''Descendants (Original TV Movie Soundtrack)'' is a soundtrack album by cast of
the film of the same name, released on July 31, 2015 by
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its r ...
. The soundtrack peaked at number 1 in United States at
''Billboard'' 200, number one on the US
Top Digital Albums
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
and topped the US
Top Soundtracks
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
.
[
]
Album history
Initially, the film was not envisioned as a musical. It was not until director/choreographer Kenny Ortega came on board that songs were added. The film itself contains seven musical numbers, plus a song by Shawn Mendes
Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gert ...
during the end credits, which was released as a single. In addition, the soundtrack album includes four bonus tracks as well as a suite of the David Lawrence's orchestral score. Not included on the soundtrack is the Vancouver Children's Choir Choral Society's interpretation of "Laudamus te" from Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...
's '' Gloria'', which was heard at Prince Ben's coronation ceremony and the Overture of the orchestral suite Music for the Royal Fireworks
The ''Music for the Royal Fireworks'' ( HWV 351) is a suite in D major for wind instruments composed by George Frideric Handel in 1749 under contract of George II of Great Britain for the fireworks in London's Green Park on 27 April 1749. The ...
composed by George Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
, which is heard at the entrance of the temple.
Commercial performance
The soundtrack debuted at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 42,000 album-equivalent unit
The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditi ...
s earned during its first week of release. It is the smallest weekly total for a No. 1 album since the chart began ranking albums by equivalent units in December 2014. It also dethroned R&B singer Jill Scott's ''Woman
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
'' from its debut at No. 1, with only 30,000 units sold after. It is the first Disney Channel Original Movie
Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner nam ...
since ''High School Musical 2
''High School Musical 2'' is a 2007 American musical television film written by Peter Barsocchini and directed by Kenny Ortega. The 70th Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM), it is the sequel to ''High School Musical'' (2006) and the second inst ...
'' to have a soundtrack hit No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200. "Good is the New Bad" appeared in the '' Descendants: Wicked World'' short of the same name.
Singles
"If Only
If Only may refer to:
* ''If Only'' (film), a 2004 film directed by Gil Junger
* ''If Only'' (TV series), an Armenian TV series
* ''If Only'' (book), Geri Halliwell's 1999 autobiography
* "If Only" (Dove Cameron song), 2015
* "If Only" (KT Tunstall ...
", performed by Dove Cameron
Dove Olivia Cameron (born Chloe Celeste Hosterman; January 15, 1996) is an American singer and actress. She became famous for her double role of the eponymous characters in the Disney Channel comedy series ''Liv and Maddie'', for which she won ...
, was released as single on July 31, 2015. The song was written by Adam Anders
Adam Anders (born October 10, 1975) is a Swedish film, television and music producer who has sold more than 100 million albums and in recent years has become one of the most in-demand Executive Producers for music-driven film and television. Ander ...
, Nikki Hassman and Peer Astrom
Peer may refer to:
Sociology
* Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group
* Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm"
Computing
* Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a net ...
. It debuted at number 99 in the Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
and peaked at 94. The second version of " Rotten to the Core", (written by Shelly Peiken, Joacim Persson and Johann Alkenas,) and performed by Sofia Carson
Sofía Daccarett Char (born April 10, 1993), known professionally as Sofia Carson, is an American actress and singer. Her first appearance on television was as a guest star on the Disney Channel series '' Austin & Ally''. In 2015, she received ...
was released as second single on December 18. The decision to release the song was made to promote the computer-animated short-form series '' Descendants: Wicked World'', for which Carson's version is the opening theme. The song did not enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but peaked at number five on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...
chart.
Promotional singles
"Believe", performed by Shawn Mendes
Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gert ...
, was released as promotional single on June 26, 2015. The song received a nomination for Choice Music: Song from a Movie at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards.
Other charted songs
The original version of " Rotten to the Core", performed by Dove Cameron
Dove Olivia Cameron (born Chloe Celeste Hosterman; January 15, 1996) is an American singer and actress. She became famous for her double role of the eponymous characters in the Disney Channel comedy series ''Liv and Maddie'', for which she won ...
, Cameron Boyce
Cameron Mica Boyce (May 28, 1999 – July 6, 2019) was an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, appearing in the 2008 films ''Mirrors'' and ''Eagle Eye'', along with the comedy film '' Grown Ups'' (2010) and its 2013 sequel. H ...
, Booboo Stewart
Nils Allen "Booboo" Stewart Jr. (born January 21, 1994) is an American actor. He is known for playing Seth Clearwater in '' The Twilight Saga'', Warpath in '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', Jay in the Disney television film franchise '' Descend ...
and Sofia Carson
Sofía Daccarett Char (born April 10, 1993), known professionally as Sofia Carson, is an American actress and singer. Her first appearance on television was as a guest star on the Disney Channel series '' Austin & Ally''. In 2015, she received ...
, debuted at number 38 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.[List of Cameron's albums and singles on Billboard: "Rotten to the Core" and "If Only": ] "Did I Mention", performed by Mitchell Hope and Jeff Lewis, peaked at number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...
chart. "Evil Like Me", performed by and Dove Cameron, debuted at number 14 and peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. "Set It Off", performed by Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart, Mitchell Hope, Sarah Jeffery
Sarah Marie Jeffery is a Canadian actress, singer, and dancer. She is known for her work on the NBC series ''Shades of Blue'' and Disney Channel's ''Descendants'' franchise. From 2018 to 2022, she has portrayed the lead role of Maggie Vera on t ...
and Jeff Lewis, debuted at number 17 and peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
Accolades
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{Descendants franchise
2015 soundtrack albums
Disney film soundtracks
Pop soundtracks
Walt Disney Records soundtracks
Descendants (franchise)