When you find yourself singing a song from a movie long after viewing it up on the big screen or streaming it – you know the soundtrack was next level. However, there are some songs out there from movies that are as great – if not better – than the movie itself. This is why we’re going to give flowers where flowers are due today and celebrate soundtrack songs that made their respective movies that much better.
"Sunflower” - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Post Malone was pretty inescapable in 2018 so him popping up on the ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ soundtrack alongside Swae Lee was no surprise. Movies involving our favorite Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man usually have had amazing soundtracks. Well, the Tobey Maguire era did, so it was nice to see the animated tale featuring Miles Morales as the masked crusader get a great soundtrack led by one heck of a lead single like “Sunflower.”
“Cups” - Pitch Perfect
Believe it or not, ‘Pitch Perfect’ will celebrate its 10th anniversary in September 2022. It went on to spawn two more sequels since then, and it’s safe to say it’s in part to the hit that was Anna Kendricks’ take on the infectiously mesmerizing song, “Cups.”
“All the Stars” - Black Panther
Marvel didn’t have to go that hard with this one from Kendrick Lamar and SZA, but they did.
“Danger Zone” - Top Gun
This isn’t the last you’ll see of Kenny Loggins on this list because, in the ‘80s, that man was WORKING. Even if you’ve never seen the wildly hilarious volleyball meets US Navy movie that is ‘Top Gun,’ you know the song and have likely tried to sing it at least once at karaoke.
“Happy” - Despicable Me 2
Speaking of songs you may have heard without ever seeing the movie…Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” from the ‘Despicable Me 2’ soundtrack. Somewhere between Beanie Babies and Funko Pops, the world became obsessed with the yellow, overall-wearing cartoon characters known as Minions. They have a ton of movies, ‘Despicable Me 2’ being just one of them and with that movie came “Happy,” a song that truly went on to have a life of its own thanks to being one of the most positive inducing choruses, ever.
“Lose Yourself” - 8 Mile
I mean, mom’s spaghetti has never been the same since Eminem dropped this one.
“Footloose” - Footloose
Told you Kenny Loggins would be back. “Footloose” is the perfect example of branding a song and a movie in one quick shot. It’s impossible to hear the song and not think of the movie. Impossible.
“Can't Stop the Feeling!” - Trolls
“Happy” by Pharrell walked so “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” by Justin Timberlake could soar. He really went above and beyond for a movie about…trolls.
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" - Dirty Dancing
If you have yet to watch ‘Movies That Made Us’ on Netflix about ‘Dirty Dancing,’ please do so ASAP. You’ll get not only a heavy dose of girl power but also learn that “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” was the last song they listened to and it very well became the most iconic part of the movie thanks in part of the course to that show-stopping lift at the end.
“Don't You (Forget About Me)" - The Breakfast Club
John Hughes’ approach to teen movies set the bar, the standard, for every movie in that genre that followed. There is no doubt about that, but we have to also note that the final scene of the movie, that fist in the air with “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” playing, set its own bar as far as musical moments in movies are concerned.
“Beauty and the Beast” - Beauty and the Beast
Much like “Footloose,” it’s hard to deny a soundtrack song that takes its name from the actual movie, right? Well, Disney went and did that with ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in 1991. This movie, a movie aimed at children, was so good it became the first animated movie to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Musically though, I don’t think Disney songs get any more perfect than this song because whether it’s Angela Lansbury’s version in the film as Mrs. Potts or Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson’s mainstream version – it’s grand.
“My Heart Will Go On” - Titanic
Did you think we weren’t going to mention this one? Everything about ‘Titanic’ was larger than life from the sets to the story, so it was only fitting that Celine give her biggest vocal moment on this one.
“I Will Always Love You” - The Bodyguard
While Dolly Parton is a treasure we hold dear in life, we all have to admit that learning she was the one who originally sang “I Will Always Love You” is shocking because well, the late Whitney Houston’s version on ‘The Bodyguard’ soundtrack is so memorable, so fantastic, that it’s hard to imagine it ever being sung by anyone else.
Written by Kendra Beltran
