"I guess it's plain to see
When you look at you and me
We're different
Different
As can be..."
When you look at you and me
We're different
Different
As can be..."
— Quirrell and Voldemort, A Very Potter Musical
A duet where the subject at hand is how different the characters are. Bonus points if the lyrics act like the characters shouldn't be friends, yet they are.
Counterpoint Duet is a more specific form of this trope in terms of song structure.
Also see Call-and-Response Song, Quarreling Song and Soprano and Gravel.
Examples
Audio Plays
- Inverted in 36 Questions - the song "We Both" is about similarities between Judith and her alter-ego, as well as between her and her estranged husband.
Comedy
- "You're So Old/Young
", by Greta and Mitch Benn, in which father and daughter sing about how the other one doesn't understand anything.
Fan Works
- In the Doki Doki Literature Club! fan music "Insanity", the main character and Monika sing about the latter's actions, the former about how they're wrong no matter Monika's motivation, the latter trying to justify them and trying to apologize the player about them.
- Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper subverts this in "A Girl Like You". Anneliese is a princess and Erika is a pauper, with the typical trappings associated with each role. However, their longing to escape what others have predetermined for them, and their responsible personalities makes them realize they are more alike than they thought.
- The Chipmunk Adventure. The Battle of the Sexes song, "The Girls of Rock n Roll," when both The Chipmunks and Chipettes cross paths in Athens, and decide to see which group can out rock the other.
- The Country Bears. Zeb is wrangled into a musical duel against the house band of Cha Cha's bar (which happens to be the Brian Setzer Orchestra); if Zeb wins, his tab is cleared, but if the house band wins, Cha Cha keeps the Country Bears' tour bus.
- A Goofy Movie has "On the Open Road", where Goofy sings about being on the open road while Max sings about how he'd rather be anywhere else.
- Frozen (2013): "For the First Time in Forever", where Anna sings about her excitement and joy at the castle gates being open for the very first time after being shut up for many years, while Elsa sings about her nerves for the coronation and hiding her ice powers. Its reprise has Anna sing and beg Elsa to come back to Arendelle to control her powers and end the Endless Winter, while Elsa begs her to go home without her in fear she could hurt her like she did in their childhood, which culminates in letting her nerves get the better of her and freezing Anna's heart.
- Quest for Camelot. Devon and Cornwall's show-stopping number, "If I Didn't Have You," in which they both sing about how much each of their lives would be better if they were separate dragons and not two-headed.
- In Shock Treatment, Brad and Janet Majors' troubled marriage is introduced in the song "Bitchin' in the Kitchen", in which Brad whines and Janet rages. Later in the film, Brad squares off against Farley Flavors in the song "Duel Duet".
- Viva Las Vegas has Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret trading lines in "The Lady Loves Me", Elvis singing about how much she's attracted to him, and Ann-Margret singing about how much she isn't.
- In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xander and Anya sing this kind of duet about their strange romantic relationship.
- "Leslie Oscar Duet" (called "Christmas Blech" on the official soundtrack) from A Special Sesame Street Christmas.
- In Galavant Sid tries to get Madalena and Gareth to find some common ground, but it turns into this while he tries to get them back on message. Eventually he gets them to realize that they do agree on one thing: both of them want to throw Sid out the window into the moat.
- Sesame Street:
- "But I Like You" is a song by Ernie and Bert about how they have different likes and dislikes but both like each other.
- Zigzagged for "Loud and Soft". Bert and Ernie sing about their singing styles, and often the singing styles are opposite to one another and the line "Two good friends, me and you, each with an opposite point of view" crops up repeatedly, but sometimes, their opinions do match.
- "Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off" is probably the most famous example of this.
- "Opposites Attract" by Paula Abdul is about how she and her lover (MC Scat Cat) are so different yet love each other anyway.
- Cesare - Il Creatore che ha distrutto has one between future popes. Giuliano della Rovere starts by singing about how Italy is a rotting fruit on the verge of collapse, and Rodrigo Borgia enters, turning the tune around and singing about how Spain is flourishing. The one thing they both agree on? That the one who controls it all is the pope, and that they're both determined to do whatever it takes to win at the imminent conclave. They most definitely are not friends, and are actively trying to kill each other.
- RENT: "Take Me Or Leave Me" starts off with Maureen singing about how Joanne should be happy that she's sexy and flirty, but half-way through Joanne starts singing about how she isn't like that, and how different they are. Unlike most examples here, however, the song actually ends with them breaking up because they're too different.
- In the song "How the Other Half Live" from Thoroughly Modern Millie, Miss Dorothy expresses how she wants to leave her Gilded Cage for the down-to-earth lifestyle of the lower classes, and Millie says that she's tired of being poor and plans to marry a wealthy man. The two resolve to help each other reach their goals by teaching the other about the ways of her respective class.
Dorothy: Give me the milk without the honey, I'll take those funny, money woes...Millie: Poor, not me honey! I don't want those money woes...
- In A Very Potter Musical, Quirrell and Voldemort sing "Different As Can Be". Quirrell is a peaceful fellow, while Voldemort is a sadistic villain trying to Take Over the World who happens to temporarily live on the back of Quirrell's head.
- Wicked: "What Is This Feeling?" lays out how different the roommates Elphaba and Galinda are, and how these differences make the two antagonize each other.
Elphaba and Galinda: There's been some confusion for you see, my roommate is...Galinda: Unusually and exceedingly peculiar, and altogether quite impossible to describe...Elphaba: Blonde.
- In Disney's Believe, "What Makes the Garden Grow" has Sophia and her father duet over their differing opinions on what makes flowers bloom—magic and love, or science.
- Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog has Penny and Dr. Horrible himself sing "My Eyes", a song that illustrates their differing worldviews and points of view; Dr. Horrible being pessimistic and cynical, and Penny being optimistic and hopeful. Both are unaware that the other is singing.
- In The Nostalgia Critic and The Nostalgia Chick's Crossover review of The Chipmunk Adventure, the Critic and the Chick parody "The Girls of Rock n Roll"; the Chick sings of how women had to overcome being regarded as second-class citizens who were often denied many basic human rights, while the Critic simply keeps singing about his penis.
- Family Guy featured a duet between Brian and Stewie entitled "You and I Are So Awfully Different" in the episode "Road to Europe".
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: In the episode "Bats!" Fluttershy and Applejack sing a song about their conflicting ideas on how to deal with an infestation of vampire bats in the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres.
- Sheep in the Big City General Specific and Private Public sing in an unrelated act at the end of one episode a song about their differences, and finally decide to try one another’s interests for the sake of their friendship.
- In the Muppet Babies (1984) episode "Sing a Song of Superheroes", Scooter and Skeeter have a song about being Polar Opposite Twins to the tune of "Dance of the Hours".
- Ruby Gloom: In "Hair(less): The Musical", when the ever-optimistic Ruby is failing to cheer up the gang despite her efforts, she and the gloomy Misery sing a duet about their differences. Misery wishes she could help out with Ruby's efforts, Ruby reassures her that it's just not for her, and both of them express contentment with their roles.
Ruby: I don't mind to cheer friends up.
Misery: And I don't mind being in this rut. I'm the dark...
Ruby: I'm the dawn...
Ruby/Misery: After all, it's in our job description.
