Cinderella [Amazon Original Movie Soundtrack]

Audio Mixer: Tony Maserati .
Director: Kay Cannon.
The 2021 Amazon Studios film Cinderella offers up a pop-musical version of the classic fairy tale. A mix of jukebox throwbacks and original songs with no common composer, the soundtrack opens with a cast performance of Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation" featuring Camila Cabello as our heroine, Ella, and Idina Menzel as the stepmother. It leads into a portion of Des-ree's "You Gotta Be," which in turn develops into a mash-up of the two songs. The Cabello solo "Million to One" is up next, delivering a character-driven power ballad before Ben Bailey Smith, better known as rapper Doc Brown, lightens the mood with a playful expository rap as the Town Crier. The movie's cast also includes Nicholas Galitzine as the crown prince and, as the (truly) Fabulous Godmother, Billy Porter, who fittingly shines on a dramatic version of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star." With other covers spanning material made famous by Ed Sheeran, Queen, Madonna, the White Stripes, Jennifer Lopez, and more, and original songs leaning toward stage-musical pop stylings, this Cinderella is nothing if not changeable. The soundtrack recording closes with a six-minute "Score Suite" by composers Mychael Danna and Jessica Rose Weiss. ~ Marcy Donelson