Who is Rachel Bloom? Rachel Bloom is a writer, actress, singer, comedian, and super-human. Bloom writes, produces, created, and stars on The CW's hit musical-comedy "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." If you're wondering what this show is about, just watch the opening credits. Bloom manages to give the entire run down in 30 seconds, and she does it in a brilliant way.
Rachel Bloom has won numerous awards for this hilarious show -- notably she won the 2016 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. In "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," Bloom plays a successful New York lawyer named Rebecca Bunch. Rebecca leaves her high-paying job in New York and moves to West Covina, California to hopefully rekindle a romance with her teenage sweetheart, Josh Chan. When she arrives in West Covina she discovers that Josh is engaged to a gorgeous yoga instructor named Valencia. Throughout the first season, Rebecca does anything that she can to get close to Josh. Each episode has some musical numbers, most of the songs are written by Bloom herself. Seriously, there's nothing she can't do. The musical numbers are usually shown as music videos, and almost all of them are in some way a parody. As the first season comes to an end, I put together a list of videos that you need to watch to understand just how wonderfully brilliant this show, and Rachel Bloom, are.
1. "Sexy Getting Ready Song"
This song was featured in the first episode and it set the tone perfectly. Rebecca is invited to a party and this song chronicles the process of getting ready. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Rachel Bloom said that she loved this because "the men on set were horrified." She even said that the director couldn't watch.2. "I Have Friends"
This song is an example of what "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" does best. Rebecca has always had a fear of having a party ever since her father walked out on her family in front of all of her friends. In this song, we learn about something that has been an insecurity that Rebecca has always had. It deals with issues like this in a fun, but respectable, way.
3. "Sex with a Stranger"
"Hey, sexy stranger come to my place. Please don't be a murderer," sings Rebecca in this hilarious parody of current pop music. Bloom told Entertainment Weekly that she wrote this because pop music is supposed to be relatable to everyone, and there's a "fetishizing of casual sex." Bloom said that she isn't in to that, so she wrote this as a result.
4. "Feeling Kinda Naughty"
In this song, Rebecca sings to Josh's current girlfriend, Valencia. Bloom told Entertainment Weekly that this is a parody of a pop song. It definitely has a stalker vibe to it, and it captures the "weirdness of pop music," Bloom told EW, "There's a fetishizing of casual lesbianism." Bloom, who wrote the song, goes above and beyond with this song. This song appears in the second episode and it perfectly captures the dark comedy of the show.
5. "JAP Battle"
Bloom said that she wanted to do a "Hamilton"-like rap battle, and this is that battle. When her rival from law school comes to town to face Rebecca in a case, their law school tensions come to a head in this hilarious JAP rap battle. (Note: JAP stands for Jewish American Princess. That's another reason to love Bloom and this show.)
6. "Heavy Boobs"
Rebecca is asked to be a bridesmaid in Josh's sister's wedding. While trying on dresses, Rebecca tells the other girls the difference between her and them. Boobs. Rebecca laments with this hilariously brilliant song, and it further proves just how amazingly smart Bloom is.
7. "I Gave You a UTI"
Rebecca finally gives up on Josh, and she begins sleeping with his friend Greg. They spend a lot of time doing a lot of different things and positions (all of them are featured in another music video from the episode). Rebecca finds out she has a UTI, and Greg feels so proud of himself for taking part in her infection. Dark, but hilarious.
8. "Cold Showers Lead to Crack"
Rebecca starts working on a case to impress Josh. The apartment that Josh lives in has no hot water, so they want to sue their landlord. Rebecca tries to convince everyone to sue by telling them their children will become drug addicts if they take cold showers.
Every music video from Season 1 of "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" is available on Rachel Bloom's YouTube channel rachelsdoesstuff. The show was renewed for a second season and the first season just ended. The last few episodes are available on Hulu and hopefully this summer the entire season will available to stream. Rachel Bloom is certainly on the rise, and she will be a household name soon enough. Remember her name, trust me. She's going to be huge.
