The Greatest Showman was a musical movie that was loosely centered around the life of P.T. Barnum (more specifically, the creation of the now legendary Barnum & Bailey Circus). It was released in 2017 and starred Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Zendeya, and a bunch of others. You've most likely seen the movie by this point. Personally, I liked the movie. Yeah, it portrayed Barnum as a decent human being (which he was not), but I can't help but love Hugh Jackman. He was electric, the actors portraying the "freaks" absolutely nailed it, and those musical numbers were awesome. They're easily the best part of the movie, with some of the greatest choreography I've ever seen in a musical. The soundtrack was so popular that, according to Hugh Jackman's Instagram account, the songs will go on a global tour in 2019. That's some pretty impressive staying power, I gotta admit. Because of this, I'm gonna take a look at the Greatest Showman: Reimagined album that was released on November 6th of 2018. In it, the original soundtrack gets re-recorded by artists such as P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, Panic! At the Disco, and many more. Yes, I know I should've covered it when it first came out, but it's too late now, isn't it? Better late than never.
Track #1: Panic! At the Disco - "The Greatest Show"
Oh, this was a great rendition. I knew that P!ATD would do great with this song when it was announced that they had a role in this album, but I was not expecting them to kill it the way that they did here. This cover is superb in every way. I'm just constantly blown away by Brendon Urie's pipes. Like, yeah, he sounded a little bored in the first verse (cause he was using the lower part of his register), but, when the chorus started, I was left with chills running up my entire arm. The power, the emotion, the control, his voice was perfect for this song. Brendon absolutely nailed it. The instrumental was really good, too. I love the way it sounds like it's winding up until it finally bursts to life when the song properly starts. The chorus, once again, was the best part of it when it comes to sound. The vocalization sections sounded awesome, the harmonies were great. This was a solid opening track.
Track #2: P!nk - "A Million Dreams"
This track kept the flowing energy going from the first one in a gorgeous way. I loved this rendition. The original song was good on it's own, but P!nk's version turns the charm up to 11. Her voice sounded beautiful. There was so much power present in her vocals, so much raw emotion. I could honest to God listen to her sing this song all day and never grow tired of it. I have no complaints here, this was flawless. The instrumental was soft at times and epic at other times, P!nk's pitch matched it perfectly, the background harmonies were stunning. The word that can describe how good her voice sounded here doesn't exist. Basically, everything about it was great. It was so lovely. Man, two great tracks in a row. If the rest of the album can keep up this level of quality, I will be astonished.
Track #3: Willow Sage Hart - "A Million Dreams (Reprise)"
Two of these in a row, huh? I would be upset at that, but I can't because this was one of the most adorable things I've ever heard. Fun fact: Willow is P!nk's daughter. To be honest, their voices sound very similiar. P!nk's is obviously more mature (given how she's an adult), but Willow has great potential. Her voice has the same raspiness in it that her mother's has and she already has pretty decent pitch for someone as young as her. Whether or not she decides to persue music when she gets older is entirely up to her, but, if she does, I think she'd be very good at it. This was very cute. My only complaint is that I wish it was longer. Yeah, the reprise in the actual movie was short, but still. You can extend the song just this once. It wouldn't hurt anything.
Track #4: Years & Years ft Jess Glynne - "Come Alive"
I didn't know who either of these artists were before I heard this (which'll be a recurring theme as we go forward), but I was pleasently surprised by them. They have very good voices. It was a little tough to distinguish them at times, but it was still a good sound. However, I didn't really care for the choice of instrumental for this song. It was catchy, sure, but I really don't think it fit the tone of the song. The original had the perfect instrumental for it. This version was certainly "Reimagined", that's for sure, but it didn't do much for me. It sounded good, though. Had a Michael Jackson vibe to it, which is never a bad thing. I liked this track, I just feel like more could've been done with it. I will be listening to more material from Years & Years, though. They were really good. And so was Jess. The voices blended very well. If only it had a more fitting instrumental.
Track #5: MAX ft Ty Dolla $ign - "The Other Side"
Apologies for the sudden shift in video style. This website thinks an official lyric video for this song doesn't exist, even though it does. Anyway, this was a very good track. I have no idea who MAX is (or why his name has to be in all caps), and I know Ty Dolla $ign from the Suicide Squad soundtrack and nothing else. Having said that, they really surprised me with their performances. Ty has a good non-autotuned voice, who woulda thunk it? And MAX did a good job, as well. The instrumental was nice, and actually fit the tone of the song (unlike the previous track), and the duet's vocals mixed with it very well. Their harmony on the final chorus was awesome, as was the way they seemed to play off of each other at various points. I got no complaints here. I'd like to see a music video for this, honestly.
Track #6: Kelly Clarkson - "Never Enough"
Wow. I am in awe. This was an excellent cover. Kelly's voice was so beautiful and so powerful. It perfectly suits the lyrics. This might be my favorite track on this album. I don't know, though. I'm stuck between this one, P!nk's song, and P!ATD's song. I've been a moderate fan of Clarkson's since her American Idol days, now I want to listen to more of her songs. I have no complaints for this. Her voice has perfect pitch, she had great diction, the recreation of the instrumental was gorgeous. Everything about this cover came together flawlessly. She was able to take this already emotional song and fill it to the brim with more emotion. Somehow. This was awesome. Wow, this has been a pretty consistently great album so far. I'm impressed.
Track #7: Keala Settle ft Kesha & Missy Elliot - "This Is Me (The Reimagined Remix)"
Looks like I spoke too soon. Missy Elliot's rap parts really weren't necessary. The flow was bad, the lyrics she added were way too cheesy to fit the tone of the song, and she doesn't sound like she cares about what she's saying. And, was that a stock rewind sound effect that I heard in the middle? Are you kidding me? I will admit, though, that "Kick down doors for others to walk through" is a good line. Her second verse flows a bit better, but it still retains the same flaws that the first verse did. But, when the actual song is being sung, it's great! Keala and Kesha do a very good job with their parts of this cover. The instrumental is nice, there's a good sense of energy in their performances, their voices sound great. Basically, it's awesome when it's the actual song. I don't hate Missy Elliot, though. I've just never listened to any of her music. I've only heard her rap in two songs: This one, and that Fall Out Boy Ghostbusters song. She was great in that, so what happened here?
Track #8: James Arthur ft Anne-Marie - "Rewrite the Stars"
Another case of not knowing who one of the singers are. I like James Arthur, but I hadn't heard of Anne-Marie. She does a very good job with this song, as does James. I just wish they hadn't added so much autotune to his voice. He already had a very good voice, so there's no need for it to be so robotized. Most of the time, the autotune is so obvious that it starts to heart my ears. I could also barely understand a word he said. It's a good thing I already knew how this song goes, otherwise I'd have no idea. But, I will say that Arthur and Anne's voices blend very well. And the music video is awesome. It's shot well, the choreographed dancing is gorgeous, the singers' costumes look sharp. It's a very good video. Oh, also, does anyone else feel like the line "So who can stop me if I decide that you're my destiny" sounds a bit weird? Yeah, that doesn't really matter here cause it's just a cover, but it always bugged me.
Track #9: Sara Bareilles - "Tightrope"
Once again, I have no idea who this person is. That being said, she did really good with this song. her voice is really pretty, I liked the change in tempo (even though a lot of people did), and the chorus sounded stunning. The harmonies were nice, too. I do have some complaints, though. Sara's voice, while lovely, sounds like she was singing with a mouthful of food. If the enunciation had been better, this could've been one of the better tracks on this whole album. And I wasn't really too into the instrumental. The piano is nice, but the chorus sections sound like another generic pop beat. It wasn't that memorable, in my opinion. There is still enjoyment to be had with this song, however. I still like it. I'm impressed by Sara's range. I might just have to check out more of her material.
Track #10: Zac Brown Band - "From Now On"
I'm somewhat familiar with Zac Brown Band, if only because I recognize the name, so I don't really know what their tradition sound is. Having said that, good Lord did they blow me away with this! I loved the more country-heavy take on the instrumental, and that voice sounds really good. I'll assume it's Zac Brown that does the singing, given how the band is named after him. Again, I don't know the band all that well. But I wish I did after hearing this. They nailed it! Zac's voice has a nice range to it, hitting really low and really high notes at various points. And he sounds like he had a great time singing this song, which is always a good thing. I loved this band's take on the song, they did a great job. The next three songs are bonus tracks on a physical copy of this album, but I'm gonna talk about them here anyway. Why not? Pentatonix is next, so can you really blame me?
Track #11: Pentatonix - "The Greatest Show"
And, just like I expected, this was absolutely incredible! For those of you that don't know who Pentatonix, they're a quintet of a cappella musicians that consists of Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kristin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Matt Sallee. Matt joined the group in 2017, replacing longtime member Avi Kaplan. Pentatonix absolutely nailed this. Scott's vocals were so good, Kevin's beatboxing was off the charts, Kristin's backup vocals perfectly matched with Scotts, and Matt proves himself to be a really good bassist. I see this as being on equal grounds with the Panic! At the Disco version, but this one does have a slight edge. And that is for one reason and one reason only: Mitch's high note on the "This is where you wanna be" lyric. I don't know how he did that, but it was insane. The fact that it didn't sound strained at all is the best part of it. Just the fact that every sound (aside from the stomping and clapping) was done using the human voice is outstanding. They did so good. I'm gushing way too much, I know. This was beautiful.
Track #12: Craig David - "Come Alive"
We're back to not knowing who the singer is. He did an okay job with this. The sound of his voice reminded me of something out of High School Musical. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it didn't fit the song all that well. Personally speaking, at least. The instrumental was nice, especially during the chorus, and his voice blended well with the music. I like the harmonies present in various parts of the song. This started to grow on me halfway through it, sounding like a high school play notwithstanding. Overall, I'm satisfied by this rendition. It could've been better, but it could've been a lot worse, too. I can see why this was reduced to "bonus track" status. I don't really have a lot to say about it, to be honest. It didn't leave that big of an impact on me.
Track #13: Kesha - "This Is Me"
Yes! This is the version of this song we should have got 6 tracks ago! Leave in Keala, take out Missy Elliot, and it's great. Kesha does an excellent job of conveying this song's message in her own way. Her vocal range never ceases to amaze me, and she uses it to the best of her ability in this instance. The instrumental sounded orchestral and epic, it was a very good fit for the lyrics. I love the choir in the background, they add a lot to the song. They blend with Kesha marvelously. And Kesha's vocal performance was out of this world. Soaring high notes, raw emotion put behind the words, breathtaking harmonies, it was awesome. She was the perfect fit for this song. This was a very good closing track, ending the album in the best way imaginable. This better get a Grammy nomination. I'm serious.
For what is essentially just a cover album: This not only met my expectations, but it exceeded them. This was an excellent take on the already great soundtrack. Yes, not every song is perfectly "reimagined", but they all do have something about that differs them from the original versions. In that sense, the contents of this album did indeed give us what the title suggested. I have to applaud it for that. For the most part, every song is handled with care by the people chosen to cover them. Every artist pours their souls into their performances, especially Kelly Clarkson. My favorite tracks are the ones done by Panic! At the Disco, Pentatonix, P!nk, and Kelly Clarkson. Every one of the tracks had something about them that made them standout above the rest, but I personally felt like those four specific artists did the most to do justice to the songs they were singing. The Greatest Showman: Reimagined is getting a solid 9 from me. Even the more off-putting aspects of the track productions aren't bad. A little jarring, yes, but they never break the songs. For the most part, the artist-song pairings were great. I just wish we had gotten a music video for Panic! At the Disco's "The Greatest Show". Brendon could've donned his Ringmaster costume again. It would've been awesome!
