"Second Hand White Baby Grand" | ||||
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Single by Smash cast feat. Megan Hilty | ||||
from the album Bombshell | ||||
Released | April 23, 2012 | |||
Format | Digital Download | |||
Recorded | 2012 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 4:15 (Album Version) | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman | |||
Producer(s) | Marc Shaiman | |||
Smash cast singles chronology | ||||
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"Second Hand White Baby Grand" is an original song introduced in the twelfth episode of the first season of the musical TV series "Smash", entitled "Publicity". The song was written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, but within the show's universe, it is written by songwriting team Julia Houston (Debra Messing) and Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) for their Marilyn Monroe musical Bombshell.
In "Publicity", the song is written after newly appointed Marilyn, Rebecca Duvall (Uma Thurman), requests some script changes. The song is performed by Marilyn Monroe's "shadow selves", the voices that she hears inside her head (which are given much larger roles so the movie star but bad singer Rebecca Duvall doesn't have to sing as many songs). Although the song is originally meant for Karen Cartwright (Katherine McPhee), Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) plots against her by making Ellis (Jaime Cepero) send her an anonymous text, telling her that she is no longer needed in rehearsals, even though she is actually required to sing the song. With little time to waste, director and choreographer Derek Wills (Jack Davenport) gives the song to Ivy. The song is sung in the rehearsal room (the introduction being Monroe lying on a therapist's chair while the therapist is asking her to remember her mother), and as the chair is pushed aside, a movable plank of wood that Ivy is standing on is moved centre stage. The song "bleeds over a montage of domestic activity featuring 'Smash' characters". As soon as Ivy finishes the song, Duvall says that Marilyn (i.e. herself) should sing it.
A reprise of the song is performed in the fourteenth episode "Previews" as the second last musical number of Bombshell (the last, until Don't Forget Me was written), and is performed by Duvall as Monroe as she lies on her bed, dying.
The song (with Hilty's vocals) was initially released as a single from iTunes and Amazon.com's MP3 store and is currently available on the cast album Bombshell.