In most media centered around fame, specifically movies and television series, there are usually a few bangers you hear throughout from a fake pop star on their rise to stardom. Iconic fake musicians like Hannah Montana and Daisy Jones & The Six are some of pop culture’s most memorable, and it’s finally time for someone to acknowledge them.
With hits that can easily rival real artists, here are some of the best fake pop songs written for media:
“The Climb” by Hannah Montana (aka Miley Cyrus)
To this day, you can still hear bars on Court Street blaring Hannah Montana’s “The Climb,” a pivotal song and moment from “Hannah Montana: The Movie.” With a dramatic intro and chorus, this song easily brings back the nostalgia from the mid-2000s, and it’s one of the beloved pop singer’s best works. The song also holds a lot of depth, especially for an artist whose music targeted the specific range of girls aged 7 years old to 18 years old. With lyrics like, “There’s always gonna be another mountain / I’m always gonna wanna make it move / Always gonna be an uphill battle / Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose,” you’ll instantly be brought back to your childhood with this song.
“The River” by Daisy Jones & The Six (aka Riley Keough and Sam Claflin)
Amazon Prime’s “Daisy Jones & The Six” recently took over the world by storm back in March, their sound reminding fans of past iconic bands like Fleetwood Mac. With Riley Keough as Daisy Jones and Sam Claflin as her bandmate Billy Dunne, the two totally captivate listeners with their song, “The River.” A song about not wanting to let go of a relationship, Jones and Dunne use their powerful vocal ranges to harmonize and emit a chemistry that most current pop duets lack. It also feels like you’re listening to a newer rendition of songs like “The Chain,” pulling from 1970s influences that are timeless.
“Why Did You Do That?” by Ally (aka Lady Gaga)
When the remake of “A Star is Born” was released in 2018, fans were curious to see how Lady Gaga would act as an aspiring pop singer alongside Bradley Cooper. However, she totally blew fans away with her performance, particularly with “Why Did You Do That?” One of the most underrated tracks from the film, Gaga, who plays Ally, performs this song when her career begins to take off, pressured by the music industry’s standards for pop. While it sounds like Gaga’s older works like “The Fame Monster,” it also is a track full of irony, as she integrates electronic-pop and vague lyrics about falling in love.
“She’s So Gone” by Naomi Scott
Obviously, you weren’t a kid of the early 2010s if you didn’t watch Disney Channel’s “Lemonade Mouth” at least once every few months. With bangers like “Determinate,” there’s another song that simply can’t be forgotten. The song “She’s So Gone” is the perfect rock ballad, mixing together Naomi Scott’s vocals with the rest of the band’s talent to create a track all about heartbreak and teenage angst. Sounding similar to real-life artists like Kelly Clarkson and Katy Perry, it’s still shocking today to realize this song was made for a fake band, not a Top 40 singer-songwriter.
“Wouldn’t Change a Thing” by Mitchie Torres, Shane Gray (aka Demi Lovato, Joe Jonas)
Another standout Disney Channel film is the “Camp Rock” series, specifically “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam.” In this movie, we see Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas battle a rival liberal arts camp across from Camp Rock, causing conflicts to arise within their relationship. Thus, they lay their hearts out on the line with “Wouldn’t Change a Thing,” a song about how their opposite personalities make them perfect for each other, not wanting to “change a thing” about their differences. It’s a great scene from the film, as well as an impressive display of Lovato’s vocals and Jonas’s bitter alto.
“School of Rock” by Dewey Finn
From 2003’s “School of Rock” comes the title track, performed by Jack Black. A love letter to rock music, this song just closes out the film perfectly, as well as allows for Black to show off his guitar and vocal skills. If you need a feel-good song, this one is ideal to listen to, instantly bringing one back to the early 2000s.
