Would the song "Times are Hard for Dreamers" from Amelie be considered a ballad or uptempo?

I know that this is a silly question, but I cannot tell and I would love to use it as an audition piece depending on the style it’s considered to be.

Well I must admit this piqued my curiosity as I had never heard this song before. So I went and gave it a listen and it would most definitely be considered uptempo, not a ballad.

i think it depends on the song you’re contrasting it with

I’m not a musical theater major (so my opinion is worth nil) but I’d peg this song as a " 'tweener". In contests I’ve been in they are often hard to pull off. I think your ear was good in not being able to decide this song as uptempo or ballad.

The rhythm and tempo are uptune sounding for the most part on first listen but the lyrics fall on the ballad side of telling a story.

Most ballads are defined as having a sustained legato line. In fact, many of the schools spell that out in the audition requirements when referring to the required ballad for an audition. The song you reference has a very bouncy staccato tempo and would likely not meet that requirement so I would be very hesitant to use this to meet any audition expectation of a ballad. If you have a singing teacher or song coach you should probably consult with them to make sure you are choosing songs that actually meet the requirements set forth by the schools for which you are auditioning just to be sure.

@sopranomtmom --so would this be most likely considered uptempo then or need to meet other specific guidelines? I ask only to learn.

It has a very similar tempo, in fact even a bit more upbeat, then the song my daughter used for her uptempo last year so I would feel pretty confident that it would satisfy an uptempo definition - especially being that it would also be considered a very contemporary MT song as opposed to a golden age classic many schools require as one of the selections.

Follow up: I was hoping to use it as my uptempo

DEFINITELY an uptempo and a beautiful song from a soon-to-be-forgotten (but wonderful) show. This will be popular, so take it now!