'This Is Me' & the 10 Best Movie Duets of All Time
What’s the one thing that’s better than one person singing in a movie? Let me tell you — it’s two people singing in a movie.
Especially within the context of musicals, duets often end up being the highlight of the film, whether that be two people playfully sparring with each other, overcoming obstacles, or even just demonstrating good, old-fashioned romance. When it comes to movie duets, there’s a lot to love.
Here, we’ve handpicked some of the best movie duets of all time — but this list is by no means exhaustive. There are plenty of other classics out there that aren’t on this list, but with this article, you have a few places to start.
Camp Rock - 'This Is Me'
Firstly, let’s look at the song that inspired this list. This duet, which features Demi Lovato (Mitchie) and Joe Jonas (Shane), happens at the climax of Camp Rock, where Mitchie decides to be her true self after lying to everyone about her family for the majority of the film.
As she sings, Shane realises that she is the girl he’s been chasing after recognising the song she is singing as one he heard earlier in the film. It’s a cute ending, and in the years since, it has become a great source of nostalgia. That much is evident from the recent Demi Lovato concert when she brought Jonas out on stage, which led to the crowd going wild.
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La La Land - 'A Lovely Night'
La La Land is genuinely one of the best movie musicals I’ve ever seen, and ‘A Lovely Night’ exemplifies why. The song establishes the playful, undeniable chemistry between Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), who go to the trouble of performing a whole musical number about how they don’t like each other.
Against the gorgeous, dusky backdrop of “magic hour,” the chemistry between Mia and Sebastian is palpable. It’s easy to get caught up in the dreamlike whimsy of it all — especially when it comes to the tap dance break. Even more impressive is the fact that this sequence is filmed as one, continuous take, and that the camera had to hit 27 different marks in order to bring the scene to life. It’s a delight for both your eyes and your ears.
Little Shop of Horrors - 'Suddenly Seymour'
From start to finish, Little Shop of Horrors is a lot of fun. Never has the insatiable hunger of a man-eating plant been quite so entertaining. At this point in the movie, Seymour (the irreplaceable Rick Moranis) and Audrey (Ellen Greene) end up finally uniting, with Audrey realising that Seymour really is the man for her. In turn, Greene, who also portrayed Audrey in the original stage musical, gives an extremely powerful performance.
There’s a reason the song is so famous, and that’s because it’s pure, adorable, and heartfelt. Sure, there’s the fact that Seymour had his botanical beast chopping up Audrey’s (albeit awful) boyfriend like mincemeat shortly before this, but that aside, the moment is very sweet.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show - 'Dammit Janet!'
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is 100 minutes of pure, unadulterated chaos. But the movie starts off in a pretty standard way, with Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) getting bit by the love bug after Brad witnesses his best friend getting married.
Through the medium of song, Brad confesses his love to Janet, and the result is a sweet-as-sugar duet, wherein the pair even become engaged. While this number is enough to make you go “awwww,” it in no way prepares you for the unhinged masterpiece you’re about to witness. It lulls you into a false sense of security, but it makes the film all the better for it. And, at the very least, nobody can deny the song is catchy.
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Moulin Rouge! - 'Come What May'
Earlier in Moulin Rouge!, Christian (Ewan McGregor) and Satine (Nicole Kidman) establish their ‘secret song,’ which ends up being something of a code between the two lovers: a code that is meant to prove that, no matter what life throws at them, their love for each other remains.
This particular reprise of this song comes at the movie’s finale, with Satine starting to sing it in order to prove her love to Christian after cruelly rejecting him (in order to protect him from the Duke). In the end, Christian can’t deny his love for her and starts singing back, leading to a rousing and tearjerking duet. It’s all the more tragic given Satine’s particular circumstances, making this particular version of the duet deeply affecting and heart-wrenching.
Grease - 'Summer Nights'
It was hard to pick between this and ‘You’re The One That I Want’ from Grease, but ultimately, ‘Summer Nights’ wins out for me for a number of reasons. One reason is because it’s not necessarily a conventional duet. Instead, we have Danny (John Travolta) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) essentially telling their own version of events of their summer romance.
As Danny shows off for the boys and Sandy romanticises for the girls, the two conflicting narratives end up complementing each other before coming together at the end. It’s a moment in movie history that’s hard to replicate, and personally, I prefer this over ‘You’re The One That I Want’ because, at least in this song, Sandy isn’t completely changing herself to impress a boy.
Aladdin - 'A Whole New World'
‘A Whole New World’ from Aladdin is pretty much a microcosm of the Disney Renaissance era. It’s arguably the most memorable love song Disney has ever made, and one of the most memorable love songs, period. The song is pretty self-explanatory, but it involves Aladdin (as Prince Ali) taking Princess Jasmine on a ride on his flying magic carpet. That’s one heck of a first date.
While Aladdin and Princess Jasmine had general voice actors, the House of Mouse brought in specific voice actors for the characters’ singing: namely Brad Kane and iconic Broadway musician Lea Salonga. Vocally, it was a match made in heaven (or, at least, in Agrabah), and while Disney certainly tried, the live-action version of this song isn’t a patch on the original.
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Rent - 'Take Me or Leave Me'
Admittedly, the movie adaptation of Rent has a lot of faults, but one thing they did right was to have Idina Menzel reprise her role as Maureen from the musical’s Broadway run. While the movie wasn’t loved by critics, it is difficult to fault Menzel’s talent along with her main scene partner, Tracie Thoms, who plays Maureen’s girlfriend Joanne.
The pair are given the opportunity to unleash their powerhouse vocals in ‘Take Me or Leave Me,’ a fiery duet which, in my opinion, is one of the highlights of the movie. The song is essentially an argument between Maureen and Joanne over Maureen’s wandering eye that culminates in them breaking up. As well as being plot-critical, these vocal performances are stylish, unmatched, and definitely something you’d try (and fail) replicate at karaoke.
High School Musical - 'Breaking Free'
Like ‘This Is Me’, ‘Breaking Free’ from High School Musical has become something of a guilty pleasure for Millennials and Gen-Z alike. In the film, after a bit of scheming, Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) finally make it to their callback audition. The whole movie has been leading up to this one duet, and Gabriella is feeling the pressure.
In the end, she’s able to sing the song with Troy, and in turn, become a Disney legend. But here’s a fun fact: Zac didn’t actually do a lot of the singing in High School Musical — it’s actually Drew Seeley, who ended up going on the High School Musical tour.
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Dirty Dancing - '(I've Had) The Time of My Life'
This duet differs from the others on the list in the sense that it isn’t sung by characters in the film. But it would feel like a sin to leave this song out if we’re discussing the best movie duets. Again, this duet happens at the climax of the Dirty Dancing with Jennifer Grey and the late Patrick Swayze both delivering career-defining performances — though, it should be noted, not as singers.
It’s the moment where Baby (Grey) and Johnny (Swayze) both perform one final dance, and as they do so, they make pop culture history. Just for a moment, as they danced together on stage, time seemed to stand still, and the fact they finally achieved the lift at the end really helps things come full circle.
