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What's The Buzz Lyrics Jesus Christ Superstar

What's The Buzz Lyrics

Strange Thing Mystifying
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APOSTLES

What's the buzz?
Tell me what's a-happening. (Repeat 8 times)

JESUS

Why should you want to know?
Don't you mind about the future?
Don't you try to think ahead?
Save tomorrow for tomorrow;
Think about today instead.

APOSTLES

What's the buzz?
Tell me what's happening. (Repeat many times)

JESUS

I could give you facts and figures.
Even give you plans and forecasts.
Even tell you where I'm going.

APOSTLES

When do we ride into Jerusalem? (Repeat many times)

JESUS

Why should you want to know?

Why are you obsessed with fighting
Times and fates you can't defy?
If you knew the path we're riding,
You'd understand it less than I.

APOSTLES

What's the buzz?
Tell me what's happening. (Repeat many times)

MARY MAGDALENE

Let me try to cool down your face a bit. (Repeat 5 times)

JESUS

Mary that is good,
While you prattle through your supper,
Where and when and who and how.
She alone has tried to give me
What I need right here and now.

APOSTLES

What's the buzz?
Tell me what's happening. (Repeat many times)

Song Overview

What’s the Buzz / Strange Thing Mystifying lyrics by Jesus Christ Superstar Original Studio Cast
Jesus Christ Superstar Original Studio Cast is singing the 'What’s the Buzz / Strange Thing Mystifying' lyrics in the concept-album performance clip.

Personal Review

“What’s the Buzz / Strange Thing Mystifying” is the early hinge of the rock opera - two compact scenes that frame Jesus’ calm focus against his Apostles’ restless energy and Judas’ sharp skepticism. The lyrics read like stage directions with teeth, while the band hits a lean funk-rock stride that could back a Joe Cocker bar-burner. It’s exposition that grooves - plot information carried by bassline and backbeat.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Jesus Christ Superstar cast performing What’s the Buzz / Strange Thing Mystifying
Performance energy to match the crowd’s chant.

Part one, “What’s the Buzz,” sets the room temperature. The Apostles chant for headlines - “What’s the buzz?” - while Jesus answers with present-tense philosophy: don’t chase forecasts, handle today. The juxtaposition is the point. Crowd asks for a battle plan; teacher gives a mindfulness lesson.

Part two, “Strange Thing Mystifying,” pivots from group impatience to Judas’ moral critique of Mary Magdalene’s intimacy with Jesus. The lyric sketches a media strategy argument: Judas worries optics and consistency, Jesus counters with mercy, then drops the classic stone-throwing test in plain speech. It’s character conflict staged as call-and-response.

On the 1970 concept album, the casting doubled the drama - Ian Gillan’s rock-tenor Jesus against Murray Head’s nervy Judas and Yvonne Elliman’s warm Mary. You can hear London’s rock circuit baked into the tracks via players from Joe Cocker’s Grease Band, which explains the tight pocket and greasy guitars.

Historically, the number lands just as the project itself was rewriting musical-theatre playbooks. Rice and Lloyd Webber could not get a stage backer, so the album arrived first, then hit gold in under three weeks, and then topped the Billboard album chart in 1971. The songs - this pair included - were built to carry story before any staging existed.

On screen, the 1973 film reimagines these scenes with guerrilla vitality - desert locations, an underground-artist vibe, and a camera that moves like a dancer. Decades later the 2018 NBC Live in Concert put “What’s the Buzz” back on national television with John Legend, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Sara Bareilles, proof that this dialogue-in-rhythm still snaps on live TV.

“What’s the buzz?”

A chant as dramaturgy - an anxious chorus that pulls us forward. It is also an earworm, perfect for a staging that needs crowd motion with purpose.

“Save tomorrow for tomorrow - think about today instead.”

Scripture reframed as stagecraft. The lyric paraphrases the Sermon on the Mount’s “do not worry about tomorrow,” making it sound almost like tour-manager advice.

“If your slate is clean, then you can throw stones.”

Compressed ethics lesson. The line echoes the famous challenge about casting the first stone, here repointed to defend Mary in the face of public shaming.

Creation history

Recorded March–July 1970 with Gillan, Head, and Elliman; released in the UK on October 16, 1970 and in the US on October 27, 1970. Track 3 on side one runs 4:13 and was sequenced directly after “Heaven on Their Minds.”

Verse Highlights

Scene from What’s the Buzz / Strange Thing Mystifying by Jesus Christ Superstar Original Studio Cast
From crowd chant to razor dialog in a single cut.
“What’s the Buzz”

Rhythm guitar scratches and a walking bass make the Apostles’ questions feel like foot-tapping gossip. Jesus’ lines sit straighter in the pocket - fewer words, clearer diction - so his calm cuts through the chatter.

“Strange Thing Mystifying”

Judas steps into a more minor, brooding space. The melody climbs as his argument hardens, then Jesus answers with clipped imperatives - “Leave her” - and the harmony brightens around mercy. It’s blocking you can hear.


Key Facts

Scene from What’s the Buzz / Strange Thing Mystifying by Jesus Christ Superstar Original Studio Cast
Studio-cast electricity on tape.
  • Featured: Jesus - Ian Gillan; Judas - Murray Head; Mary Magdalene - Yvonne Elliman; ensemble - “Apostles” studio chorus.
  • Producers: Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber.
  • Composers/Lyricists: Andrew Lloyd Webber - music; Tim Rice - lyrics.
  • Release date: UK - October 16, 1970; US - October 27, 1970.
  • Genre: rock opera, funk-rock hybrid.
  • Instruments: electric guitars, bass, drums, piano/organ, tenor sax; core band included members of Joe Cocker’s Grease Band.
  • Label: Decca/MCA.
  • Mood: urgent, questioning, confrontational balanced by compassion.
  • Length: 4:13 on the original concept album.
  • Track #: Side 1, Track 3 of the 1970 concept album.
  • Language: English.
  • Album context: Jesus Christ Superstar – A Rock Opera, the concept-album origin of the stage musical.
  • Music style: tight 4/4 groove, call-and-response vocals, hooky chorus that doubles as crowd movement.
  • Poetic meter: chant-like anapests in the “What’s the buzz” refrain; conversational iambs in Jesus’ counters.
  • Recording: Olympic Studios, London; sessions March–July 1970.
  • © Copyright: Decca/MCA; publishing controlled by the writers’ companies as credited on release notes.

Questions and Answers

Were these songs singles?
No - the album’s big singles were “Superstar” and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.” This pair functioned as narrative set-pieces on the LP.
How do film and TV versions handle the scene?
The 1973 film leans into a desert-underground aesthetic and the 2018 Live in Concert stages it like a stadium chant - both keep the crowd energy central.
Did the album chart well before the stage premiere?
Yes - the concept album hit US gold quickly and topped the Billboard album chart in 1971, essentially financing and fueling the stage rollout.
Any notable later recordings of this specific number?
Yes - the 2018 NBC cast album features John Legend, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Sara Bareilles in a high-energy take.
What tempo does “What’s the Buzz” usually sit at?
Common stage and pit-band readings sit around the mid-teens - roughly 112–120 BPM - which keeps the chant snappy without trampling the dialogue.

Awards and Chart Positions

Album milestones. The 1970 concept album topped the US Billboard Top LP’s chart in February and again in May 1971, and finished as Billboard’s year-end No. 1 album for 1971. In the UK, the 1973 film soundtrack climbed to No. 23 on the Official Albums Chart.

Television accolades. The 2018 Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert production won multiple Emmy awards, including Outstanding Variety Special (Live), plus craft-category wins in lighting, production design, sound mixing, and technical direction.

How to Sing?

Roles and ranges. Jesus needs a bright rock-tenor edge that can sit above a chanty ensemble without forcing; Judas takes a darker, higher-gear rock tenor line in “Strange Thing Mystifying”; Mary sits in a warm mezzo pocket when she enters with soothing lines. Keep timbre distinct so the argument reads even with eyes closed.

Timing and diction. Treat “What’s the buzz?” as percussion - tight consonants on the offbeats. For Jesus’ replies, relax the subdivisions and land ends cleanly to sound unhurried. Judas’ accusations should ride a slight crescendo through each phrase to sell the rhetorical build.

Breath & blend. Ensemble should inhale together on the rests before each chant fragment, then release with identical “z” lengths so the refrain behaves like a single instrument. In “Strange Thing Mystifying,” stay legato on Judas’ first lines so the scold comes from tone, not just volume.

Tempo. Mid-tempo - commonly around 112–120 BPM in pit charts - is ideal. Too slow and the scene drags; too fast and the text blurs.

Songs Exploring Themes of Doubt and Discipleship

“Heaven on Their Minds” - Judas Before the buzz, there’s a soliloquy. Judas lays out the thesis - fear of momentum and message drift. Guitar-riff urgency frames a warning: popularity can wreck purpose. Compared to “What’s the Buzz,” this is private doubt made public; same anxiety, different temperature.

“Simon Zealotes / Poor Jerusalem” - Simon and Jesus While the Apostles chant for action in “What’s the Buzz,” Simon proposes it outright - revolution as deliverance. Jesus answers with a sober reality check. Side by side, these numbers map the gap between crowd fantasy and Jesus’ mission.

“Superstar” - Judas The late-showstopper reframes the whole debate as a TV-age cross-exam. Judas asks whether fame swallowed the message. If “What’s the Buzz” is curiosity running hot, “Superstar” is the courtroom sequel.

Music video


Jesus Christ Superstar Lyrics: Song List

  1. Act 1
  2. Overture
  3. Heaven On Their Minds
  4. What's The Buzz
  5. Then We Are Decided
  6. Strange Thing Mystifying
  7. Everything's Alright
  8. This Jesus Must Die
  9. Hosanna
  10. Simon Zealotes
  11. Poor Jerusalem
  12. Pilate's Dream
  13. The Temple
  14. I Don't Know How To Love Him
  15. Damned For All Time / Blood Money
  16. Act 2
  17. The Last Supper
  18. Gethsemane (I Only Want To Say)
  19. The Arrest
  20. Peter's Denial
  21. Pilate And Christ
  22. King Herod's Song (Try It And See)
  23. Could We Start Again Please?
  24. Judas' Death
  25. Trial Before Pilate
  26. Superstar
  27. The Crucifixion
  28. John Nineteen: Forty-One

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