Within the animation genre, one trend that has been growing over the years is casting famous artists, mostly actors, to voice characters. This trend first exploded in 1992, when Disney hired Robin Williams to play the Genie in Aladdin, a character that would become one of the audience’s all-time favorites. From then on, animated films featured stars of all sorts to voice a wide variety of characters, serving not only for marketing purposes, but also to draw audiences of all ages to the movies.
Sing andSing 2 were perfect examples to illustrate this trend. The first film, released in 2016, featured Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, and Tori Kelly. For its part, its sequel brought some additional stars to the cast, including Bobby Cannavale, Pharrell Williams, Halsey, Chelsea Peretti, Letitia Wright, Eric André, Adam Buxton, and Bono. Sing 2 once again follows Buster Moon and his troupe of artists, who are already established celebrities in their hometown, but decide to venture to Redshore City, the entertainment capital of the world. However, things do not turn out as Buster hopes, since Jimmy Crystal, the industry magnate, is only interested in his musical proposal if he can count on Clay Calloway’s presence, a secluded artist who hasn’t performed in 15 years since his wife’s death.
Sing 2, released in December last year, garnered rave reviews from audiences, making it the highest-grossing animated film of 2021 and the tenth highest-grossing film of the year. During the movie, there are many songs, performed both by their original artists as well as reinterpreted by the cast, one of the greatest highlights of this production. This article will go over the best songs of this animated movie.
8 “Let’s Go Crazy”
Illumination Entertainment
“Let’s Go Crazy” kicks off this ranking and the movie Sing 2, laying the groundwork for what is to become. Performed by Meena (Tori Kelly), Johnny (played by Taron Egerton), Rosita (played by Reese Witherspoon) and Gunter (Nick Kroll), this song, the first performed by the stars as a team, was part of Buster Moon’s hit stage show. In an obvious reference to Alice in Wonderland, Meena fell down a rabbit hole and into a magical place, discovering the rest of the cast dressed as the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, and the Caterpillar. Their performance wrapped up with a costume makeover for the elephant and a standing ovation from an enthusiastic audience.
7 “Holes”
The indie rock band Mercury Rev contributed, among many others, to this blockbuster film’s soundtrack by performing their song “Holes.” After Buster Moon’s (played by Matthew McConaughey) dreams and aspirations were thwarted by talent scout Suki Lane (Chelsea Peretti), the koala, encouraged by Nana Noodleman (Jennifer Saunders), arranged a group trip to Redshore City in order to audition in front of the industry mogul. “Holes” was the song playing in the background as Sing 2’s main characters rode the bus, keeping the group company as they made the transition from utter sadness and disappointment to hoping to make it in the entertainment capital, a city that appeared to be everything they desired, if not more.
6 “Suéltate”
The main problem that Johnny faced in Sing 2 was not being able to dance, which, in addition to his bad relationship with the dance teacher, quickly got to him. By a quirk of fate, he met Nooshy (Letitia Wright), a lynx street dancer who dazzled passers-by with her steps, and he asked her to help him improve his dancing skills. Thus, they both danced to “Suéltate,” a song performed by Sam i, Anitta, BIA and Jarina De Marco. Johnny was able to regain his lost self-confidence, and he amazed all his colleagues in class with his smooth new dance moves.
5 “Soy Yo”
“Soy Yo,” performed by Bomba Estéreo, seemed like the perfect song for its scene. After failing to comply with Jimmy Crystal’s (Bobby Cannavale) wishes for the show, Buster Moon and his crew had to go on the run in order to escape from the men Jimmy sent to hunt him down. But before fleeing, Buster finally realized that they didn’t need to fit into the industry and were perfect just the way they were. As such, he put a plan in motion to premiere the show behind Jimmy’s back. His entire plan was musicalized with this song, whose lyrics talk about being oneself with pride even when criticized by others, and also about learning and moving forward, an essential principle for Sing 2’s characters.
4 “Where the Streets Have No Name”
Kelly, Egerton, Johansson, Witherspoon, and Kroll teamed up again to perform one of the best cover versions of the entire film: “Where the Streets Have No Name,” an original U2 song. Following a long trip from their hometown to Redshore City, which time they spent preparing for their performance, they managed to audition for Jimmy Crystal, but the wolf got bored of them before even hearing them sing. As the group was leaving the stage, however, Gunter mumbled something about his idea for a show, which got Crystal’s attention. Thus, on the spur of the moment and led by Ash (Scarlett Johansson), the group started singing this song, which ended up convincing the magnate towards carrying out Gunter’s idea.
3 “I Say a Little Prayer”
For the show, Buster hired Darius (Eric André), an egocentric yak that would join Meena in her musical number. However, the energy of both characters was not a match, and the timid elephant, who had never been in love, didn’t know how to act accordingly onstage. That all changed when she met Alfonso (Pharrell Williams), an ice cream-selling elephant who quickly won her heart. At the premiere of the show and in an effort to be convincing with her performance, Meena pretended she was singing with her crush instead of Darius, and they both performed a beautiful version of the classic “I Say a Little Prayer,” which has been reimagined thousands of times throughout the history of music.
2 “A Sky Full of Stars”
“A Sky Full of Stars” is one of the songs that Johnny (Egerton) covered in the film. In the midst of the play and surrounded by beautiful scenery, the gorilla showcased his piano skills, acquired during auditions in the first film, and delivered an outstanding performance while his proud father stood in the audience watching him. Also, the reversal of this Coldplay song featured a percussion segment, which happened to match the stage fight between Johnny and Klaus Kickenklober (Adam Buxton), his dance teacher who was determined to see him fail for taking dance lessons from Nooshy behind his back. Thankfully, the gorilla proved once again how important it is to never give up, making the performance a hit.
1 “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
The rendition of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” is without a doubt the most heartwarming of Sing 2, and also one of its best scenes. Over the course of the film, the audience is treated to the story of Clay Calloway (played by Bono), a lion who used to be a rock star, but stopped performing after his wife Ruby’s death 15 years ago. By the end of the show, Ash and Clay were supposed to sing this U2 song together, but Calloway, gripped by fear, got cold feet just before going on stage, so Ash went out on her own and started her performance. Fortunately, Ruby’s spirit emerged to keep the lion company, so the rock star plucked up his courage and joined Ash on stage, cheered on by the audience, who sang along with him. This was definitely the most beautiful performance of the movie, crowning the Buster Moon-produced show in the greatest way possible.
