This summer has seen some pretty catchy needle drops in movies, from Superman‘s Mighty Crabjoys to KPop Demon Hunters flash mob fandoms for Huntr/x and the Saja Boys. The latter Netflix release has reached not only Billboard music charts but also become the most streamed animated feature ever.
With that in mind, we look back at our favorite fake bands’ best songs of the past 30 years. While half the list includes incredible recent music from hit movies, the other half (and our number one slot) nod at the songs that really propelled this particular niche in movies—think A Goofy Movie. So, if you notice some of your favorites missing, simmer down because we excluded musicals and kept to genre movies that had original songs featured in them.
Superman – The Mighty Crabjoys, “The Mighty Crabjoys Theme”
Like Superman, we can’t help but think this song is for the cool kids.
Zootopia – Gazelle, “Try Everything”
No matter how hard we tried, we could not get “Try Everything” out of our heads, and Gazelle (voiced by Shakira) might be back in Zootopia 2.
Freaky Friday and Freakier Friday – Pink Slip, “Take Me Away”
Finally, the full single from Freaky Friday has been released for Freakier Friday sung by Pink Slip’s in-universe lead singer Christina Vidal Mitchell.
Josie and the Pussycats – “Three Small Words”
Josie and the Pussycats was such an underrated gem when it came out but was formative for millennials. We know there are so many songs, and it was hard to narrow it to one, so we went with “Three Small Words” (featuring Kay Hanley as the voice of lead singer Josie), which encompasses the moment in time this movie embodies for a generation.
Sinners – Sammie, “I Lied to You”
Sammie (Miles Caton) in the Sinners universe went on to become a blues legend, but the night that changed his life was when he first performed “I Lied to You.” The scene is hands down one of Ryan Coogler’s masterpieces, and the music sizzles off the celluloid fever dream… just watch.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – The Clash at Demonhead, “Black Sheep”
Okay, this one’s skirting it: in the Scott Pilgrim movie, “Black Sheep” is an original song by the Clash at Demonhead, but in our world, it’s really a cover of Metric’s original song, made for their 2009 album Fantasies but ultimately cut. Metric provided it to Edgar Wright to use in the film, eventually realizing their original version after the movie’s release. It took years until Brie Larson’s version finally made it to streaming back in 2021.
Turning Red – 4*Town, “Nobody Like U”
The Billie Eilish and Finneas-produced songs from Pixar’s Turning Red are all so good. This one was also hard to narrow down, but the chorus of “Nobody Like U” is never not on my mind.
KPop Demon Hunters – Saja Boys, “Your Idol”
The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack also has too many killer songs from each band to pick from. While I particularly love “Soda Pop,” we have to give the Saja Boys props for “Your Idol” for charting on Billboard.
KPop Demon Hunters – Huntr/x, “Golden”
In “Golden,” we get lyricist Ejae’s heart and soul shining through. The powerful anthem is coming for “Let It Go”‘s crown in replayability among young animation fans.
A Goofy Movie – Powerline, “I2I”
Powerline is the blueprint, the O.G. of modern fake music pop stars thanks to A Goofy Movie. Vocalist Tevin Campbell made an icon so scene-stealing we’re still waiting for a full Powerline album 30 years later… or at least a sequel with more fake music to dance to.
Correction: The blurb for “Black Sheep” was updated for accuracy.
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