The Walking Dead cast pick lead playlist songs for their characters

Cue up the tunes!

It's time to drop the needle, as we asked the cast of The Walking Dead to share the songs that best symbolize their characters on the show.

Melissa McBride (Carol Peletier)

Maybe "Crazy" — the Patsy Cline version, written by Willie Nelson. For one thing, her voice is beautiful, soothing. The lyrics are simple and seem so perfect, and the story of how she came to record that song is one that I think Carol would have appreciated. The song itself was a bit of an underdog before Patsy recorded it, and while it seems a somewhat easy song, it was a complicated song to sing. She'd been in a car wreck not long before recording it, had to let her broken ribs heal, work on the phrasing. She persevered.

Ross Marqund (Aaron)

I don't know why, but for some reason, LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out" sticks out as a song that Aaron would have playing, especially after he gets his mace arm. I just feel like he's a clobbering machine once he loses his arm and gets that mace arm. So yeah, I think "Mama Said Knock You Out" would be first on his playlist soundtrack, probably some Misfits in there too, just selfishly as that's probably more me talking, not Aaron, but definitely LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out."

Lauren Cohan (Maggie Rhee)

There's one song from Hamilton called "That Would be Enough" that Phillipa Soo sings. And there's this line were she goes, "And if this child shares a fraction of your smile or a fragment of your mind, look out world, that would be enough." It always makes me think of Glenn, and it kills me to think of Glenn never getting to see his kid.

Okea Eme-Akwari (Elijah)

"Never Catch Me" by Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar. To me, the lyrics of the song speak about the "possibilities" of life and death in the most beautiful way. Kendrick talks about confronting the afterlife and what it might hold for him, but also considers the possibilities and opportunities still available to him in the living world. When I think about Elijah, I think of someone trying to make the best of a bad situation. He's a tragic optimist and a persistent soul caught fighting in between the dead and living worlds. To top it all off, Kendrick only raps for about a minute of the 4 minute track, and seeing how Elijah characteristically doesn't speak much, I thought that was a cool parallel.

Cassady McClincy (Lydia)

I LOVE this question! Thank you for asking! I had my Lydia playlist that I would sometimes listen to, but my #1 song was Aurora's cover of David Bowie's "Life on Mars." I have so many memories of singing that song to myself between takes under the fake moon lantern light shining between the trees on woodland night shoots.

Josh Hamilton (Lance Hornsby)

When I first got the role, I was listening to lots of confidence-building hip hop with lots of braggadocio to give Lance confidence. There was this one song, "Point and Kill" by Little Simz. It had a propulsive groove that made you feel kind of sexy and dangerous. I always felt like Lance is someone who studied all those Tony Robbins self-help books and tapes to convince himself that he is the most effective, powerful person he could be. And so I had the idea that he also listens to music that makes him feel confident.

Paola Lázaro (Princess)

Don't ask me why, but for some reason the first two songs that came to mind are Harry Nilsson's "Everybody's Talkin'" and Bad Bunny's "Ni Bien Ni Mal." I believe that the reason why these songs came up is that I feel like Princess is a loner and has had such a rough life with trauma and abuse, because the people who were supposed to provide love and protection to her provided exactly the opposite of that.

The Harry Nilsson song relates to this because it is about in a way being alone and wanting to get on the road and leave. The Bad Bunny song is about moving on from a situation that wasn't good for you and not wanting to come back because someone did you wrong. Both songs are about moving on, leaving, and, in a way, being on our own.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan)

I'm gonna say "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin, because he's a bit of a dog and he wears black. I just heard that song the other day and I'm like, "Goddamn, this should be in movies." It's such a good song.

Laila Robins (Pamela Milton)

Pamela's first playlist song would be "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees. Enough said. :)

Margot Bingham (Max)

One hundred percent, Max's soundtrack would be straight up funk. For every character I play, I always make a soundtrack since music drives me so much in my personal life. For some reason, Marvin Gaye comes to mind for Max's first song?! He was all about the people, just like Max. I'm gonna go with "I Heard It Through The Grapevine." :)

Michael James Shaw (Mercer)

The first song of that playlist would have to be "No Church in the Wild" from Watch the Throne. The lyrics and vibe of the song echo a lot of the questions and circumstances of the characters within The Walking Dead universe. Especially at the Commonwealth.

Eleanor Matsuura (Yumiko Okumura)

I always have a soundtrack for my characters. It's my favorite thing. Yumi's playlist built over the years, so by season 11, it was long and awesome. Thom Yorke's "Dawn Chorus" for episode 1, season 11 was seminal to that moment when I realized my brother was alive. But the first track is "Point and Kill" by Little Sims, and the one that always felt tone-perfect for my journey on the show.

Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon)

Hmmm… I think "Dirty Boots" by Sonic Youth. The way it starts and where it goes. I played it a lot!

Angel Theory (Kelly)

This is a hard question, LOL. I feel like she would have a few songs depending on the mood she is in. However, Kelly's theme song would probably be "Alive" by Sia. The song and lyrics reminds me of the fight she has to be alive, and the intense emotions and obstacles she had to overcome.

Josh McDermitt (Eugene Porter)

"Just A Friend" by Biz Markie. Do I really need to explain why?

Nadia Hilker (Magna)

"U Can't Touch This" by M.C. Hammer. (Confident this doesn't need further explanation.)