Top 20 Steven Universe Songs (20-11)

Over the course of this past Summer, I made an interesting discovery. After years of hearing about the show, I finally decided to sit down and watch Steven Universe from beginning to end. I found this show about the son of a retired rock star and an alien revolutionary who fights monsters and invading threats alongside his allies, the Crystal Gems, to be one of the most fascinating and enjoyable works of fiction I’d ever encountered and has become one of my favorite television shows of all time. One of the show’s major selling points is its many musical numbers. As such, I’ve decided to countdown my personal Top 20 songs from Steven Universe. Today, we’ll be tackling numbers 20-11. Interestingly enough, I found that this half of the list contains a lot of the entries that end up in most people’s Top 10. But hey, it's my list and my opinion. Yay for unpredictability! Also, if you are still watching the show, fair warning, there will be spoilers throughout this countdown. And now, without further ado, let’s go!

20. Giant Woman (Giant Woman Season 1 Episode 12)

We start with a simple little ditty from the episode that introduces the concept of Gem Fusion. Upon learning the that Pearl and Amethyst have a fused alter-ego named Opal, Steven is overly excited to meet her to the point where he’s constantly trying to find excuses to get the two quarrelsome Gems to fuse despite their insistence that fusing is only for emergencies. In the midst of everything, a very tired Steven sings a little song about how excited to see his two friends merge into one entity. I don’t really have too much else to say about this one, it’s just a nice little song. I will add that that this was actually the first ever clip of Steven Universe I ever saw. A few years ago, Team Four Star cleverly parodied this song in their show, Dragon Ball Abridged. I sought this song out on Youtube out of curiosity. Little did I know at the time how this show would come to impact my life.

19. Wailing Stone (The Message Season 1 Episode 49)

This song is short but deceptively powerful. A gem artifact called a Wailing Stone is trying to send a message to Earth and the Gems are stumped as to how to decode it. Greg, as a musician, has a degree of expertise when it comes to sound engineering and tries to use it to decode the message. Frustrated by his lack of success in this endeavor, Greg sings this mournful song. This song shows one of the many things I love about Greg. As I mentioned earlier, Greg is no super-powered alien being, but if he can help the Gems in any way, he’ll still jump at the chance. As he says in the song, he thinks very highly of The Gems, and feeling like he can’t be of use to them is difficult for him to deal with. Also, Greg’s quip about how the song is “A B Side” makes me laugh, it just feels like a very Greg thing to say.

18. It’s Over, Isn’t It (Mr. Greg Season 3 Episode 8)

I know I’m going to catch heat for putting this song as this low on the list given that most people tend to put it in their top five if not number one. Don’t get me wrong, I love this song, I just like the songs I put above it better. Why this song misses out on the Top 10 is something we’ll discuss later, but right now, let’s get to the reason this song is on the list in the first place. A constant thread throughout the series up to this point is that there exists a tension between Pearl and Greg. See, Pearl loved Rose and remained loyal and dedicated to her for thousands of years. Rose showed her that a Pearl could be more than just a doting servant, something that, in Pearl’s mind, she can never do enough to truly repay. And yet, after all that, Rose didn’t choose her, she chose Greg, and Pearl never got over that, and there’s a part of her that never will. This song is a slow yet passionate Broadway style number that excellently captures Pearl’s emotion. After all this time of keeping it in, Pearl is finally able to lay all her feelings about Rose’s decision out there in the open. For that, it had to earn a spot on the list.

17. Do It for Her (Sworn to The Sword Season 2 Episode 6)

Keeping with the trend of Pearl’s devotion to Rose we have this number. Connie, looking to be an asset to Steven rather than a liability, asks Pearl to teach her sword fighting. Pearl is of course delighted to help, but as the lessons continue it becomes clear that Pearl is getting carried away trying to instill the same level of devotion that she had for Rose into Connie for Steven. The song itself has a pretty melody, but is deceptively intense, particularly when Pearl’s coaching switches from simple instruction to talk of life and death. Steven’s reactions are also pretty funny, adding much needed levity to an otherwise intense song. Also, fun fact: Rebecca Sugar learned actual fencing steps in order to make sure this scene was properly animated. You have to admire that attention to detail.

16. Here Comes a Thought (Mindful Education Season 4 Episode 4)

Here’s another song that usually ends up on the top of people’s lists. After Connie inadvertently seriously injures a boy at school during a fight, she is overcome with guilt. Said guilt is affecting Stevonnie, Steven and Connie’s fused form to the point where they’re becoming unstable and cannot remain fused. Garnet, a fusion herself, sings a song about how certain thoughts of guilt and regret can get in our head, but are only fleeting. I like that it’s Garnet who teaches this lesson. Thing is, we’ve seen many times that Fusion can be a tricky process and if the two or more components of the Fusion are even the slightest bit out of sync, the fusion becomes unstable. Garnet, with very rare exceptions, has remained fused for centuries, likely due in part to the strong bond between Ruby and Sapphire as well as the insane level of mental discipline possessed by Garnet herself. This song is absolutely beautiful and is a good reminder for anyone who lets seemingly insignificant things overwhelm them (something I personally struggle with sometimes), that sometimes you just need to take a moment and let it go.

15. We Are the Crystal Gems (Theme Song)

I would be insane not to include the Theme Song. It’s the song that greets us at the beginning of every episode and stays with us throughout our journey throughout the series. I especially love how, in the context of the show, it’s a song that’s written by Steven himself. And yeah, it really does sound like something that would be written by a little kid, especially the bit about going out of pizzas. It’s a nice touch. But honestly, as much as I love this song, I really don’t have much to say about it. It’s just a fun upbeat little song that’s iconic to the series

14. Who We Are (Steven Universe the Movie)

Finally, we get to talk about Steven Universe The Movie. I have actually been wanting to write this article for a while now, but knowing that the movie was impending, I chose to wait, and I’m very glad I did as no less than five songs from the movie ended up on this countdown including several in our top ten. Warning for those who haven’t seen the movie yet: Spoilers ahead. It’s been two years since the events of Change Your Mind, the finale of Season 5, and Steven and The Gems have finally earned some rest and relaxation, until a new hostile gem named Spinel arrives on Earth. Using a strange and deadly weapon, Spinel severely saps Stevens power and reverts Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl (and herself inadvertently) to their original forms, completely devoid of the memories and experiences that helped shape who they are. Steven is understandably distraught after this and is feeling hopeless. To help snap him out of it, Bismuth sings a song about what it means to be a Crystal Gem. In my mind, this song almost feels like a sequel to We Are the Crystal Gems. Whereas that song was sung from the prospective of a soon to be Gem in training, this is sung by a battle hardened Gem Warrior, but the point is still the same, The Crystal Gems never give up no matter how hopeless things may seem.

13. No Matter What (Steven Universe the Movie)

Staying with the movie, as previously discussed, Spinel’s attack stripped the gems of all the memories and experiences that made them who they are. As such, Amethyst is reduced to how she was when she first crawled out of her hole in the Gem kindergarten, a blank slate only able to mimic Steven’s words and movements. Steven sings this song to Amethyst in order to remind her of who she is and the bond that they share with one another. What makes this instance of Steven rebuilding the Gem’s memories particularly special is that unique bond between Steven and Amethyst. See, while Pearl and Garnet both assume the role of surrogate mother figures to Steven of one kind or another, Amethyst has always seemed to share more of a brother/sister relationship, which makes their bond all the stronger. I really like how the song demonstrates a progression of Amethyst’s recovery as well. It starts with her only able to mimic Steven, then later she starts singing along while smiling, and then finally, she is able to sing on her own, that last part being especially heart-warming. This song really demonstrated the love between Steven and Amethyst perfectly and is in turn one of the best songs in the movie.

12. What Can I Do (We Need To Talk Season 2 Episode 9)

Ooh, this is a good one. I should mention that We Need To Talk, the episode in which this song is featured, is actually my favorite episode. Any time we get a look back at the relationship between Greg and Rose is always a treat and seeing how awkward they are together when realizing neither has any idea how their relationship is going to wok is absolutely delightful. Also, if you’re paying attention, this episode drops a very subtle hint about Rose’s true nature. But let’s talk about the song itself. It’s a nice smooth rock song that’s a lot of fun to listen to, but it also ties into the theme of the episode. See, throughout this episode, Greg begins to ponder the question: What CAN he do? Greg is a mere human and Rose is this cosmic being with powers beyond human imagination. What does he have to offer her someone like that? The song ends with a sweet guitar solo and Pearl and Rose fusing into Rainbow Quartz, a super cool visual even if Pearl only suggested it purely out of spite. I’ll close this one out with an observation that others have made but I think bares repeating. How in the hell did Greg’s music career not skyrocket after this? Was FUSION just not enough to impress the record label? Seriously, this is the biggest plot hole in the series. Eh, no matter, it’s still a great song.

11. Both of You (Mr. Greg Season 3 Episode 8)

It’s honestly shocking to me that the previously discussed It’s Over Isn’t It often finds its way to the top of so many lists of this nature, and yet this song from the very same episode often gets completely ignored. Now, obviously, you know that I feel that It’s Over Isn’t It is a very powerful song, but here’s the thing: Pearl’s resentment towards Greg, her devotion to Rose, her lamentation that Rose chose Greg and not her, this is all ground we’ve already covered in the series up to this point. This song on the other hand, this is Pearl and Greg finally reconciling. All that tension, all that resentment, both subtle and overt, all of it, finally coming to a head as Greg and Pearl finally sit down and talk out their issues. Not only that, the song takes those issues and approaches them from a new angle, how they’ve affected Steven. Greg and Pearl have both been fixated on Rose, but Steven never knew Rose. What matters to Steven is that Greg is his Dad and that Pearl is one of the closest things to a mother he’s ever known and seeing this tension between two of the people he loves most could not have been easy for him. This was the entire reason Steven invited Pearl to come along on the trip to Empire City, so that they can finally have this much needed time to work out their issues. And it’s not like this tension will be resolved at the end of the song, but if they learn to forgive each other, perhaps the healing can begin.

And that’ll about do it for this half of the countdown, but please join me at a later date for the Top Ten.