Society & Culture & Entertainment / Monday, May/20/2024 / 14

Various Artists - StarStruck Soundtrack

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After the mega-success of High School Musical, the industry has been trying to replicate the magic with projects like Disney's Camp Rock and Nickelodeon's Spectacular!. Disney's latest attempt, the TV musical StarStruck, is yet another passable but unimpressive run at recapturing what made that first High School Musical so charmingly appealing.

The Artists

StarStruck stars Sterling Knight from the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance, and rising star Danielle Campbell.

It's pretty well known that Sterling Knight only sang portions of the song "StarStruck," and that the vocals for the other six songs by his character Christopher Wilde were sung by Drew Ryan Scott from the boy band Varsity Fanclub. Likewise, new Radio Disney sensation Anna Margaret sang Danielle Campbell's vocals as Danielle's character Jessica Olson. Actor Brandon Mychal Smith, known for his roles on the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance and Phil of the Future, raps on two songs as his character Stubby.

The Music

No surprises here: the StarStruck Soundtrack features the kind of airbrushed Disney pop songs we've all heard many times before, like "Hero" and "StarStruck." "Shades" sounds just like "Now or Never" from the High School Musical 3 Soundtrack, while "Something About the Sunshine" is fourth-generation Madonna. They also throw in a power ballad ("What You Mean to Me"), some shiny alt rock ("Got to Believe"), and the ubiquitous party scene hip hop jam ("Party Up").

In typical Disney cross-marketing manner, the StarStruck Soundtrack includes two songs that have nothing to do with the StarStruck TV movie.

Walt Disney Records promotes two of its newest stars by including Jasmine Sagginario's "Make a Movie" from her 2009 album The Next Me, and Mitchel Musso's "Welcome to Hollywood" from his self-titled 2009 album. Jasmine was the winner of Radio Disney's "Next Big Thing" in 2009, and Mitchel stars in the Disney Channel TV series Hannah Montana.

So when if comes down to it, you're only getting an eight song soundtrack. "Hero" is performed again as an acoustic rendition, while Knight and Campbell team up for a duet version of "Something About the Sunshine."

The Verdict

The StarStruck Soundtrack is for dedicated fans of the Disney TV movie or for lovers of Disney pop in general. A couple of catchy but forgettable songs ("Something About the Sunshine" and "Hero"), but mostly forgettable.

Released February 9, 2010; Walt Disney Records

Track Listing