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) during the Miss Teenage Hairspray pageant. "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 the 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!.
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 number 90 on the Billboard 200 with sales of at least 20,000 copies sold.
Collector's edition: Disc 2
No.
Title
Performer(s)
Length
1.
"I Can Wait" (Deleted number that was shot, but was cut from the film)
"It Doesn't Get Better Than This" (Original demo for an unused song)
Marc Shaiman
3:05
12.
"Ladies' Choice" (Karaoke instrumental version)
Karaoke instrumental
2:29
13.
"Welcome to the 60's" (Karaoke instrumental version)
Karaoke instrumental
5:01
14.
"Run and Tell That" (Karaoke instrumental version)
Karaoke instrumental
3:41
15.
"You Can't Stop the Beat" (Karaoke instrumental version)
Karaoke instrumental
5:25
16.
"Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)" (Karaoke instrumental version)
Karaoke instrumental
4:20
Additional songs
Although included in the movie, "The Nicest Kids in Town (Reprise)" (performed by James Marsden and the Council Members) and "Tied Up in the Knots of Sin" (performed by composer Marc Shaiman and director Adam Shankman) were not included on the motion picture soundtrack.
Vocalists
Main vocalists
Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad (also additional voices on 4, 9)
Vocal ensemble members: Marc Shaiman, Shoshana Bean, Terron Brooks, Jenn Gambatese, Chester Gregory, Leslie Kritzer, Arnold McCuller, Louis Price, Sabrina Sloan, Donna Vivino, Willis White, Lucien Piane, Chyla Anderson, Jonathan Byram, Keith Cotton, Michael Cunio, Carmel Echols, Cliff Frazier, Christopher Johnson, Katharine Leonard, Laura Lively, Michael Mayo, Sophia Pizzulo, Jamison Scott Robinson, Jessica Rotter, Candice Rumph Burrows, Peter Mathew Smith, Leonard Sullivan, Matt Sullivan, Clarke Thorell, Davia Walker, Ayana Williams, Frank Wolf
