Hairspray (2007 soundtrack)

Critical reception

The soundtrack received positive reviews from critics.

Album information

The soundtrack contains nineteen songs from the film written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, three of which were not included in the stage musical version. Shaiman, who produced the original cast album for the Broadway musical, produced the songs for the film musical as well. Hairspray's music is written and performed to conform to the story's 1962 setting, with influences spanning the genres of rock and roll, soul, and pop.

"Ladies' Choice", a new song performed by Zac Efron, was the Hairspray soundtrack's first single. iTunes released the single on May 15, 2007. The iTunes version of the album includes bonus features such as the bonus track "I Can Wait" (a song written for the film but cut), the "Ladies' Choice" music video, an instructional dance video for "Ladies' Choice", and a digital version of the album booklet. The soundtrack debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 20 and peaked at number two.

"The New Girl in Town", "Big, Blonde and Beautiful (Reprise)", and "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)" are the three songs new to this version of Hairspray, although "The New Girl in Town" was originally written for but dropped from the Broadway production. "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)" is played over the film's end credits, as are renditions of two songs from the stage musical which were not included in the film proper: "Cooties" and "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now". "Cooties" is performed on the soundtrack in a contemporary pop style by singer Aimee Allen. It was also played (without vocals) while the contestants, for Miss Teenage Hairspray, danced to show off their "moves". "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now", is performed by each of the three women most famous portraying Hairspray's main character, Tracy Turnblad: the 1988 film's Ricki Lake, the Broadway production's Marissa Jaret Winokur, and this film's Nikki Blonsky. Harvey Fierstein, who played Edna in the original Broadway production, also has a vocal cameo at the end of this track.

Several of the songs from the Broadway musical had their lyrics altered and/or verses removed for use in the film version. These songs include "(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs", "Welcome to the 60s", "Big, Blonde and Beautiful", "Without Love", "(It's) Hairspray", "You Can't Stop the Beat", et cetera.

In 2016, a vinyl edition of the album was released and sold at numerous retailers to coincide with the release of Hairspray Live!.

Track listing

All tracks written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

2-disc Collector's edition

A limited edition two-disc version of the Hairspray soundtrack was released on November 20, 2007, the same day as the film's DVD/Blu-Ray release. The 2-disc Collector's edition soundtrack includes the one-disc soundtrack, as well as a second disc featuring additional songs from the film, deleted songs (among them "I Can Wait"), demo recordings, and karaoke versions of certain songs. The album debuted at #90 on the Billboard 200 with sales of at least 20,000 copies sold.

Additional songs

Although included in the movie, "The Nicest Kids in Town (Reprise)" was not included on the motion picture soundtrack. The track included Tracy in the Roll Call with Corny and the Council Members. Another such song was "Tied Up in the Knots of Sin" and the performers included Marc Shaiman and Adam Shankman. The demo songs "Mrs. Von Tussle Says" and "Save Your Applause 'Til the End" contains some of the cut lyrics to "(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs," as well as lyrics to another popular song in the show that was cut, "Velma's Revenge," which is a reprise of the former.

Main vocalists

Cameo vocalists

The Dynamites