Most musicals (movies and plays) feature songs that are not being sung as songs, but are dramatizing the thoughts and statements of the characters (Maria is singing “Raindrops on Roses” to cheer up the kids, but “I have confidence” is probably just an expression of her desire to cheer herself up, and if you asked the Reverend Mother about what happened during the “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” scene, she’d almost certainly say that she just had a serious conversation about Maria’s need to confront her problems and not run away from them). I was trying to think of a musical in which all the songs are “real” - and had a hard time. Are all the songs in “Pitch Perfect” (or “Sing”) songs that are being performed by the characters? If so, then those would be examples of what I’m talking about.
Just thought of an interesting case - “Enchanted”; Giselle comes from a world in which music naturally turns up to score people’s expressions of their deepest thoughts - and when she comes to our world, that keeps happening (and we can tell that it’s “really” happening, because (at least some of the time) people are startled to see it occur.
The Buffy episode Once More With Feeling. A magic spell causes people to spontaneously break out into song and dance routines. The character are aware that they are singing and dancing, but don’t know what’s causing it.
Five Guys Named Moe. A story about a group of professional singers with a repertoire of songs. At various points in the plot they sing songs appropriate to what is happening. We can assume that they are songs that they already know and sing professionally. Part of the plot is them performing their act in a club.
Just saw a movie that’s an example of this–Meet Me in Las Vegas. The characters go to a bunch of casinos and see performances by various artists, including Lena Horne. The few times one of the cast sings something, it’s obviously a song he/she already knows, that merely applies to their situation.
I think White Christmas qualifies; most of the songs are being performed on-stage or with an audience. I don’t think there are any solo, introspective songs, which is what I think you’re trying to exclude here.
In the movie Cabaret, nearly every song is either performed on the stage of the Kit Kat Klub or in a place where singing would take place (e.g., “The Future Belongs to Me”).
Nunsense takes place on the stage of a middle school and AFAIK, all songs are part of the stage show.
Holiday Inn. All the songs are production numbers on stage, either in a nightclub or the Inn.
Footlight Parade. The songs are all either stage rehearsals or an actual performance (nominally – since it’s Busby Berkeley, the numbers could not have been performed on stage). It the same thing for the movie versions of 42nd Street and Golddiggers of 1933
There is the Princesses scene in Ralph Breaks the Internet.
It also happens in the musical episode of Community (including this song.)
There are also several times in My Little Pony Friendship is Magic where someone points out something about that they are singing. I can only think of two of the examples off the top of my head–the first song in the series is from a strongly fourth-wall leaning/reality-warping character and as she starts to sing, one character (new to the group) says “Tell me she’s not…?” and another says “She is.” It isn’t said explicitly, but it is pretty apparent that they are referencing to breaking into song. The second is from the movie, where the same straight-laced character tries to tell another character that it is no time for a song.
And wasn’t there some show where a main character kept noticing the background music for the episode, but nobody else did?
I saw Sing maybe a year or so ago, but I believe you’re correct – as I recall, all the songs are delivered in the context of the characters auditioning, rehearsing, or performing. (IIRC, the main character doesn’t perform any songs. He’s not koala-fied to sing. Buh-dum-tish)
I was also going to mention The Blues Brothers. It sort of bends the rules a little, such as when various characters step out of their day jobs for a minute to deliver a perfectly choreographed song-and-dance number, complete with backup dancers. But I agree the songs are intended to be in-world performances.
The movie version (I haven’t seen the stage version) of Chicago is kinda on-topic. All the musical numbers are supposed to be in Roxy’s imagination, aren’t they? I viewed it as the action taking place conventionally in-world, but Roxy passing everything through the filter of her stardom-obsessed brain.
Would Scrooge the musical count? The majority of the songs from what I remember all are sung by the characters. Some of the songs make sense, the kids in the beginning were making money singing at doors so singing at Scrooge makes some sense. Some of the other songs are at parties and such. The only one that might not work would be “I Like Life” with the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Moulin Rouge! is a mix of diegetic and non-diegetic songs, and it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference. “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” - diegetic. “Like A Virgin” - not diegetic (I assume). “Roxanne” - a little of both.
For those who haven’t clicked on the link, the song in question is “Count Your Blessings.” I’d call this one sort of a mix.
It’s true that Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney are singing about their feelings here. But Crosby’s character is a songwriter, so it’s not impossible that he would have written a song about this. Later in the film, Crosby says, “Let’s rehearse that ‘Blessings’ number.” So even within the film, this is clearly a song that they are planning to include in the show they’re putting together. I’d lean toward this being a diegetic song as well.
The Drowsy Chaperone. All the songs are played on a record player (yes, record) by the Man in the Chair; the staging is his image of what the show looked like.
I think both Once and Sing Street, both by John Carney, qualify, although it’s been a while since I saw them. (BTW, the former is fairly well-known but the latter is not, but I liked it a lot and recommend it.)
The only song in the Blues Brothers movie that is not set in the real world is Aretha Franklin’s Think. People in restaurants do not break into elaborate song-and-dance routines.
And for that song, especially Blue Lou’s sax, I will make an exception.