Every ‘Riverdale’ Musical Number, Ranked

Originally By: Gary Jules

Performed By: Archie (KJ Apa), Veronica (Camila Mendes), Betty (Lili Reinhart)

Let’s get this one out of the way, shall we? The cover of Jules’ “Mad World” is fine. It’s a little bland and disjointed since it’s sung by three people. The reason this is at the bottom of the list, though, is because of what happened in the show, making this the most notorious musical number in Riverdale history.

First, Archie and Veronica perform that song from Donnie Darko at a gang gathering. Then when Veronica runs out, they get booed — so Betty takes the opportunity to go up and start singing. She also takes the opportunity to do the “Serpent dance,” a ritual where new initiates into the Southside Serpents do a striptease in order to gain access to the gang. It’s something that, by the way, has never been enforced or referred to since.

Betty performs the striptease in front of her boyfriend Jughead (Cole Sprouse). And his Dad, FP (Skeet Ulrich). And her Mom, Alice (Mädchen Amick). Nobody stops her. In fact, she finishes the number, and FP claps for her.

Also at one point she just starts dancing and stops singing, but the singing continues.

Again, the number itself is fine. But in the history of Riverdale, this is one of the most jaw-droppingly weird moments, and it just does not work.

Originally By: Juan Carlos Calderón

Performed By: Veronica

This one is also down to context, and perhaps if I had more of a personal connection to the song I’d get it better. But in order to welcome Archie back to town after nearly getting killed by a bear (really), Veronica sings this popular Spanish song (and mind you, her singing voice is fine). She also only gets about fifteen seconds into it before Archie leaves. It feels like something more appropriate to a wedding than a welcome home party, and feels particularly out of place for both Veronica and Riverdale.

Originally By: n/a

Performed By: Archie, Josie and the Pussycats

The show has gotten away from creating original songs since Archie took up bare-knuckle boxing and the Pussycats broke up; but at least in Season 1 this was a major facet of the show. Josie and the Pussycats get a little more of a pop sensibility, but the songs written by Archie are purposefully (?) bland and a little folksy.

This one is nice because Josie (Ashleigh Murray) and Archie have two of the best blends of voices on the show but the music and lyrics are very slow and repetitive. Fine for an actual high school, less interesting to listen to more than once.

Originally By: Traditional

Performed By: Josie, Kevin (Casey Cott)

You know what this is. Murray and Cott both have strong voices, but this isn’t the jam of the Summer or anything.

Originally By: n/a

Performed By: Josie and the Pussycats

Similar to “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” this song does a good job aping a small town’s theme song, and the Pussycats are fine on the harmony; but I don’t think anyone will be adding this to a playlist anytime soon. Except for me, who added this to the playlist I linked above.

Originally By: Michael Gore & Dean Pitchford

Performed By: Alice, Midge (Emilija Baranac)

Something from the “Carrie: The Musical” episode has to be on the bottom, and this purposefully off-kilter song between Carrie and her Mom is it. Ignore that Alice is an adult performing in the high school musical, because Amick’s singing voice is surprisingly strong and emotional. Baranac is also good, but the song itself is a middle song in the musical meant to bridge between the stand-out numbers. That said, Alice breaking from the musical to sing directly to her daughter, Betty, is a nice emotional beat in the episode.

Originally By: Stephen Sondheim

Performed By: Josie

I feel physically uncomfortable ranking a Sondheim number so low on this list, but the cover is one of the lesser numbers performed by Josie at Season 3’s night club La Bonne Nuit. This was never actually aired — only dropped on the internet — so maybe that’s why? Sorry, Steve.

Originally By: n/a

Performed By: Archie

Very folksy “original” song by Archie with lyrics that are perfectly in keeping with a high school student trying to sound deep. It’s every song played by every dude alone with a girl in a dorm room who pulled out his guitar and said “hey can I play something for you?”

Originally By: n/a

Performed By: Josie and the Pussycats

Similar to Archie’s generic folk song, this original was supposed to show us why Josie and the Pussycats are the number one musical act in Riverdale, but it comes off as generic pop. There are much better numbers by the group. Fine for the pilot, but since they’ve shown off their chops to much better effect.

Originally By: Kim Wilde

Performed By: Archie, Veronica

Easily the most Glee-style number Riverdale has ever done, this cover of “Kids in America” comes off as more Kidz Bop than punk rock.

Originally By: Cyndi Lauper

Performed By: Josie and the Pussycats

It hurts me to say, but… This just isn’t a good arrangement of “All Through The Night.” The performers are fine, but Lauper’s original is simple, clean pop with synth notes broken by pop belting. This mushes the notes and the vocals, and it feels like Murray in particular is fighting through it the entire time. It was the first episode, and it almost makes me wish they’d tackle it again now that the production has a better idea of what they’re doing. It’s just trying too hard to be different.

Originally By: Michael Gore & Dean Pitchford

Performed By: Camila Mendes

This is a 37 second reprise of an earlier song. Mendes’ voice is good for Broadway style songs, but there’s not much here.

Originally By: Kander & Ebb

Performed By: Josie

I love me some “Cabaret,” and this is a fun cover of the title track. Murray’s voice is great, and the horns are fun. In the show it’s not given a lot of time, and it’s missing a bit of the subtext the other “Cabaret” cover on this list captures. But it’s good! Not great, but good.

Originally By: Michael Gore & Dean Pitchford

Performed By: Veronica, Toni (Vanessa Morgan), Ethel (Shannon Purser), Betty

Mendes is easily the most Broadway/theater sounding voice in the cast, so everything she gets to do in “A Night To Remember” is fun, and this number is no exception. Even if you’re not watching her perform, you can picture the crisp arm thrusts and dance moves. It’s enjoyable, and the performance builds nicely.

Originally By: Jonathan Larson

Performed By: Josie and the Pussycats

“RENT” and Riverdale are kind of a match made in heaven, and Murray’s vocals are the perfect blend of theater and rock for the song. Full disclosure: I’m not the biggest fan of “RENT” but this does a good job of capturing what makes this number fun. Bonus: Josie gets to say “meow” in the song.

Originally By: Donna Summer

Performed By: Josie and the Pussycats

Just a solid cover of Summer’s classic disco tune! That’s it!

Originally By: n/a

Performed By: Archie

The lyrics to this song, “come on let’s turn the radio on, and dance, dance dance” sound like Archie heard a bunch of songs at the same time and wrote them all down. But! Contextually, it’s the first time he’s played his songs for his friends, and Betty — who at the time was harboring a crush on him — ran away halfway through the song. Even if the tune itself is dinky, it does lead to an important moment in the canon.

Originally By: Lawrence D. Cohan

Performed By: Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch), Josie

Cheryl and Josie is one of the best combinations on the show, in terms of singing; Petsch and Murray’s voices just work well together. For this torch song, though, they compete as Cheryl tries to prove she’s more worthy of the spotlight than Josie. The song is classic Broadway, with soaring melodies and criss-crossing lyrics. Petsch and Murray chew the hell out of the song, and though it’s still a minor song in the first musical episode, it’s a delight to listen to.

Originally By: n/a

Performed By: Josie and the Pussycats

A lesser entry in the Pussycats canon, this original has Murray’s always excellent vocals, but the lyrics are vague at best.

Originally By: Tina Turner

Performed By: Josie

This should be a slam-dunk, but it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Turner’s original. Not that anyone can match Turner’s vocals, but Murray comes off a little wispier in comparison. That said, having this cover underscore Archie fighting for his life in a totally unnecessary boxing match complete with Josie entering to cheer him on while she continues to sing in the background makes for a fun moment in the show; even if the cover itself lacks a little something.

Originally By: Lawrence D. Cohan

Performed By: Alice

Amick has the perfect voice for the broken mother of Carrie White. This song comes off as intended… A little off-kilter, a little terrifying, and Amick’s wistful voice works perfectly for it. Not the best song in the musical, but definitely worth listening to. Too bad it was interrupted by the *spoiler* death of Midge.

Originally By: Schoolhouse Rock!

Performed By: Veronica, Josie, Valerie (Hayley Law)

Schoolhouse Rock! is another perfect fit with Riverdale, and this cover featuring three of the show’s leading ladies is delightfully jazzy.

Originally By: Duran Duran

Performed By: Veronica and the Pussycats

This one is super on the nose, and that’s what makes it fun — despite Mendes’ voice not being immediately a good fit for a Duran Duran tune. Not only has Veronica essentially stolen the Pussycats from Josie, but the town is dealing with some serious drama involving gang the Southside Serpents. So yeah, an okay cover, but a fun addition to the show at the same time.

Originally By: Michael Gore & Dean Pitchford

Performed By: Archie, Veronica, Betty

A sweet romantic song in the middle of the absolute terror of “Carrie: The Musical.” It works nicely, and it’s fun to hear the main trio singing together.

Originally By: Rodgers & Hammerstein

Performed By: Cheryl

Listen: “Carousel” is one of my favorite musicals ever, so I was always predisposed to like this cover. But getting to hear Petsch sing the song darkly and clearly at Midge’s funeral, as the River Vixens — the Riverdale High cheer squad — are dressed in all black cheerleading uniforms is so winkingly grim it elevates this to greatness.

Originally By: Elvis Presley

Performed By: The River Vixens

This number was routinely mocked when it happened in the show, and for good reason. In order to cheer up Archie — who has been sent to jail for a murder he didn’t commit — Veronica gets the River Vixens to plop a jukebox outside the juvenile detention facility, and they proceed to perform “Jailhouse Rock” with full choreography while the prisoners cheer and then play a friendly touch football game. This, of course, is followed by a prison riot.

How did they manage to get right outside the jail to perform? When did they rehearse the number? Nobody knows!

…But here’s the thing, it’s, uh, actually kind of good? Murray, Petsch and Mendes are the main voices beyond the cover, and they eat it up. The tune is fun, the performances are cheeky. It’s a good performance! Does it make any sense in the show? Nope. But will I listen to it a bunch more times? Let’s rock.

Originally By: Chris Montez

Performed By: Josie

A nice, sultry cover by Josie.

Originally By: n/a

Performed By: Archie, Valerie

Another pretty basic Archie “original” but here we get the short-lived couple of Archie and Valerie singing together, which is sweet. The lyrics are still pretty rote, but the tune is a little more upbeat than most of Mr. Andrews’s songs.

Originally By: n/a

Performed By: Archie

The highest rated Archie song on this list, and also one of the first. Apa’s voice sounds good here, and it’s still folk-lite, but the song builds nicely and if it was playing the background of a dive bar I would not hate it.

Originally By: Michael Gore & Dean Pitchford

Performed By: Cheryl

Is there any more Cheryl Blossom song than her chastising everyone for not getting her name correct? In the episode, Cheryl sings the song completely unprompted to prove she deserves the main role in the show. It’s great.

Originally By: Michael Gore & Dean Pitchford

Performed By: Cast

The opening song in the “Carrie: The Musical” episode, it sets the tone perfectly, introducing the full cast of Riverdale as they practice a song from the musical they’re about to perform in, as well as the way the show will bridge “real” life and the singing. The song is also pretty great, with solid moments for everyone in the main cast including Archie doing shirtless push-ups over his script.

Originally By: The Verve

Performed By: Veronica, Josie

Of course Veronica and Josie would sing “Bitter Sweet Symphony” during the former’s confirmation ceremony, because why not? It’s inexplicable, but at the same time the haunting tune perfectly underscores a fraught ceremony attended by multiple mob bosses and suffused with danger.

Originally By: Nina Simone/The Animals

Performed By: Gladys (Gina Gershon)

It’s insane that the point of Gladys Jones singing this punked up version of the Nina Simone standard was so a bunch of dudes in the audience could heckle her for sucking because… It’s very good? Gladys quips earlier in the episode that she was a bit of a Joan Jett in her time, and that’s exactly what Gershon crushes here. Ignore Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) and his buddy, Gladys did a good job.

Originally By: Michael Gore & Dean Pitchford

Performed By: Archie, Veronica, Betty, Chuck (Jordan Calloway)

This quartet, where two couples make plans about Carrie White with opposing goals, is a lot of fun. It shows off Reinhart’s clean vocals in particular, and is one of the better songs in the show.

Originally By: Lawrence D. Cohan

Performed By: Teen Fred (KJ Apa), Teen Sierra (Ashleigh Murray), Teen Hermione (Camila Mendes), Teen Alice (Lili Reinhart)

This song itself is pure ’80s cheese; but that’s perfect for the show’s flashback episode, which found the “teen” cast playing younger versions of their parents. While hanging out at school in fantasy costumes, they jammed to this tune from Nightmare on Elm Street 3, and it’s pretty much perfect down to Madelaine Petsch’s supremely dorky dancing as Teen Penelope Blossom.

Originally By: Madonna

Performed By: Josie

Okay, this makes me feel much better about the Sondheim slight earlier on. While some of the other tunes Josie has sung at La Bonne Nuit were out of place, this one is perfect. During the show’s noir tribute episode, Josie covered this Madonna classic written by Sondheim for Dick Tracy. It’s sultry, dark, and later in the episode she ends up shooting some sparks at Archie. Sooner or later I always get my man, indeed.

Originally By: Andrew Lippa

Performed By: Archie, Josie

I mentioned this before, but Apa and Murray’s voices are great together; yet it wasn’t until this episode, and this song that the characters actually hooked up. After a short, sweet flirtation they jammed together on this hopeful tune about finding your place. Both characters were lost — Archie after a traumatic series of events, Josie after multiple career setbacks — and found each other in each other’s arms. The song is great, the circumstances make it greater.

Originally By: Michael Gore & Dean Pitchford

Performed By: Cast

Since the final number of “Carrie: The Musical” ends with Midge impaled on the back of the stage, the episode itself smartly builds to this banger which brings the whole cast together for a cheeky number that also tees up prom night in the show. It’s a ton of fun, with a catchy tune and clever lyrics.

Oh, and in retrospect, the “a night we’ll never forget” comes off more as a threat than a promise, just like in the show itself.

Originally By: Robyn

Performed By: Veronica, Toni

Woof, there’s so much going on in this killer cover of Robyn’s breakup anthem. There’s the show context, as Cheryl heads to La Bonne Nuit expecting to see her girlfriend Toni working hard after multiple fights… Only to discover she’s dancing on stage with Veronica to a song about how you should break up with your girlfriend. For any fan of the couple, it’s like getting stabbed in the gut.

Then there’s the tease towards the internet, which likes to call Veronica Lodge a “bisexual icon,” despite any evidence of this in the show. If you want some evidence, though, I guess dancing on stage with the show’s most prominent bisexual, Toni, hugging her and singing about how she should tell her girlfriend she find someone new might help fuel that.

But the biggest plus here are Morgan’s vocals, which are the most pop-ready on the show. Morgan doesn’t get to sing nearly enough on the series, and it’s honestly kind of shocking based on this cover alone that she didn’t get her start in a girl group.

Originally By: Cole Porter

Performed By: Josie

Murray’s incredible range helps her nail this standard. If she ever does a showcase at Joe’s Pub in New York, Murray should definitely think about including “Anything Goes.”

Originally By: Michael Gore & Dean Pitchford

Performed By: Cheryl, Toni

Oh, did I put a deleted number in the top ten? Well suck it up, it’s my list, not yours. The reprise of “You Shine” features Toni cheering Cheryl, and as it was coming on the heels of the couple finally coming together, it’s a beautiful duet that brought together everything fans like about the duo. The lyrics, “no doubts, no more fears,” are about Cheryl’s performance in the musical; but they’re also about the new relationship they’re heading into. Put it back in the episode, you cowards.

Originally By: Transviolet

Performed By: Josie and the Pussycats ft. Veronica

Another number deleted for time — which given the packed Season one finale, makes sense. That said, it’s an excellent pop song, and what a lot of the “original” Josie and the Pussycats songs seem to be going for. In fact, just to play armchair producer for a moment, using smaller pop hits like “Astronaut” as inspiration for the “originals” on the show seems like a smarter way to go than actually creating songs.

Particularly if they can give credit to the artists (Transviolet in this case), it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. That is, if they ever do originals again, instead of starting fight clubs. Maybe when/if the Pussycats reunite on Katy Keene?

Originally By: Kelis

Performed By: Josie and the Pussycats ft. Cheryl

Nobody tell Kelis I said this, but this cover of “Milkshake” from Season 2 is better than the original. Not only in context, where Josie and the Pussycats, as well as Cheryl, perform the song on the roof of Pop’s Diner (get it? GET IT???), but it’s a perfect mix of coquettish flirting and harmonies. It’s teasing without being aggressive, cute without getting too sexual. In a sense, it’s close to being the perfect Riverdale song.

Originally By: The Archies/Flo Rida

Performed By: Josie and the Pussycats ft. Cheryl

If there’s one song everyone associates with Archie Comics, it’s the classic tune “Sugar Sugar,” so even two episodes in there was a hell of a lot of anticipation about how the series would tackle the tune. The cover contains everything you need to know about Riverdale at its best.

Not only does it include the 1969 tune from the imaginary band, it also references the updated version by Inner Circle and Flo Rida, which is a perfect mix of Americana and modern. But in the show, it’s at a pep rally honoring the recently murdered Jason Blossom (Trevor Stines), and one of the people performing this jazzed up version of “Sugar Sugar” is his sister Cheryl. She’s seen gyrating with the River Vixens, who are dancing along to the song, and later (in the music video version) on stage with Josie.

That’s… Crazy. But that’s also Riverdale. It’s so many things at the same time, and if you needed to sell someone on the show, all you would need to do would be explain what’s going on up to this song and then show them the video. Riverdale had one job: to nail “Sugar Sugar,” and they did it.

Originally By: Kander & Ebb

Performed By: Veronica

I’ve written at length before about how Mendes’s cover of “Maybe This Time” from “Cabaret” was something truly special, but here’s the short version — and why it’s the number one musical number on this list.

Mendes’s voice is deep, Broadway ready with a powerful vibrato. And most of her line readings are suffused with a certain sadness already that conflicts with her baby-faced features. So she’s already perfectly matched with “Maybe This Time,” a song that seems happy on the surface, about how a new love might be the one that sticks; but underlying that is the idea that everything has failed before.

Veronica singing the song cross-cuts with a number of moments, most notably her kissing Reggie Mantle (Charles Melton) for the first time; and events with her old love, Archie. It’s the latter where things really become gut-wrenchingly hard to watch. Archie has been mauled by a bear (seriously) and is lying near death, going on a dream journey through everything that’s been trying to kill him. That last thing is… Himself, and he gives a speech about how he needs to kill everything bad, everything dumb inside of him before bashing “himself” with a baseball bat.

As the final phrases of Veronica’s song hit, in real life park rangers rush in to find Archie lying on the bed, covered in blood. “Maybe this time, I’ll win,” Veronica sings, holding that last note… And Archie dies (don’t worry, he comes back to life).

Not only is this a great cover, an expertly filmed and edited sequence, but in the context of the show it’s one of the best, most emotionally charged moments they’ve ever done — music, or no.

Where to stream Riverdale