Here is a list of pop, rock and jazz songs appropriate for an A Level recital. I’ve included grade 7 and 8 songs in two lists and which exam board they’re from. This is not an exhaustive list, but serves to give you an idea of the standard of song you need to sing. Look out for my musical theatre list coming in a few weeks.
You can can access the higher marking bands for songs grade 6 and above, but I usually suggest grade 7 and 8 to be sure of those marks. Your choices need to show a range of techniques to be eligible for the top marks of Technical Control (OCR). Be sure to have the sheet music available for the examiner, and adhere to any performance markings (dynamics, articulations).
Recital (75 marks) 6–9 minutes
OCR
The learner’s performance in the recital as a whole is assessed and a mark given under each
of the three headings: knowledge and fluency; technical control; and realisation of
performance markings and/or performance conventions.
A level performances must show fluency and critical understanding of the shape, direction and
style of the music chosen through knowledge of the music.
Students must be able to perform music using one or both of the following ways:
AQA
instrumental/vocal: as a soloist, and/or as part of an ensemble
production: via music technology.
Students must perform for a minimum of ten minutes .
Care should be taken when selecting repertoire for ensemble performance; the level of demand refers to the individual part performed by the student and not to the overall level of demand of the selected piece.
Performance of pieces written with an accompaniment intended by the composer should not be unaccompanied.
Students must be able to interpret musical elements specified in Subject content , using resources and techniques as appropriate, to communicate musical ideas with technical and expressive control.
Through their performance students must also demonstrate understanding of context, including the chosen style or genre of the music being performed and the composer’s purpose and intention.
The purpose of this component is to assess students’ performing skills in a solo
Edexcel
and/or ensemble context. They should be given the opportunity to rehearse and
refine performances on their chosen instrument or voice, developing technical
control, expression and interpretative skills.
This component will encourage students to develop creative thinking, aesthetic
sensitivity, critical awareness, self-confidence, self-motivation and their own musical
interests and skills, including the ability to make music individually and/or in groups,
and perform with control, using phrasing and dynamics appropriate to their chosen
styles and moods of music.
Students must perform:
● a minimum of one piece, performed live and uninterrupted as a recital
● performances can be solo, as part of an ensemble, improvisation, realisation using
music technology, or a combination of these
● total performance time across the recital must be a minimum of eight minutes of
music.
Grade 7 Rock, Pop and Jazz
| Ain’t Nobody – Chaka Khan – RSL |
| All I Really Want – Alanis Morrissette – RSL (old syllabus) |
| All Right Now – Free – RSL |
| American Boy – Estelle – RSL (old syllabus) |
| Back in Black – AC/DC – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Beautiful People – Ed Sheeran feat. Khalid – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Believer – Imagine Dragons – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Best Thing I Never Had – Beyonce – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Big Spender – Shirley Bassey – RSL (old syllabus) |
| Bleeding Love – Leona Lewis – RSL |
| Don’t Wanna Fight – Alabama Shakes – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Evergreen – Yebba – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Feeling Good – Muse – RSL |
| Feeling Good – Nina Simone – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Goodbyes – Jorja Smith – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Heaven – Emeli Sande – RSL (old syllabus) |
| Hello – Adele – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Hey Laura – Gregory Porter – RSL |
| I Can’t Make You Love Me – George Michael – RSL (old syllabus) |
| I Saw Her Standing There – The Beatles – RSL (old syllabus) |
| I’m Kissing You – Des’ree – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Invitation – Sarah Vaughan – RSL |
| Joga – Bjork – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Just the Way You Are – Bruno Mars – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Lifted – Emeli Sande – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Lover, You Should’ve Come Over – Jeff Buckley – RSL |
| Mack the Knife – Bobby Darin – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Midnight Train to Georgia – Gladys Knight and the Pips – RSL (old syllabus) |
| Mirrors – Justin Timberlake – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Movement – Hozier – RSL |
| No More Drama – Mary J Blige |
| Respect – Aretha Franklin – RSL (old syllabus) |
| Retrograde – James Blake – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Saving All My Love for You – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Shake It Out – Florence and the Machine – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Single Ladies – Beyonce – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Something’s Got A Hold of Me – Etta James – RSL |
| Street Life – The Crusaders – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Sun Goes Down – David Jordan – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Sunday Morning – Hamza – RSL |
| Supreme – Robbie Williams – RSL (old syllabus) |
| Suspicious Minds – Elvis – RSL (old syllabus) |
| Take Me to Church – Hozier – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| That Don’t Impress Me Much – Shania Twain – RSL (old syllabus) |
| The Promise – Girls Aloud – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| The Voice Within – Christina Aguilera – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| This Year’s Love – David Gray – RSL (old syllabus) |
| Trouble – Coldplay – RSL (old syllabus) |
| What’s Up – 4 Non Blondes – RSL (old syllabus) |
Grade 8
| A Night in Tunisia – Ella Fitzgerald/Chaka Khan – RSL |
| A Song for You – Ray Charles – RSL |
| Angels – Robbie Williams – RSL (old syllabus) |
| Bat Out of Hell – Meatloaf – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Bring Me to Life – Evanescence – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Chandelier – Sia – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Colours – Black Pumas – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Crazy in Love – Beyonce – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Cry Me a River – Justin Timberlake – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Dani California – Red Hot Chilli Peppers – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Fallin’ – Alicia Keys – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Footprints in the Sand – Leona Lewis – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| For Once in My Life – Stevie Wonder – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Goldeneye – Tina Turner – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Gone – Lianne La Havas – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Grace Kelly – Mika – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Hero – Mariah Carey – RSL (old syllabus) |
| High Hopes – Panic! At the Disco – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| How Come You Don’t Call Me – Alicia Keys – RSL (old syllabus) |
| I Care – Beyonce – RSL |
| I Have Nothing – Whitney Houston |
| I Heard It Through the Grape Vine – Marvin Gaye – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| I Say a Little Prayer – Aretha Franklin – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| I Was Here – Beyonce – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston – RSL (old syllabus) |
| I’ve Been Loving You Too Long – Ottis Redding – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| If You’re Not the One – Daniel Beddingfield – RSL (old syllabus) |
| Impossible – James Arthur – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| It’s a Man’s Mans’s Man’s World – James Brown – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Kiss from a Rose – Seal – RSL |
| Lay Me Down – Sam Smith – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Lost Stars – Maroon 5 – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Neon Lights – Demi Levato – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Neutron Star Collision – Muse – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| No More Drama – Mary J Blige – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Over the Rainbow – Eva Cassidy – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Overjoyed – Stevie Wonder – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Rise Up – Andra Day – RSL |
| Shoulda Woulda Coulda – Beverly Knight – RSL (old syllabus) |
| Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Somebody to Love – Queen – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Something in the Water – Carrie Underwood – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Still Into You – Paramore – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Sweet Child o’ Mine – Guns n Roses – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| The Power of Love – Celine Dion – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| The Reason – Celine Dion – RSL (old syllabus) |
| The Show Must Go On – Queen – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| This is Me – The Greatest Showman – RSL |
| This Woman’s Work – Kate Bush – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Vision of Love – Mariah Carey – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Wake Me Up Before You Go Go – Wham! – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Wasting My Young Years – London Grammar – Trinity Rock and Pop |
| Weak – Skunk Anansie – RSL |
| When We Were Young – The Killers – RSL |
| When You Believe – Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey – RSL Wider Repertoire |
| Writing’s on the Wall – Sam Smith – RSL |
| You Lost Me – Christina Aguilera – RSL Wider Repertoire |
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