19 Of The Absolute Weirdest Teen Drama Music Moments

These were so weird and yet...so good at the same time?

1. "Hide and Seek" — The O.C.

Fox

You know I had to start with this one. It spawned a classic meme and SNL sketch. It was incredibly innapropriate and out of place for a scene in which a main character shoots another main character's brother. And yet...it is absolutely iconic.

Watch the scene here:

youtube.com

2. "Let's Have a Kiki / Turkey Lurkey Time" — Glee

Fox

Rachel and Kurt are commiserating about old Thanksgivings with holiday songs when a bunch of drag queens knock on the door and break into "Let's Have a Kiki," with Sarah Jessica Parker leading. Rachel and Kurt jump in and decide to mix in "Turkey Lurkey Time," and the result is the exact kind of ridiculous nonsense that made Glee so fun.

Here's the scene:

youtube.com

3. "Rolling in the Deep" — Gossip Girl

The CW

Gossip Girl could be over the top, but I really did not expect Chuck and Blair to escape being blown up, attend a random bar mitzvah, and do the hora while Vanessa discovers Dan's book about all his friends, all set to Adele's "Rolling in the Deep." It is SO STRANGE. And yet...I'm kind of obsessed with it?

Watch the scene here:

youtube.com

4. "Wild World" – Skins

E4

Skins was super gritty and hyper-realistic. And then in the first season finale, everyone broke into song, starting with Sid in the bathroom while two guys were at urinals. Then Tony, WHO WAS PASSED OUT AND PRESUMED DEAD ON THE SIDEWALK, started singing as he bled out. Others joined in, including the bus driver. But everyone was...legitimately good? And the song somehow fit everything? PLUS it ended with Cassie and Sid reuniting. 10/10.

Watch the scene here:

youtube.com

5. "Jailhouse Rock" — Riverdale

The CW

Riverdale has so many utterly bonkers music moments. But I think the absolute best has to be when the Vixens showed up outside Hiram's prison, where Archie was trying to convince his fellow inmates to appreciate "the epic highs and lows of high school football," and performed Jailhouse Rock. I don't know how no one stopped them, but it was the exact campy nonsense we love to see on Riverdale.

Watch the scene here:

youtube.com

6. "Bad Moon Rising" — Teen Wolf

MTV

We've all heard Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising." It's a classic. But a creepy, slowed down cover of the song over a scene where Stiles as the nogitsune absolutely massacres the hospital staff? It should NOT work, and yet it does. And if being attracted to Void Stiles is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Watch the scene here (the song starts at 0:37):

youtube.com

7. "Touch a Touch a Touch a Touch Me" — Glee

Fox

I know Glee was a musical show, and it was not at all out of place to have characters rehearsing a number from a musical. But...an engaged, prim and proper Emma turning all sexy to help Will rehearse "Touch a Touch a Touch a Touch Me" (friendly reminder Will was supposed to do this scene with a STUDENT) while Brittany and Santana watched was really something else. It should have been creepy and weird, but instead it was actually amazing.

Watch the scene here:

youtube.com

8. "Then Came the Day" — Skins

E4

"Osama!" is absolutely the most offensive musical to ever exist. But this song where two lovers find each other in the rubble is actually...a good song? Maxxie and Sketch's voices are both beautiful and blend together so well. I caught myself singing this in school a couple times and had to stop myself since, you know, it's incredibly offensive.

Watch the scene here:

youtube.com

9. "Love Game" — Gossip Girl

The CW

This was the weirdest Gossip Girl episode. Right off the heels of Dan, Vanessa, and Olivia's threesome, they had to write and perform in a play based on Snow White and Lady Gaga's music. The play is predictably VERY odd, but then Lady Gaga herself shows up later in the episode, which makes me remember this episode much more fondly.

Watch the scene here:

youtube.com

10. "Quasar" — Teen Wolf

MTV

Teen Wolf's fights scenes were really...something else. Between excessive slo-mo, dramatic lines, and rock/EDM music, they were all super cheesy. However, they were a staple of the show, and this fight scene set to full-on dubstep was a great example of how ridiculously fun Teen Wolf was.

Watch it here:

youtube.com

11. "Mad World" — Riverdale

The CW

You know I had to include this one, too. Love it or hate it, this is the most iconic music moment on Riverdale. Betty literally stripteases in front of her mom and boyfriend's dad and actually kind of does a good job. It's sort of disturbing and weird, but...also good? Don't @ me.

Watch the scene here:

youtube.com

12. "What Does the Fox Say?" — Glee

Fox

Why did Glee cover this? Did it need to be done? That's a resounding NO. But pairing it with muppets? Replacing our mains (who were in a totally different state) with muppets???? GENIUS. Also, Adam Lambert was there.

Watch the scene here (starts at 0:30):

youtube.com

13. "Want You Back" — Degrassi

CTV

Miles gets the whole basketball team to sing an a capella version of "Want You Back" to apologize to Maya after a fight. It's SO cringey and cheesy. Especially because it actually works. Still, it's a sweet moment and deserves a spot on this list.

Thank you to my coworker Kelly Martinez for this suggestion.

Here's the scene:

youtube.com

14. "MANAMANA" — One Tree Hill

The CW

The Season 8 finale of One Tree Hill was honestly pretty weird/kind of pointless, but this scene took the cake. I still don't know if this was actually James Lafferty singing or if he was lip-synching, but I can't deny that this song was then stuck in my head for weeks straight.

Watch the scene here:

youtube.com

15. Weird instrumental music — Gossip Girl

The CW

This moment where Chuck and Bart fight and Bart ultimately falls to his death was supposed to be really intense. But then...weird Hitchcock music began playing. I literally started laughing out loud — it broke all of the tension of the scene. But Bart as a villain was larger than life, and the show had already jumped the shark. The influence of old movies on Gossip Girl was cheesy and overdone, but so close to the finale, I welcomed the callback to them.

Watch the scene here (the music starts at 0:25):

youtube.com

16. "Shout" — Skins (US version)

E4

The US version of Skins was just so, so bad. We can all agree on that. But this music moment was actually SO GOOD. Dare I say this version of the song is...better than the original?? This was honestly the only good moment of the show, and it still slaps today.

Thanks to my coworker Shelby Heinrich for the suggestion.

Watch the scene here:

youtube.com

17. "The Sign" — The Vampire Diaries

The CW

The Vampire Diaries was NOT a musical show. This moment where Caroline jumped on stage and compelled the band to back her up while she sang "The Sign" to win back Matt was completely random and out of place. But...Candice King has an amazing voice, and this scene was actually so sweet.

Watch the scene here:

youtube.com

18. "Make Me Wanna Die" — Gossip Girl

The CW

Look, I love this song. But...Taylor Momsen (as Jenny) was IN this scene. Do Jenny and Taylor Momsen then exist in the same universe?? We need answers! Besides that, this scene was pretty heavy metal for Gossip Girl. Still, it fit the whole "Saints and Sinners" theme of the party, and was somehow perfect.

Watch the scene here (song starts at 0:24):

youtube.com

19. And finally, "Burn Baby Burn" — One Tree Hill

The WB

Disco was pretty out of place on an alt rock show like One Tree Hill, but it worked perfectly in this Halloween episode. Mouth and Peyton both inexplicably knew the same dance (gotta love TV magic) and absolutely killed it, attracting a crowd.

Watch the scene here:

youtube.com