50 Greatest Musical Numbers In Film History

44. The Nicest Kids In Town - Hairspray

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwcXmQjVi3U One of the most endearing aspects of Hairspray is the tongue-in-cheek humor that they use to discuss the issues of race relations in 1960s Baltimore. The biggest thing for teenagers in this story is The Corny Collins Show, a fictitious play on American Bandstand, which at this point in time is not integrated. But as they say in this song, they have Negro Day once a month, so it's all good. The Nicest Kids in Town is how the film introduces the lily-white cast members of the show, and it does so in a pretty hilarious way. Corny Collins's lyrics are pretty much making fun of these local stars, basically saying that they're not very smart or anything, but they're cool and, you know, nice, and that's all that really matters.

43. Marian The Librarian - The Music Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N9C2JS9mWc Marian the Librarian is one of those annoying little songs that is so catchy that after you hear it, you'll be humming it for the next several days. Professor Harold Hill is determined to win over the small town librarian, who has so far shown no interest in him romantically, so he shows up at her place of work and threatens to drop a bag of marbles of the floor, thus disturbing the precious silence of the library. The clever staging of the number and the charming performances by Robert Preston and Shirley Jones manage to take this scenario that could come off as irritating (Hill is the poster child for the overly aggressive male who won't take no for an answer) and somehow turn it into something endearing.