Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey Recall “Horrifying” ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Musical Episode: “The Whole Concept Was Crazy”

The Grey’s Anatomy musical episode has become one of the most iconic installments in the ABC medical drama’s history, but stars Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey aren’t fans.

In the Season 7 episode “Song Beneath the Song,” the Seattle Grace doctors raced to save Callie Torres’ (Sara Ramirez) life after she and her girlfriend Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) got into a car accident. Along the way, characters performed songs that had previously been used in Grey’s Anatomy, such as “Chasing Cars” and “How to Save a Life.”

In a new episode of the podcast Tell Me With Ellen Pompeo, the actress and her former Grey’s costar Dempsey reminisced about their memories of filming the show, with the conversation eventually shifting to the musical episode.

“Remember we did that horrible musical number — I mean, sorry to disrespect who wrote it — but I mean that musical, we were horrified, right?” said Pompeo, who has starred as Meredith Grey for all 17 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy. “I did sing a little and I was like, ‘Listen guys, I’m telling you right now, like, I can’t sing.”

Dempsey admitted that when it came to singing, he “chickened out completely.”

“I was like, ‘No way in hell am I going to be singing,'” the actor recalled. “It didn’t make sense to me then. And now when you see it and you’re like ‘Oh my God’ … at least they tried it.”

“Yeah, it was completely ridiculous, I haven’t seen it again,” Pompeo replied. “But wait, so I sang but I was in a scene with you and I was singing to you and you weren’t singing? So you’re so much smarter than me.”

However, Pompeo noted that “Sara Ramirez and Chandra Wilson can sing their asses off,” while Dempsey added that Kevin McKidd also has “a great voice.”

“The whole concept was crazy, and it’s one of those memories,” Dempsey concluded.

The Season 18 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy, a crossover event with Station 19, airs on ABC on Thursday, September 30, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Station 19 airs from 8:00-9:00, followed by Grey’s Anatomy at 9:00-10:01 p.m. ET. The season premiere will be available to watch on Hulu beginning Friday, October 1.

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