Howdy!
A month ago, I published the first part of my list of favorite movie scores and soundtracks. It was a shorter post compared to what this one will be..I have made the decision on only talking about 12 of them as I didn’t want to drag it on. I feel like this a great selection of soundtracks. A lot of them you have probably enjoyed growing up or as you got older. I have also arranged them in alphabetical order again just to help myself keep everything straight.
Burlesque (2010)
Have you ever seen a new movie promo and feel this immediate attraction to it? I felt it the day I saw the Burlesque trailer. I am a really big fan of Christina Aguilera and to find out she was making her debut in a movie was really exciting! The weird thing is that despite I was purely watching it for Christina, I actually love it because of the whole cast. My favorite character out of everybody is actually Stanley Tucci’s “Sean,” he can play a really good gay man! I was thoroughly surprised!
As far as talking about the soundtrack, I can literally listen to it from top to bottom. I loved the movie so much that for one Christmas, I actually asked for the soundtrack rather than the movie itself. I think the main reason for this was maybe I already had it on my DVR, but have lost it a couple of times in the course of three years. Thankfully, I have it in my main folder and if I want something to watch that I know I am going to enjoy I will turn it on. I try not to sing the songs late at night but sometimes I can’t help myself and it comes out. I have also been known to dance as well, but nobody can hear me when that happens so that’s okay!
Dreamgirls (2006)
When this one came out, I was at the start of getting really into musicals in general. It was a film that I actually watched on my own, without any other introductions from either people or the trailers on TV. Nevertheless, I genuinely loved it!
If it had came out at the peak of Beyonce’s career like now, after she’s lent her voice for the live action remake of “The Lion King” would I have enjoyed it as much is still up in the air, but my focus was never on her. I actually love it for Jennifer Hudson, like everybody else, I was stunned to find out that she was on American Idol but was later eliminated. I thought her voice was beautiful! I loved her sass towards pretty much everyone and felt horrible after the gorgeous performance of “And I Am Telling You” with those high notes! Good God, I can tell you that I can’t even hit those notes and I’ve tried to improve on my voice for the last few years, but still struggle reaching for the Earth-shattering vocals. Thankfully, I’m not bitter about it!
One thing that I was even more surprised about was Eddie Murphy. The only time I have ever heard him sing before was in Shrek and it wasn’t even as intense as what you hear on this movie! My ultimate favorite is “Patience” it has so much raw emotion in it.
Descendants 3 (2019)
Before watching this film, I had actually been pushing this post back further and further away because I knew how much time consuming it would be, but after I seen it I knew I had to basically bite the bullet and even include it onto the already long list!
It has actually been a long time since I have enjoyed watching a Disney Channel Original Movie, so I wasn’t expecting to like it very much but I had been really curious about it after the death of Cameron Boyce, and I was shocked on how much I loved it! I watched it live and recorded it for my main folder so whenever I wanted to watch it I could with ease, but I can’t seem to move past the song “Queen Of Mean” and really I still have trouble continuing because I just want to hear and sing it. After finishing it, it took me about a month to complete the other two movies, but I didn’t like it as much as this one though.
From Justin To Kelly (2002)
I know this movie wasn’t very popular when it came out, but I actually love it to pieces! If you’ve never seen it (which you probably haven’t) apparently it was a test film whether or not to see if American Idol winners could act. If this had a better outlook during the first weekend it premiered, executives would have continued to create similar films after every AI finale to jack up profits of the stars they helped make in the process. However, this was not the case but all wasn’t lost though. Kelly Clarkson still acts here an there. Hell, she even has her own talk show now!
Here’s something really interesting about the film itself. It also features another familiar face: Anika Noni Rose. No, she wasn’t on AI but she was on Dreamgirls as “Lorrell” the love interest of Jimmy Earl and “Tiana” on The Princess and The Frog. This movie was one of her firsts before making it into these huge sensations!
As far as the music goes, there is a lot of sass in the movie, and luckily the music runs right with it. I have always loved revenge songs, and there are two songs that are all about revenge and maybe even a little showoff-y too. There is “Wish Upon A Star” that is sung by our antagonist Alexa, even though she has this very high pitched voice when she sings, it still has that spunk of her personality. The other is “Madness” that is by both Kelly and Anika’s character Kaya. This is a really fun song with a lot of sass against these crazy boys in the film. My ultimate favorite is “Timeless” and it features both Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini. It is so beautiful and very gentle compared to the other songs on the soundtrack.
Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (1998)
I tried my hardest to not make this list all about my favorite Disney soundtracks so I have only three on here that I have truly adored for years.
Despite the fact that I have grown a better appreciation for the first Lion King film, my favorite will always be ‘Simba’s Pride’ because there wasn’t that big of a death on it. Yes, Nuka gets killed but it’s nothing compared to the killing of Mufasa, at least that’s my opinion anyways! Another reason why I have always liked this one more is because I think there are more songs included, especially after little Kiara and Kovu get taken back by their parents after meeting each other, there are two songs going on back-to-back. This doesn’t happen in the first film.
When I was younger, my favorite song was the theme song in the beginning which was “He Lives In You” which is still by Lebo B, who sung “Circle Of Life” in the first movie. I thought it was a little bit feminine as it was softer and not exactly in your face as COL was, it kind of gave you that feeling that this story was going to be totally different. My second favorite was “Not One Of Us” and I always loved to see the other animals get involved like you would in a big community. Although that whole section is really sad for both Kovu because he’s being forced out for his past and of course, the pleading Kiara makes more emotional because she loves him so much and is basically the only one to look past his heritage. Now as an adult, I really love “My Lullaby” because it is so fierce and powerful with a female vocalist and finally, there is “Love Will Find A Way” which use to make me very hopeful as a child but now I just enjoy it for the loving way of the lyrics and music in the background.
Purple Rain (1984)
My mom will be very proud of me for having this on my list. I grew up watching the film Purple Rain when I was a really young, and considering the amount of sexual things on it, I probably shouldn’t have been doing that!
I know there is the soundtrack with the songs with Prince and The Revolution, but as for this post I will be discussing all of the songs on the movie. My mom and I are still pretty obsessed with “Jungle Love” by The Time. They were the cockiest guys on that film and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were the reason why I hate people like that in general. The other song that was maybe the second track for someone at the age of 7 or 8 shouldn’t like right away was “Sex Shooter”. Personally, I thought Apollonia was gorgeous and I was never put off by the very risqué outfit she wore during that performance.
For the songs only by Prince, the list is a little bit bigger. I love “The Beautiful Ones” after watching the movie, my mom found a cover by Mariah Carey and I think Boyz II Men. I like it, I mean it isn’t Prince but I think it’s pretty good otherwise. The other favorites are “When Doves Cry,” “Computer Blue,” Purple Rain,” and “I Would Die For U.” I’m not really sure which ones my mom loves the most, so if she reads this post on my Facebook page, she’ll probably leave a comment with her answers so if you’re really curious, you’ll have to hope that this happens.
Spirit: The Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
I literally almost forgot about this! While I was working on the one below, the sentence about how it’s my favorite Disney music of all time, I remembered my ultimate non-Disney favorite, which is Spirit! What makes it interesting is that it has something in common with the Tarzan soundtrack, as they were created by one person. For Spirit, it was Bryan Adams. Now I had never heard of him prior to this movie but I thought he was perfect as the story’s muse if you will.
This movie is a little different from the rest as it is generally like a silent film. The horses, who are the main characters, are just plain horses but in animated form. You have the humans that have voices, and Matt Damon as the narrator, but the music is basically at the forefront of the entire thing. I was nine years old when I saw this in theaters, and everything about it made me happy! And I’m pretty sure for Christmas that year, I received the soundtrack and I still listen to it every once in a while too!
Despite loving the entire soundtrack, of course I have my favorites and they are “Here I Am” which is played at the beginning when Spirit’s mom is giving birth to him, the rest of the scenes tell the story of he went from a little colt to this massive wild stallion in charge of his whole group. The next song is actually placed at a sad part because it’s where Spirit is captured by these humans who plan on taming him. It is called “You Can’t Take Me,” and at this time in my life, I wasn’t listening to country, rock, metal, anything like that, but this song is actually what made me interested in country-rock music, like Brantley Gilbert. Anyways, I think it’s pretty good but it is nothing compared to “Sound The Bugle” as it is the saddest scenes and song out of the whole thing! It’s on when Spirit gets captured again, he is taken away from Rain (his girlfriend) who is really hurt, and where he’s on the train obviously upset about everything from missing his mom and rest of the herd to possibly never seeing Rain ever again. So, it will probably make you cry as it does every time I watch it. The song itself isn’t much better; it’ll just create more tears that flow down your face!
Step Up (2006)
Recently I found this on our movie channels, so I am happy to finally hear these songs again because every time I look them on YouTube, there seems to one or two missing from the play list made by a fan. I do have the soundtrack itself but have nowhere to play it, so this is my only option right now!
This was actually the movie that made realize how great classical and hip hop go together! The opening track by Petey Pablo was amazing, the combination of violins and a heavy hip hop beat. What made it even better was during the credits, you have ballerinas and hip hop dancers in separate areas dancing to the same song. So, it gives you a nice sweet taste of what is to come for the whole thing. The best song though is “I’mma Shine” by Youngbloodz. Although the classical parts are taking a backseat, there are still very present on it but the whole thing is amazing! It plays during Ty and his friends at a party where Miles takes control of the DJ stand and Nora is forced to figure out her showcase as a soloist.
What I found cool though was that I wasn’t purely about the upbeat songs in the film. I really love Anthony Hamilton’s “Dear Life” as I think it brought out the vibe of Tyler’s life as a foster kid, and not being able to make that commitment to Nora. And of course, I have to add “U Made Me” by Gina Rene. I still think it was the perfect song for that scene between them, if you didn’t think there wasn’t any chemistry between Ty and Nora, you knew it after that little dancing scene at the docks.
Tarzan (1997)
Personally, I have never enjoyed watching Tarzan both growing up or as an adult–I don’t even like to watch it with my nephew! There are two big scenes that were always a little too much for me, but the one thing that keeps me interested are the songs. Out of all of the Disney movies and their soundtracks, this is and probably be my ultimate favorite of all time!
Even as an adult, my dad likes to tease me about the fact that I am listening to songs by Phil Collins. I cannot tell you how many times I get told to listen to Genesis every time I start singing the Tarzan songs! What really gets me is that he has yet to show Nolan any other song by Phil or Genesis. Why is it always me? Anyways, I have always loved the main theme that is on at the very start of the film. “Two Worlds” has a very upbeat sound but boy, if you watch the scenes where that baby gorilla gets chased and eventually killed by that leopard; it’ll definitely make you tear up! And then of course, I love “You’ll Be In My Heart” as it’s such a sweet, sweet song. I always like to give Nolan a kiss at the end of it.
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1996)
This is the final Disney soundtrack of the post! Honestly, for a while this was the only one I would admit to loving out loud. I think because it was such an underrated film that I just wanted to help grow among my friends. Disney is not really known for making movies with darker themes but they have experimented with them in the past. It didn’t matter that it was an animated film, it still talked about “getting rid” of the gypsies and anybody that didn’t fit Frollo’s version of the perfect person. This also means that he intentionally abused Quasi about his differences, and told him that he would never be welcomed among the people of Paris.
One of my ultimate favorite songs of the movie will always be “The Bells Of Notre Dame” I just loved how powerful it sounded back when I was little, but I still love it for being that way! I also have to point out that after years of hard work, I can finally hit and hold that last note of the song. It was the coolest thing for me to do that for the first time. My second favorite is “God Help The Outcasts” and I just really love how beautiful and gentle it is to the other songs in the movie. And finally, we have “Hellfire” which is the sinister song that I have heard in a Disney movie, but that never made me want to stay away from it, it just intrigued that they would even create a song like this in the first place, you know?
The Phantom Of The Opera (2004)
I remember the first time I ever watched this movie. It was during one day while I was in concert choir in eighth grade. Our teacher was getting ready for a play so he left all of us in our classroom with this film. I still don’t like the scene of when the Phantom appears behind Christine’s mirror, but I just love the whole thing!
Before watching this, I hadn’t listened to opera so this was something completely different for me. I was surprised that I would even enjoy it. I am happy to say I can hit several of those high notes in the songs “Think Of Me” and “Angel Of Music” but I really love “The Music Of The Night” but there’s nothing that freaks me out more than knowing that the Phantom is played by Gerard Butler! I know a lot of people didn’t like him for that role, but I loved it! I thought it was an interesting role for him.
Well I am finally done with this post! This took me longer than I wanted it to, but I think that was purely my fault, I had too many thoughts to include with each part and before I even got to the letter “P” I was kind of dreading to come back to it, but it’s finished and I’m happy with it!
What is your favorite movie soundtrack of all time? do we share any favorites?
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