Shrek 2 soundtrack

William Hung can go hung with his take on Ricky Martin. Just found a better, more rambunctious cut in the soundtrack of the animated motion picture Shrek 2. The song is Livin’ La Vida Loca and it is another one of Martin’s phenomenal sellers. The performers are the unlikely but certainly powerhouse duo of Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas who lent their voices to two of the funniest characters in the movie, the annoying Donkey and the scheming Puss in Boots.

Shrek 2 is a sequel to one of the most successful animated films ever made and it takes the anti-fairy tale concept of the first one to an enjoyable sitcom level. This time around the ogre Shrek, voiced again by Mike Myers goes off with his bride, Princess Fiona (with the voice of Cameron Diaz) to meet her parents. Of course, their friend the infuriatingly meddlesome Donkey comes along.

Complications arise when it turns out that the king and queen (with the voices of John Cleese and Julie Andrews) are not prepared for an ogre son-in-law. Furthermore there is this fairy godmother, voiced by British comedy queen Jennifer Saunders whose son, voiced by Rupert Everett, was once engaged to Fiona. All of them are angered by the Princess’ marriage to the ogre and band together to do something about it. And here is where the most irritatingly lovable new character comes in, Puss in Boots, a legendary ogre killer, who is hired by the king to get rid of Shrek.

Donkey and Puss, the two animal sidekicks, were not meant to be but they do make quite a pair. Murphy and Banderas sound as though they are enjoying every bit of this adventure. Occasional singers both, it was therefore not surprising that they gave Livin’ La Vida Loca all they’ve got and turned it into the film’s highlight. Saunders who is also a savvy interpreter performs two of the soundtrack’s best cuts, The Fairy Godmother Song and the main theme Holding Out for a Hero.The first Shrek movie had a beautiful score by James Horner. The sequel though mines the hit charts and boasts of acts with a strong teen-aged following. Best of the new tunes is the jaunty Accidentally in Love by the Counting Crows and it was nice to rediscover one of the biggest selling dance tunes of all time Funkytown by Lipps, Inc. The other cuts are Holding Out for a Hero by Frou Frou; Changes by Butterfly Boucher featuring David Bowie; As Lovers Go by Dashboard Confessional; I’m on My Way by Rich Price; I Need Some Sleep by the Eels; Ever Fallen in Love by Pete Yorn; Little Drop of Poison by Tom Waits; You’re So True by Joseph Arthur; and People Ain’t No Good by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.

Top 10 Hits In The US

Don’t you think it great to find new interesting additions to the top-selling albums in the US of A that is not hip hop like Diana Krall’s latest release The Girl in the Other Room, which made number four on its first week in the market and is now ranked number five and the new album by pop idol Petey Pablo, Still Writing in My Diary? I have nothing against rap or hip hop but ears do crave for something different when you get too much of anything.

The top 10 list as per the Billboard tabulation is as follows: Confessions 2 by Usher; D12 World by D12 on Eminem’s Shady label; Musicology by Prince; Still Writing in My Diary by Petey Pablo; The Girl in the Other Room by Diana Krall; The Reason by Hoobastank; Hurt No More by Mario Winans; Feels Like Home by top 10 returnee Norah Jones; Closer by another returnee Josh Groban: and Now 15 by Various Artists. Also somewhere in the top 20 is American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics by this year’s finalists in the phenomenal talent show including Pinays Jasmine Trias and Camille Velasco.

The top 10 singles are: Burn by Usher; I Don’t Wanna Know by Mario Winans featuring Enya and P. Diddy; Yeah! also by Usher featuring Lil’ Jon and Ludacris; Naughty Girl by Beyonce Knowles; This Love by Maroon5; Overnight Celebrity by Twista; My Band by D12; If I Ain’t Got You by Alicia Keys; Tipsy by J-Kwon; and The Reason by Hoobastank.