Music has always been a huge part of Grey’s Anatomy, and it was Sara Ramirez who inspired the musical episode in season 7. From iconic recurring songs like “Breathe (2AM)” by Anna Nalick and Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars" to Meredith and Cristina's stress-relieving dance parties, music plays a surprisingly large role in Shonda Rhimes’ medical drama. Grey’s Anatomy follows the life and career of Meredith Grey, the daughter of a famous surgeon, as she trains as a medical resident and eventually becomes a practicing general surgeon. She and her co-workers struggle with the emotional toll of their jobs along with the pressures of their personal lives throughout the series.
One of Meredith’s co-workers is Callie Torres, an orthopedic surgeon. At the beginning of Grey’s Anatomy’s musical episode, “Song Beneath the Song,” Callie begins to hallucinate a singing version of herself after getting into a severe car accident with her partner and fellow surgeon at Seattle Grace Mercy West, Arizona Robbins. Callie’s hallucinations are a result of brain trauma from the accident, which serves as the catalyst for the episode’s musical theme. As the central character of the episode, Callie provides most of the vocals, which is fitting given that Sara Ramirez was the inspiration behind “Song Beneath the Song.”
Shonda Rhimes wanted to do a musical episode of Grey’s Anatomy before the show even had an official title. Rhimes has always emphasized music as an important part of the show (every episode is named after a song title), and Sara Ramirez’s casting is what finally gave her an opportunity to accomplish her goal of a musical episode. Ramirez joined the cast of Grey’s Anatomy as Callie Torres in 2006 after winning the 2005 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Ramirez appeared as the Lady of the Lake in Spamalot on Broadway. The role showed off her impressive vocal range in addition to her acting talents, both of which she brought to Grey’s Anatomy. With an award-winning singer playing a major role in her cast, Shonda Rhimes drew inspiration from Ramirez’s character for “Song Beneath the Song.”
The show's musical episode received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. Some found it an entertaining departure from Grey's Anatomy’s usual structure, while others considered it an overall failure. Many critics who didn’t like the episode, however, made a point to praise the work of the actors, specifically Kevin McKidd and Chandra Wilson, who also provided quite a few vocals for the episode. "Song Beneath the Song" is generally regarded as a misstep, but actor Patrick Dempsey offered an interesting insight in an interview with USA Today a year after the episode aired. He acknowledged that he did not think the episode was a success, but pointed out that the show was strong enough to take risks in order to keep things feeling fresh, saying: “Last year we had the singing episode, which I think was a big mistake. But you have to try.”
With a current total of 17 seasons, Grey’s Anatomy has had the opportunity to explore many topics, but its long run has also forced writers to search for creative ways to tell their stories. Making use of the talents of its actors, like Sara Ramirez’s singing voice, is a good way to explore new avenues for the series to pursue. Even though “Song Beneath the Song” was not as big a success as the creative team for Grey’s Anatomy may have hoped, it was an interesting experiment in television, and is part of a long tradition of one-time musical episodes, joining the ranks of TV classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Psych, and Scrubs.