Shout Out / Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Song Inspirations

The songs in each episode often parody or satire various songs or specific genres.

• For Season One:
  • The opening is based on Bloom's favorite animated openings from The '90s, such as The Nanny.
  • Episode 1, "Josh Just Happens to Live Here!":
    • "West Covina, California": Your standard Broadway style intro/expository song.
    • "The Sexy Getting Ready Song": A parody of Contemporary R&B songs and from “How Lovely to Be a Woman” from Bye Bye Birdie.
  • Episode 2, "Josh's Girlfriend is Really Cool!":
    • "Good At Yoga": A pastiche of Bollywood songs.
    • "Feeling Kinda Naughty": A parody of Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl."
  • Episode 3, "I Hope Josh Comes to My Party!":
    • "Face Your Fears": A parody of '80s gospel music.
    • "I Have Friends": A pastiche of 80s teen sitcom themes.
    • "A Boy Band Made Up of Four Joshes": A parody of, well, boy band songs.
  • Episode 4, "I'm Going on a Date with Josh's Friend!":
    • "Sex With A Stranger": A pastiche of Beyoncé's "Partition" and Ciara and Justin Timberlake's "Love Sex and Magic".
    • "Settle For Me": A parody of Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers song and dance numbers.
  • Episode 5, "Josh and I Are Good People!":
    • "I Love My Daughter (But Not in a Creepy Way)": A parody of Bob Carlisle's "Butterfly Kisses."
    • "I'm a Good Person": A parody of ridiculously triumphant, super-happy songs; style similarity to Pharrell's "Happy" and Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off."
  • Episode 6, "My First Thanksgiving with Josh!":
    • "I Give Good Parent": A pastiche of Nicki Minaj songs.
    • "What'll It Be?": Begins as a riff on Billy Joel's "Piano Man."
  • Episode 7, "I'm So Happy That Josh Is Happy!":
    • "Sexy French Depression": A pastiche of '30s French chanson specifically Bonjour Tristesse by Juliette Gréco, complete with black-and-white filter.
  • Episode 8, "My Mom, Greg's Mom, And Josh's Sweet Dance Moves!":
    • "Where's The Bathroom?": A classic klezmer Patter Song.
    • "California Christmastime": A pastiche of grand, all-cast ensemble Christmas songs.
  • Episode 10, "I'm Back at Camp with Josh!":
    • "Having a Few People Over": A pastiche of Electronic Dance Music.
    • "Put Yourself First": A parody of Fifth Harmony's song "Worth It."
  • Episode 11, "That Text Was Not Meant for Josh!":
    • "Textmergency" and "Where is the Rock?": A pastiche of '80s Hair Metal songs.
    • "You Stupid Bitch": Parodies diva ballads, like Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All.” Rachel Bloom told songwriter Adam Schlesinger, “I want this to be Bernadette Peters at Carnegie Hall.”
  • Episode 12, "Josh and I Work on a Case!":
    • "Group Hang": A pastiche of Shakira songs, especially "Whenever, Wherever."
    • "Cold Showers": A pastiche of "(Ya Got) Trouble" from The Music Man.
  • Episode 13, "Josh and I Go to Los Angeles!":
    • "JAP Battle": A pastiche of Battle Rapping, a practice among rappers and hip hop artists where they will try to trash-talk one another in a rap (the lyrics were written by none other than Zach Sherwin, who also co-wrote and appeared in multiple Epic Rap Battles of History videos). Also a pastiche of both "Cabinet Battles" from Hamilton.
    • "Flooded with Justice": A straight up pastiche of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from Les Misérables.
  • Episode 14, "Josh is Going to Hawaii!":
    • "Getting Bi": A style parody of 80's music, especially that of WHAM! and Huey Lewis and the News.
    • "I'm the Villain in My Own Story": A pastiche of Disney Villain Songs, especially "Poor Unfortunate Souls" from The Little Mermaid (1989).
  • Episode 15, "Josh Has No Idea Where I Am!":
    • "Dream Ghosts": Lyrically a parody of the title song from Dreamgirls, musically a pastiche of 60s Motown.
  • Episode 16, "Josh's Sister is Getting Married!":
    • "I Could If I Wanted To": A pastiche of '90s Alternative Rock and Grunge, extremely similar to Dennis Leary's musical output, right down to the repeated angsty rants in the middle of it. He even throws in a "Whoop-de-frickin'-doo!" The sequence also evokes the music video for Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve.
    • "Heavy Boobs": The music was inspired by Beyonce's "Diva," but the video pulls from Justin Bieber's "Sorry" video.
  • Episode 17, "Why Is Josh In A Bad Mood?":
    • "I Gave You a UTI": In the style of a gospel call-and-response (with a little Elvis thrown in for good measure).
    • "Oh My God I Think I Like You": A Carly Rae Jepsen style parody.
    • "Angry Mad": A parody of Footloose combined with The Karate Kid.
  • Episode 18, "Paula Needs To Get Over Josh!":
    • "After Everything I've Done For You (That You Didn't Ask For)": A straight up pastiche of the song "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy.
    • "One Indescribable Instant" is every single Disney Princess song rolled into one, which gets even better when it's sung by Lea Salonga, who played two Disney Princesses (she was the singing voice for Jasmine from Aladdin and the title character in Mulan).

• For Season Two:
  • The opening is a Busby Berkeley Number.
  • Episode 1, "Where is Josh's Friend?":
    • "Love Kernels": A complete parody of Beyonce's Lemonade.
    • “We Should Definitely Not Have Sex Right Now”: A parody of ‘80s R&B, particularly Sade
  • Episode 2, "When Will Josh See How Cool I Am?":
    • "Maybe This Dream": Another parody of Disney Princess songs, particularly "Once Upon a Dream" from Sleeping Beauty and “I Wonder.”
    • Greg's Drinking Song": A pastiche of Irish folk ballads.
    • "Ping-Pong Girl": A Blink-182 parody.
  • Episode 3, "All Signs Point to Josh... or Is It Josh's Friend?":
    • "Love Triangles": A parody of "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
  • Episode 4, "When Will Josh and His Friend Leave Me Alone?":
    • "We Tapped That Ass": A pastiche of "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair" from South Pacific and "Moses Supposes" from Singin' in the Rain. This calls back to the Pilot, which begins with Rebecca performing another song in South Pacific.
    • "Makey Makeover": A parody of "Mickey" by Toni Basil.
    • "It Was a Shit Show": A pastiche of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" and Barbra Streisand's "The Way We Were."
  • Episode 5, "Why is Josh's Ex-Girlfriend Eating Carbs?":
    • "Thought Bubbles": A Jason Mraz parody.
    • "Triceratops Ballet": References similar dream ballet numbers from Oklahoma! and Singin' in the Rain.
  • Episode 6, "Who Needs Josh When You Have a Girl Group?":
    • "Friendtopia": A Spice Girls "Spice Up Your Life" pastiche, with Rebecca, Valencia and Heather donning English accents.
    • "Stuck in the Bathroom": A parody of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet."
  • Episode 7, "Who's That Cool Girl Josh Is Dating?":
    • "Research Me Obsessively": A parody of Selena Gomez's "Good For You".
    • "You Go First": Channels 80's power ballads by Heart ("What About Love?") and Roxette ("Listen To Your Heart"), and the video references the one for Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart".
  • Episode 8, "Who Is Josh's Soup Fairy?":
    • "I'm So Maternal": A parody of Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk".
    • "Duh!": A style parody of early 2010's male singers such as Justin Timberlake or Bieber.
  • Episode 10, "Will Scarsdale Like Josh's Shanya Punim?":
    • "We'll Never Have Problems Again": A parody of "Ain't No Stopping Us Now", with the video referencing Soul Train (which Heather actually points out; when Rebecca and Josh shoo her away, and she retorts, "I guess I'll just Soul Train out of here").
    • "Remember That We Suffered": Klezmer music, or, more generally, much of traditional Ashkenazi Jewish culture.
  • Episode 11, "Josh Is The Man of My Dreams, Right?":
    • "Santa Ana Winds": A pastiche of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons songs.
    • "Let's Have Intercourse": A parody of Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud", including the music video.
  • Episode 12, "Is Josh Free in Two Weeks?":
    • "Man Nap": Another pastiche of late '80s hair metal.
    • "(Tell Me I'm Okay) Patrick": A torch song in the style of Stephen Sondheim.
    • Also appears to be a parody of the Hal David/Burt Bacharach song "(What's it All About) Alfie".
  • Episode 13, "Can Josh Take A Leap Of Faith?":
    • "What A Rush To Be A Bride": A pastiche of early 2000's metal bands like Korn or Slipknot, but seems to specifically reference "Perfect Weapon" by Black Veil Brides with its cinematography and color key. That, and, the obvious pun.

• For Season Three:
  • The opening features Rebecca in four different personas, each one an homage to a different type of artist: a country singer, a pop diva, a male rocker and a male rapper. The country singer in particular is pretty specific, as she smashes a car with a baseball bat much like in Carrie Underwood's song "Before He Cheats" (the bat even looks like a Louisville slugger).
  • Episode 1, "Josh's Ex Girlfriend Wants Revenge.":
    • "Where's Rebecca Bunch": A parody of "Rumor in Saint Petersburg" and "Once Upon a December" from Anastasia. The eighteenth-century villagers reacting to a quirky single woman also bring to mind "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast.
    • "Let's Generalize About Men": A pastiche of 80s female girl group songs, but most heavily influenced by "It's Raining Men".
  • Episode 2, "To Josh, With Love.":
    • "My Head in the Clouds": A straight homage to Gene Kelly's performance of the eponymous song in Singin' in the Rain.
    • "Strip Away My Conscience": An homage to Chicago.
    • "The Buzzing From The Bathroom": A parody of "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from Les Misérables.
  • Episode 3, "Josh Is A Liar.":
    • "The Moment is Me": A collection of every single schmaltzy High School Musical-type coming of age cliche, delivered with appropriate disgust.
    • "I Go To The Zoo": A parody of every Robin Thicke song ever, with some Hotline Bling vibes.
  • Episode 4, "Josh's Ex Girlfriend Is Crazy.":
    • "Scary Scary Sexy Lady": A style parody of James Bond themes.
    • "The End Of The Movie": An anthemic ballad characteristic of — and actually performed by — Josh Groban.
  • Episode 5, "I Never Want To See Josh Again.":
    • "Maybe She's Not Such A Heinous Bitch After All": An homage to Girl Group Brill Building pop from the 60s-it even begins with the drum beat from "Be My Baby".
    • "I Feel Like This Isn't About Me": A bossa nova interlude like a cross between "One Note Samba" and, of course, "The Girl From Ipanema".
  • Episode 6, "Josh Is Irrelevant.":
    • "This Is My Movement": A pastiche of "piano girl" artists such as Vanessa Carlton. The title is also likely a reference to Rebecca Black's "This Is My Moment", and may also serve as a Take That!, as the lyrics themselves are supposed to be uplifting but sound more like they're about taking a massive poop.
  • Episode 7, "Getting Over Jeff.":
    • "The Very First Penis I Saw": Basically a dirty version of ABBA's "Mamma Mia!". The video evokes the corresponding scene from the movie, with Paula hiding from the object of her affection while still peeking at him through cracks and holes.
    • "My Friend's Dad": A pastiche of Annie, as well as Shirley Temple's dance numbers.
  • Episode 8, "Nathaniel Needs My Help"
    • "Get Your Ass Out of My House": Parodies old-fashioned karaoke ballads.
  • Episode 9, "Nathaniel Gets the Message"
    • "Without Love You Can Save the World", which is sung in a similar way as charity donations ads, in the vein of choral rock. The part with each character in the ensemble singing a line one by one strongly resembles "We Are the World" by USA For Africa.
    • "Fit Hot Guys Have Problems Too" is a male version of the infamous Hot Problems by Double Take.
  • Episode 10, "Oh, Nathaniel, It's On!"
    • "Horny Angry Tango" is obviously a reference to the eponymous Argentinian dance.
  • Episode 11 "Nathaniel and I Are Just Friends!"
    • "This Session Is Going to Be Different", a homage to "Maybe This Time" from Cabaret.
  • Episode 12, "Trent?!"
    • "Back in Action": A pastiche of '80s rock and buddy cop films.
  • Episode 13, "Nathaniel is Irrelevant"
    • "Nothing Is Ever Anyone's Fault": a Final Love Duet in the style of those written by Jason Robert Brown: Tenor Boy singing the opening verse, Love Interest taking over during the second, 12/8 time signature, and close harmony between the two singers (though without Brown's typical trick of having them end on the exact same high note).
    • Nathaniel's "before I knew you" is also musically similar to the "because I knew you" in "For Good", from Wicked.

• For Season Four:
  • The opening theme is a parody of ridiculously upbeat late 80s / early 90s teen shows.
  • Episode 1, "I Want To Be Here."
    • "What's Your Story?": A parody/deconstruction of the Cell Block Tango from Chicago.
    • "No One Else Is Singing My Song": A pastiche of grand ensemble anthems such as "We Are The World".
  • Episode 2, "I Am Ashamed."
    • "Seize the Day": A pastiche of motivational musical numbers, reminiscent of "There is Life Outside Your Apartment" from Avenue Q.
    • "Do The Cringe": An homage to "Monster Mash", as well as "dance songs" such as the Macarena or Thriller.
  • Episode 3, "I Am On My Own Path."
    • "Don't Be A Lawyer": Based on late 80s/early 90s New Jack Swing (especially "Every Little Step" by Bobby Brown). It also has several melodic references to "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul.
    • "Twisted Fate": A clear tribute to Simon & Garfunkel, to the point where the pretzels are given wigs to match the iconic duo. The opening chords are also from "Sounds of Silence".
  • Episode 4, "I Am Making Up For Lost Time"
    • "I Want to Be a Child Star": A merciless parody of preteen Disney Channel acts, with the lyrics indirectly referencing a variety of child celebrities whose life jumped the rails, such as Macaulay Culkin, Gary Coleman or Lindsey Lohan.
  • Episode 5, "I'm So Happy For You"
    • "The Group Mind Has Decided You're In Love": Based on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, from the Western setting and musical style, to the elaborate dance breaks, to pushing two people who'd really rather not be in a relationship together. Also heavily influenced by "The Farmer and the Cowman" from Oklahoma!!
    • "I've Always Never Believed In You": A parody of "If I Didn't Believe In You" from The Last Five Years.
  • Episode 6, "I See You"
    • "Trapped In A Car With Someone You Don't Want To Be Trapped In A Car With" is a parody of the various musical styles of The Beach Boys.
    • "Farewell, Fair Mustache" is sung in the style of a child's lullaby.
  • Episode 7, "I Will Help You"
    • "Forget It" is a Madonna pastiche.
    • "If You Ever Need A Favor In Fifty Years" is more-or-less a straightforward camp song (with some very specific lyrics).
  • Episode 8, "I'm Not The Person I Used To Be"
    • "What U Missed While U Were PopUlar" is a parody of "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani.
  • Episode 9, "I Need Some Balance"
    • Rebecca's reoccuring musical daydreams are explicitly a reference to Cats complete with the costumes and choreography.
  • Episode 10, "I Can Work With You"
    • Josh and Nathaniel's "Sports Analogies" is a parody of the style of the songwriting duo Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, especially "Love and Marriage" and "High Hopes".
  • Episode 11, "I'm Almost Over You"
    • "Gratuitous Karaoke Moment" is a Take That! to big contrived karaoke scenes in romantic comedy films.
  • Episode 12, "I Need a Break"
    • "I Hate Everything But You" is a tribute to Bruce Springsteen, especially Born to Run-era songs.
    • "I'm Not Sad You're Sad" is a homage to British female MCs like M.I.A., Lady Sovereign and Honey G.
    • "The Darkness" is a parody of love ballads.
  • Episode 13, "I Have to Get Out"
    • "Anti-Depressants Are So Not A Big Deal" is a shout-out to La La Land.
    • "Real Life Fighting is Awkward" is a parody of "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas, with shout-outs to West Side Story, martial arts films and Star Wars.
  • Episode 16, "I Have A Date"
    • "Love's Not a Game" is a parody of Guys and Dolls, particularly "Luck Be a Lady."

Other

• Rebecca's awkward line in Episode 2 "I'm just going to gracefully exeunt, pursued by a bear" is a reference to a famous stage direction in William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.^note It's actually a misquotation. "Exeunt", being plural, is the direction for more than one performer to leave the stage, but when it's one person, and in the original play, it's just "Exit".
• When Greg quits his job in Episode 6 and then has to go and ask for it back, his boss is not surprised:
  Kevin: You think that's the first Netflix quit I've seen? Had a busboy do the entire Peter Finch speech from Network. Shouted out of a window and everything.
• In Episode 10's song "Dear Joshua Felix Chan", Rebecca compares her and Josh to "Tristan and Isolde", a reference (via the opera by Richard Wagner) to the medieval legend of star-crossed lovers Tristan and Iseult.
• In episode 10, when Rebecca is about to pass out, she says "Are you there God? It's me." When she wakes up, she asks if she's in The Matrix and whether she is Neo.
• Episode 15 is a Whole-Plot Reference to a classic 30 Rock episode crossed with the structure of A Christmas Carol. Also kinda Dream Girls.
• In Episode 18, Greg refers to the stick balloon he got for Rebecca as "the Turducken of sympathy balloons."
• In Season 2 Episode 10, the recurring use of Josh's whistling while Rebecca is in Dr Akopian's consulting room is a Shout Out to the shark theme in Jaws.
  • In the same episode, the scene where first Paula and then all the employees claim responsibility for putting candy back in the cupboard after Nathaniel's replaced it all with healthy food is a Shout Out to Spartacus. Followed by a spectacularly fumbled attempt on Darryl's part to invoke Braveheart:
  Darryl: You can take our candy! But you'll never take our candy!
• When Paula meet Sunail, she tells him she and Rebecca are, respectively, Barb and Nancy.
• The Rom Com parody episode includes a background pastiche of The Devil Wears Prada, with Tim as Andy and Bert as Miranda.
• When Tucker asks the boy crossing the street about the Peter Pan auditions he says, “Boy, why are you crossing?” This directly references, “Boy, why are you crying?” from the 1954 Peter Pan musical.