Solo Duet

A character sings a duet with herself/himself.

Compare other instances of Let's Duet.^[1] Also compare Self-Backing Vocalist, where a singer overdubs himself or herself to create a backing vocal.

Examples of Solo Duet include:

Advertising

• One WeightWatchers commercial has Jennifer Hudson singing a duet with herself from her American Idol days, in part to show off her changes in weight from then to now.

Anime and Manga

• In episode 23 of Cardcaptor Sakura, the SONG card copies Tomoyo's singing-voice, and in order to capture it, she has to sing a duet with it, to perfection. Naturally, she does so, and it actually does sound quite beautiful...
• In one episode of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch, the Black Beauty Sisters duplicate themselves and sing both of their songs at once.
• The Lucky Star ending theme collection album has Konata singing a full version of "Sore ga Ai Deshou", the opening theme from Fumoffu. First she imitates the original version and then she invites herself to sing a duet. "Sugoi ne, atashi?"
• Odd example in one Ranma ½ album, specifically 'Love Letter from China' where Ranma sings while changing genders thanks to being repeatedly splashed by Akane and Ryouga. The last few lines however are sung by both Megumi Hayashibara (female Ranma) and Kappei Yamaguchi (male Ranma) together while still in character.
  • In a related occasion, the Character Christmas song is performed in character by all major anime voice actors, which includes both Megumi Hayashibara and Kappei Yamaguchi. Even Akane wonders how this is possible—Ranma waves it off saying that it's a dream.
• One of the Digimon Adventure 02 Image Songs qualify as this—Megumi Urawa sings as both Iori and Armadimon for "Mirai e no Message".
  • If this qualifies, then the Sonozaki Twins' image songs qualify as well, for obvious reasons
• Melfina sings a song that resembles one of the ending credits songs in one of the later episodes of Outlaw Star in a moment to herself.
• In My-HiME Fumi and Mashiro's character song is a duet with both parts sung by Yukana since she's the one who voices both characters. No such opportunities in Mai-Otome since Fumi's only in the back story.
• Risky☆Safety: Since Rie Iwatsubo voices both Risky and Safety in the original Japanese, she sings both sides of the duet in episode 23. (Averted in the English dub, where Risky and Safety have different voice actresses.)

Film

• Disney's Mary Poppins: both "in movie", when Mary Poppins sings with her reflection, and then "in production", when Julie Andrews dubbed in the robin-whistles in the same song.
• In Make Mine Music, Willie the Whale has the ability to sing with multiple voices.
• There's a version of "Somewhere Out There" from An American Tail on an obscure album called Fievel and Friends where Fievel sings the song himself, which was originally meant to be a duet.
• In Rock A Bye Baby, Jerry Lewis sings a duet with his childhood self (played convincingly by son Gary).
• In White Christmas, Rosemary Clooney sings both parts in the "Sisters" number she performs with Vera-Ellen.

Live Action Television

• In Series 2, Episode 4 (Duets) of Glee - Kurt Hummel sings a duet from Viktor/Viktoria by himself.
  • And of course, in season 1, episode 9, Kurt and Rachel have a 'diva-off' to see who will get the solo in Defying Gravity Wicked... even though it is a duet.
    • Although "Defying Gravity" is technically a duet, the other part sings briefly, so not a full duet like most of the other examples on the page.
  • Similar to the above, Rachel and Kurt do the duet treatment to "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina", which Kurt singing to the Warblers while Rachel sings in an empty auditorium.

Literature

• In Maskerade, Agnes gets hired by the Ankh-Morpork Opera House because she can sing in chorus. With herself. Among other prodigious vocal talents.
  • 'Prodigious'... Tee hee. I see what you did there.
• In David Eddings's Polgara The Sorceress, a young Polgara sings not just a duet, but a complete choir, all by herself - using magic to replicate her voice multiple times. The purpose is, effectively, to scare away a herd of ardent admirers that she's outgrown, in a manner both impressive and stylish.

Music

• Brad Paisley's "Born on Christmas Day" is a "duet" between the present-day singer and a recording of him singing the song at age twelve. This one also qualifies as Self-Backing Vocalist, as he sings a harmony over top the childhood vocal at the end.
• Bob Dylan's cover of "The Boxer" is hoarse folkie Dylan singing a duet with smooth country boy Dylan.
• Say hello to Nick Pitera.
  • He will definitely show you a whole new world...
• Jeff Foxworthy's novelty Christmas release "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas" involves two characters, both voiced by Foxworthy.
• Ray Stevens has done countless songs where he both sings about the song's central character and voices him. A notable example is "The Streak", where he voices a news reporter and a man who's being interviewed, then returns to sing the chorus.
• Tiny Tim once did a cover of Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe" in which he sang both parts, employing a baritone as well as his more familiar falsetto.
• Aled Jones recorded a cover of "Walking in the Air" from The Snowman. Over 20 years later, the now-baritone singer recorded new vocals along with his child-tenor vocals, much like the Paisley example.

Theater

• "Guido's Song" in Nine has the protagonist wishing for, among other things, "another me to travel along with myself/I would even like to be able to sing a duet with myself." He then proceeds to do just that, with moderate success.
• Almost any stage musical in which there's more than one actor playing a single character (usually as a young child and as an adult) will invoke this trope at some point:
  • Nine
  • Violet
  • Follies: The only true Solo Duet is "One More Kiss," sung as a duet by 80-year-old Heidi Schiller and her younger counterpart. The older and younger voices overlap for a few seconds in "Waiting For The Girls Upstairs," but only for the sake of entering and exiting a Flash Back. There are also a few numbers danced simultaneously by the White Dwarf Starlets and their younger counterparts.
• In The Musical of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian sings a duet with his painting.
• Shrek the Musical has Fiona singing a solo trio.
• In the musical Floyd Collins, the titular character is in a cave and sings a round with his own echoes. Not magical, but still pretty awesome.
• "Hey There" from the musical The Pajama Game. Sid uses a dictaphone to provide his second voice.
• The Confrontation, from Jekyll and Hyde.
  • Smeagol and Gollum sing at least one of their arguments in the musical version of "The Lord of the Rings."

Video Games

• In Final Fantasy X-2, during the 'Yunapalooza' concert, Yuna uses the Songstress dressphere to sing and unintentionally summons forth Lenne, the long dead summoner and Songstress whose spirit was still bound within the sphere. Through Yuna, they sing a duet together, though they are technically different people.
• Happens in The Idolmaster when you put both Ami and Mami on stage with both twins being played by Asami Shimoda. Example here.

Web Original

• In the Whateley Universe, some Siren mutants can sing duets, choirs, or even whole orchestras.
• Charlieissocoollike does one of these, appropriately titled "Duet with Myself."

Western Animation

• On The Brak Show, Brak posed as a girl to sing a duet with himself in one episode.
• In an episode of Family Guy, Brian does a one-man impression of a barbershop quartet.
  • Don't you mean a one-dog impression?
• In Total Drama World Tour during the song 'This Is How We Will End It' Alejandro sings a duet with a puppet version of himself being controlled by himself
• In the Daria episode, "Daria!", Quinn sings a duet with herself in the mirror about what she should wear to work. This being Quinn, her reflection tells her to just wear anything, she'll still look great.
  • And, like the Mary Poppins example above, the duet with Quinn and Helen also counts in the "in production" sense, as the two share a voice actress.
• In the Season Two Finale of My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, Princess Cadence gets a literal example when she gets a duet with her evil doppelganger, who is actually the Queen of the Changelings impersonating her.

1. ↑ I guess that would make this trope "Let Me Duet"