Disney soundtracks have become some of the most reverred ever released. They've contained the most catchy, memorable Oscar winning tracks everyone knows by heart, sweeping ballads that touch your heart and peppy squeaky clean upbeats included. But something has been happening lately in the music industry; soundtracks for Disney movies have been bowing to mainstream trends, especially since the channel has become a breeding ground for several new pop tarts. A lot of time, these soundtracks go unnoticed but there's always one or two a year that need some attention.

The Princess Diaries II, the very successful sequel to the 2000 movie that introduced us to the skills of Miss Anne Hathaway, has one of those soundtracks for this year. Complete with a scorchingly popular single from the only American Idol contestant I personally care for, it has went gold and surprised quite a few people at its resiliency and the buying power of young folks.

Tracklisting:
Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson (*****)
I Decide, Lindsay Lohan (**** 1/2)
This Is My Time, Raven (*****)
I Always Get What I Want, Avril Lavigne (***)
Trouble, Pink (*** 1/2)
Because You Live, Jesse McCartney (****)
Love Me Tender, Norah Jones and Adam levy (*** 1/2)
Fun On The Sun, Steve Harwell (**)
Let's Bounce, Christy Carlson Romano (****)
Dance Dance Dance, Wilson Philips (*** 1/2)
Fools, Rachel Stevens (**** 1/2)
A Love That Will Last, Renee Olstead (*****)
Your Crowning Glory, Julie Andrews and Raven (****)
Miracles Happen, Jonny Blu

Luckily, there's a few five star songs that I can emphasize in this review because if I didn't have them, I'd be royally screwed. The first one up is the whopper of a single, My Baby Mama's Breakaway. Released as a bridge single between records, it knocked me flat on my behind when I heard it, thanks to the completely relatable anthemic "I'm getting out of this crappy place and doing better for myself" lyricism that's currently posted on my bedroom wall. You think I'm joking? Co-penned by Avril Lavigne of all people, this gorgeous acoustic-lef Lilith Fair-esque piece of delectable chick pop features some of the best production and vocals of Clarkson's short career; the swaying, dream-like production is gently stand off-ish while Kell Bell's vocals are inspiring, full of sweetly motivating tones that repeat the hookline like they mean business. She uses more of her normal range and makes herself have a warmer, more inviting presence that extends to the track's overall sound. Not like she needed it. Two reviews ago or so, I went over the Raven record so if you missed what I said about This Is My Time, here's a summary. This sped-up version of the previous track lives and dies on the message; if you don't like what this says, you'll dislike everything else, basically. Featuring surprisingly gritty prominently crunching electrics, slightly drowned out steady percussion, sweeping acoustics and a floating melody that's like glue to your brain, its blessedly upbeat, one of those tracks you can turn up in the car and belt to the heavens. Symone's vocals are pretty above average; she doesn't get to display a tremendous amount of range and flexibility but her presentation makes up for it. On the opposite end of he spectrum is the elegantly old school Renee Olstead whose A Love That Will Last recalls Norah Jones at her best, but I'm able to listen to this the entire way through without being completely put to sleep. The lovely Renee gets a gorgeous bed of drunkenly blues-drenched piano, bobbing acoustics that're a bit timid, misty strings and moonlit production to flex her softly expressive captivating chops on. She's got this exquisitely cultured tone to her voice, despite the clear ringing innocence this song projects. May I mention that she's about three years younger than myself?

And now, I Decide. The technical first lindsay Lohan single (no video ever accompanied), this slightly rebellious uplifting Avril-lite track really straddles the line between Disney diva and adult songstress well. Lohan steps her vocal game up from most of the other times I've heard her, not getting what she does contribute tucked underneath the bassline; she even gets a mini-glory note at the end of the bridge. This has such pretty, frilly acoustic-and-production led verses that lead to the kindof rockin' hook, blasting through with laser-y keyboarding, chunky guitars and bangin' bass riff. Lohan has a nice presence that keeps you tuned in while the song itself was a perfect choice for her, especially the central message. Um...how do I break this to my peeps...peeps, I like the Jesse McCartney song contributed here...yeah, so unexpected, right? But hear me out. Despite the raging cliches it has, Because You Live is a solid singer-songwriter type track that wouldn't be so out of place amongst the John mayers and Gavin DeGraws of the world. McCartney shocked me at his vocal; his admirably lush raspy-ish tendencides have a lot of genuine substance and soul to them that obviously weren't hinted at during his Dream Street days. Along with BBMak-y acoustics, tender-but-not-sappy piano and kickin' percussion, young McCartney certainly shows how much potential he has.

Yay, there's actually good new material from Christy Carlson Romano! She must have listened to my essay because Let's Bounce is a track that fits her personality well, allows her to have fun and to just actually vibe on a dance track. Along with shredding frazzled electrics, peppy bassline, quasi-dance track production and slu keyboarding, Miss Romano crafts a sensual albeit semi-perky dance banger that's a total blast of freshly needed pop energy, hypnotic atmosphere and all. The production kindof waters her vocal performance down a bit but the fact that she had fun on a track makes it worth it. I'll say it again: Disney divas are my cup o' tea. Fools was also a surprising track because it comes from Rachel Stevens. an ex-member of S Club 7. This techno-country-r&b icy dismissive upbeat in the same vein as Imani Coppola's Legend of a Cowgirl has a lot of presence to it that makes it an enjoyable listen. Over a twangy defined electric licks, loungin' production, pumpin' bassline and space-y atmosphere, Stevens gives the best performance I've heard from her, vibrantly dancing across the track. Her cocky disinterest is kid of funny while she interacts with all of the elements well, sounding surprisingly natural.

Another wonderful thing about the soundtrack is the Julie Andrews makes an appearance. Yeah, even a little pop tart like myself loves Julie and unfortunately, she doesn't sing full out on here but her tender, maternally comforting intro and playful interaction with Raven on Your Crowning Glory make her appearance more than worth the sacrifice. Despite the fact that this is an extremely cheesy track, its got a good backing, its made of strolling piano, thumping bassline, catchy claptrack and a respectable melody that actually keeps the track from slipping into the lower categories. Symone sounds good but she's a mere apprentice next to Andrews. This is only 2:30 or so, which is a trend for some of the record.

And here we have...the average tracks. How anticlimactic, no? Avril pops up on the record, this time as an artist, with the blaringly obnoxious I Always Get What I Want, a rampaging array of hyperactive schizophrenic chunky guitars, driving percussion and very indifferent, emotionless percussion. Lavigne's vocals really make the song much worse than it has to be; they bounce across this snotty 2:33 faux-punk thrasher with no form, screeching like Courtney Love on her worst days. The hook is almost non-existent so you don't gave near enough connection to the song as you would otherwise. One of the several failed singles from her last record, Pink's Trouble gains some actual quality and substance after a while of not being heard. The vocals really make the song what it is as Pink's obvious range, depth and experience guide this pointlessly written semi-bubbly barroom banger to where it needs to go. The thing about Pink is that her vocals only help, but not save, certain songs so she needs better material (i.e. the type from her second record) to become relevant in pop culture again. She commands every element well, from the slicing western-tinged-electrics to the jangly percussion to the plucked bass riff. Its a track similar to the previous if the previous had a better melody, more vocal power and tighter production.

Now, I was a huge Norah Jones fan for a while; I think the first record is pretty fabulous and am still able to play it to this day. I was disappointed with the second and then I get this, a much slower version of the classic track of the same title. The extremely likeable Jones gets a decent track to work with that includes swimming electrics, strollingly sweet piano and gentle production but there's nothing actually to this cover. Her misty, whispery vocals, while being nice and pleasantly controlled, don't do anything for me and don't really rise up and take control the way that they should. This track really kind of sits there and bides its time, even when Norah speaks up and acually speaks out. Smashmouth's frontman Steve Harwell strikes out on his own with Fun In The Sun, the worst song on the record. I'm sure I'm not the key demo for his type of music but still, it's here so I have a right to trash it. I have to give it to the dude for still trying but isn't your music supposed to evolve and mature as you stay in the industry, not the other way around? Yet another bouncy mindless summer-made pseudo-rocker, this track has a lot of energy to it but doesn't know how to expand on it. It seems to be hyper just for the sake of being hyper, a commonality of kids' music. The harmonica part is completely wasted; if you stripped it and placed it on an appropriately sounding track, it'd be a total highlight. The guitars are way homogenized while the production tries to make the track accessible; it's not.

Wilson Philips' strangely Christmas-sounding Dance, Dance, Dance makes me wonder why I respect this group as much as I do. The vocals are sped-up to Chipmunk levels while the constant bells seem out of place and the warm, quasi-beach party hookline is almost funny because it comes out of nowhere. The bassline is pretty gnarly while the hollow percussion is good for a mindless hairflip or two. Its much worse than they're capable but its nice...enough. And its only 2:00 or so, which was the most surprising fact. Jonny Blu's Miracles Happen is one of the more interesting listens because its an 'Unplugged'-style take on the Myra song of the same name. Thats not the weirdest part; it seems to mostly be in a foreign language which made me laugh, for some reason. The music is gorgeously done and worth listening to the track alone. Blu has a solid rock-ready voice rivalling a lighter Bryan Adams-Nick Carter hybrid but he needs to go and do English material.

The fact that this is the only soundtrack I've bought this year probably swayed my rating a bit but I got a good chunk of repeatable tracks, including a Kelly track, so I'm a happy boy. This soundtrack is one big ball of positivity, centering itself on dancing your butt off, independence, self-esteem and learning more about yourself. Its a refreshing listen, especially for regular pop fans like myself. The tracks are surprisingly short (barely any cross 4:00 and even less cross 3:00) which dampens the listening experience. The mix of older and younger artists is admirable because the younger fans are getting introduced to the older ones and the younger artists really do tear it up. Buy if you like the artists present or enjoyed the movie.

Great Music To Play While: picking up your hairbrush and transforming yourself into one of the plethora of divas present

Pay Attention To: Breakaway, A Love That Will Last, This Is My Time

Don't Pay Attention To: I Always Get What I Want, Dance Dance Dance, Fun In The Sun

Last Three Reviews:
En Vogue- Funky Divas
S Club 7- 7
Raven Symone- This Is My Time

Recommended: Yes