While Paul’s off gallivanting in LA, David welcomes his longtime songwriting partner John Kavanaugh as guest co-host. John (9-time Emmy nominee, Sofia the First, Elena of Avalor, Descendants 3) joins for a deep dive into the realities of songwriting for Disney, film, television, stage—and what separates a song from a track.

They cover:

✅ Landing their newest Disney song (and how blind submissions work)
✅ The strange mix of art, commerce, and luck behind every song placement
✅ The craft of structure, form, and musical theatre songwriting vs pop songwriting
✅ Their collaboration on My Once Upon A Time (Descendants 3)
✅ The long road of their musical Five Women at an Airport — now streaming on Virtual Stage Lab

🎧 PLUS: A never-before-heard surprise — the original demo track of "My Once Upon A Time"
Produced by Marco Marinangeli & performed by Ashley Morgan — the first recording Dove Cameron heard before laying down her version.

💻 More from this episode:

• 🎼 Five Women at an Airport → https://fivewomenatairportmusical.com
• 🎥 Virtual Stage Lab → https://virtualstagelab.com
• 🎶 Watch/listen to My Once Upon A Time → https://youtu.be/eS4po4pY3xs?si=AKSfgVJEkAFnhr5Y
• 🎙 Contact Virtual Stage Lab: virtualstagelab@gmail.com

My Favorite Sings is a production of Virtual Stage Lab.

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS

00:00 — Pink headphones, Pride Month & LA flashbacks
04:40 — Guest intro: John Kavanaugh’s Emmy-winning resume
08:15 — Landing their newest Disney song
12:50 — Blind submissions & the Disney song process
17:20 — Structure: musical theatre vs pop songwriting
24:00 — The story behind My Once Upon A Time
35:00 — Why training matters for songwriters
42:10 — The evolution of Five Women at an Airport
52:30 — Virtual Stage Lab & democratizing musical development
1:02:00 — Shameless Plugs: Five Women at an Airport
1:07:30 — Tony Awards recap
1:13:00 — 🎧 BONUS: The original demo of "My Once Upon A Time"

🎙️ NEW EPISODE!
“What, Me? Shameless Plugs?” — Ep. 6 of My Favorite Sings is live!

David Goldsmith & Paul Gordon get real(ish) about:
✅ Launching the pod
✅ Taking notes (or not)
✅ Segment ideas they may never use
✅ And why filmed musicals might just save the industry

Also: some very shameless plugs. You’ve been warned.

🧢 Stream now wherever you get your podcasts
🎭 Watch on YouTube + Spotify

#MyFavoriteSings #MusicalTheatrePodcast #BroadwayWriters #VirtualStageLab #PaulGordon #DavidGoldsmith #NewMusicals #FilmedTheatre

Just in time for the Tony's, David Starts off this week’s episode by springing the podcast’s Main Title song and accompanying video onto Paul for the first time. He remains unpersuaded and the protest continues. It’s Tony Nominations Announcement week as this episode is being filed, so naturally a freewheeling, snark-free (mostly) discussion ensues, along with a rapturous acknowledgment of Tony™ nominee Jasmine Amy Rogers, making her Broadway debut as Betty Boop, but who is also making her Gordon & Goldsmith musical My Improbable Sisters, in a very different and no less luminous performance as little-known civil rights icon Claudette Colvin, now streaming for free on YouTube, and you must go there now and watch it before you come back and listen to this episode. This week’s nerdlist includes a dive into some of Sondheim’s Greatest Patters. David allows Paul more TV and Film music discussion than he’s really comfortable with, but what are you gonna do? These are his Favorite Sings. Finally, Paul and David vow to Never Fight Again.