Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist has featured over 100 songs over two seasons, and fans have spent the last month voting on Twitter in the Best Song Tournament. And now the time has come for the winners to be announced! We’ve crunched the numbers and determined not only which song won the overall vote, but which songs were the most popular for each character. And, yes, for the two ships that have been stuck in a love triangle over the past two seasons. So let’s get started…
BEST SONG: AMERICAN PIE
It probably shouldn’t be a surprise that American Pie took the crown for fans’ favorite song. This musical number was a tour de force, with all of the characters coming together for a several-minute number shot in a single take. Not only was it a technical achievement but an emotional one, set at Mitch’s wake. Even a year later, it’s hard not to cry during the song, so its win is well-deserved.
Simon’s song, Black Man in a White World pulled out a second place showing, while the second season finale’s cliffhanger number, I Melt With You, took the bronze.
But what were the most popular songs for each character? And what was the most popular duet? We were curious, so we crunched the numbers. The following categories could be a little messy, given the nature of the songs in the show, but they came down to number of primary singers (so ignoring any backup singers) and whose heart song was being heard. If the song had a single primary singer – even if the number had backup singers and dancers – it counted as a solo number. Similar logic applied for duets. And, of course, ensembles constituted a majority of the main cast.
MOST COMPETITIVE BRACKET(S): THINKING OUT LOUD/ARE YOU GONNA BE MY GIRL & I LIVED/I’M GONNA BE (500 MILES)
If there’s one thing that can be said about Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist fans, it’s that we are a passionate bunch. We fought hard to save the show. And it paid off. So it’s no surprise that some of the tournament brackets were incredibly competitive. So competitive, in fact, that there were ties for gold, silver, and bronze in this category.
The award for the most competitive bracket goes to two brackets: Thinking Out Loud won over Are You Gonna Be My Girl by a margin of a single vote. I Lived beat I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the the same narrow margin.
In second place, Are You Gonna Be My Girl beat I’ll Stand By you, and Tightrope beat Pressure by only two votes. Coming in for the bronze, Numb beat Let’s Get Loud, and Hello Dolly! beat Bye Bye Bye by three votes.
MOST POPULAR SOLO NUMBER: I MELT WITH YOU
While I Melt with You took the bronze as overall best song, it got the lion’s share of the vote for solo musical numbers, garnering 505 total votes. Black Man in a White World came in second, with 403 total votes, and I Lived came in third with 339 total votes.
MOST POPULAR DUET: PRESSURE
This solo-number-turned-duet fell into a bit of a grey area, as it was technically only one person’s heart song and yet two people ended up singing. Pressure was clearly a fan favorite, though, winning 331 total votes. Don’t Stop Me Now, Simon and Rose’s epic duet, came in second with 276 votes, and David and Mitch’s heartbreaking goodbye, Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) came in a close third, with 212 votes.
MOST POPULAR TRIO: TIGHTROPE
Tightrope was nominated for an Emmy, so it’s not surprising that it was the most popular song by a trio (Simon, Mo, and Tatiana) in the tournament, gaining a total of 357 votes. Carry On, the Maggie, David, and Emily number that established the theme for the season, came in second, with 216 votes. Finally, Starships, the “trippy” number sung by Zoey, Danny Michael David, and Aiden won 95 votes, coming in third place.
MOST POPULAR (SOLO) ZOEY SONG: I MELT WITH YOU
It won the most votes of any solo song, so it makes sense that I Melt with You was Zoey’s most popular solo number. However, fans must have really loved “Zoey’s Extraordinary Glitch” because the second and third most popular songs came from that episode. I’m Yours came in second with 307 votes, and Crazy took third place with 203.
MOST POPULAR (SOLO) MAX SONG: I’M GONNA BE (500 MILES)
It was the song that launched the Clarkeman ship for a lot of fans, and its place in our hearts was reflected in voting, as I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) was Max’s most popular solo song, with 325 votes. Numb, his emotional song about his dysfunctional relationship with his father, brought in an impressive 305 votes. Finally, New York State of Mind, which broke fans’ – and Zoey’s – hearts as he contemplated leaving town for a while, came in third with 136 total votes.
MOST POPULAR (SOLO) MO SONG: TOO GOOD AT GOODBYES
There’s no doubt about it: Mo has had some fantastic musical numbers over the course of the show. Too Good at Goodbyes received the most total votes of any of his solo numbers, coming in with 180. Shut Up and Drive (85 votes) and No More Drama (53 votes) round out his top three for the tournament.
MOST POPULAR (SOLO) SIMON SONG: BLACK MAN IN A WHITE WORLD
Simon’s most powerful arc over the two seasons of the show tackled racisms in the tech industry, and it’s a story that clearly resonated with fans as the two solo Simon songs that received the most votes over the course of the tournament were both related to this arc. Coming in behind Black Man in a White World – which took second place in the tournament – were Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (191 votes) and Mad World (177 votes).
MOST POPULAR (SOLO) LEIF SONG: TAINTED LOVE
With all the votes counted, one thing is clear: Leif fans really loved his solo number, Tainted Love. It took a whopping 276 votes over the course of the tournament. By comparison, Let’s Stay Together took a distant second, with 61 votes, and Everybody Hurts took third with 51.
MOST POPULAR (SOLO) DAVID SONG: I WANT TO BREAK FREE
As much as I loved David in the first season, he really stole my heart in the show’s sophomore year. I always loved his relationship with Emily, but the second season introduced David as a father. And his love for his son was beautiful to behold. Of his solo songs, his number about his love for his son, I Want to Break Free received the most votes, with 190. Drift Away came in second with 65, and To Make You Feel My Love received a total of 28 votes.
MOST POPULAR (SOLO) EMILY SONG: GASOLINE
Gasoline was a powerful number, reflecting Emily’s struggle with postpartum depression, which affects an estimated one in seven mothers during the first year of their child’s life. Throughout the tournament, it won a total of 208 votes, making it decisively Emily’s most ppular solo song. Meanwhile, Poison, her heart song about her sister, gained 84 votes, and I’ll Stand By you, in which she sang her love for her husband, had a total of 66.
MOST POPULAR (SOLO) MITCH SONG: I LIVED
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is a show about grief, but it’s also a story about love. And nowhere is that better exemplified than in Mitch’s character. In the second season finale, he sang my favorite Mitch number of the series, I Lived. And it turns out I’m not alone, since his song about all the things he wished for his daughter gained an impressive 339 votes over the course of the tournament. It seems fitting that another song about his love for his daughter, True Colors, came in second with 195 votes. Rounding out third, Moondance gained a total of 46 votes.
MOST POPULAR (SOLO) GUEST/RECURRING CHARACTER SONG: SAY MY NAME
I can’t talk about Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist without mentioning the amazing guest stars and recurring characters it’s featured over the past two years. And, of course, each one has had incredible musical numbers. But which was the most popular? Say My Name, Jessica’s song about love gone wrong in the first season, with 250 votes. Abigail’s song sung in American Sign Language, Fight Song, came in second with 200 votes. And Rose’s (really Mo’s) song in “Zoey’s Extraordinary Mystery” rounded out third with 154 votes.
