intro to the song “Sorry” from Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake plays under Beyoncé’ spoken word.

6. Gwen Stefani - “Rich Girl”

Gwen Stefani made her own remake of the song “If I Was a Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof with her song “Rich Girl.”

7. Lukas Graham - “Mama Said”

Lukas Graham sampled the melody and the famous lyrics from Annie’s “It’s A Hard Knock Life.”

8. Mika ft. Ariana Grande - “Popular Song”

Mika takes inspiration and samples from the song “Popular” in the musical Wicked.

9. Gwen Stefani - “Wind It Up”

Gwen Stefani mimics the yodeling and tune from “Lonely Goatherd” from The Sound of Music in her song “Wind It Up.”

10. G-Eazy - “The Coolest Job”

G-Eazy samples “Chim Chim Cheree” from the musical Mary Poppins in his song “The Coolest Job.”

11. Israel Kamakawiwo’ole - “Over the Rainbow”

The famous Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole covered the song “Over the Rainbow” from the musical The Wizard of Oz.

12. Childish Gambino - “So Much Better”

Childish Gambino sampled “So Much Better” from Legally Blonde the musical in his own song.

13. LL Cool J - “10 Million Stars”

LL Cool J sampled the intro from “I Sing the Body Electric” from the musical Fame in his song “10 Million Stars.”

14. Kesha - “Red Lipstick”

Kesha sampled “Whatever Lola Wants” from the musical play Damn Yankees in her song “Red Lipstick.”

15. Primus - “Cheer Up Charlie”

Primus covered some of “Cheer Up Charlie” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in their version of “Cheer Up Charlie.”