Even before movies had spoken dialogue, music was part of the cinematic experience thanks accompaniment from an organ or a piano. Film technology then started to evolve over the years. Not only could an audience hear the stars talk on the silver screen, but they could hear them sing too. And as the audience’s tastes changed, the movie musical genre started to expand beyond the grand theatrical productions that were pioneered by Busby Berkeley, Bob Fosse, and Kenny Ortega. While that structure hasn’t gone away, there are more subtle ways to incorporate songs into a film without making it a full-fledged musical. One way of doing so is focusing on a band or a performer at the center of a plot.
Through cinematic history, there have been plenty of fictional singers and bands. Jem and the Holograms, 2Gether, 4*Town, Dewey Cox, and Bad Blake, all these fake bands have produced some real songs that are worthy of radio play. With that in mind, we’ll be taking a look at some of the best songs to come from fictional bands to ever grace our movie screens.
But first, a few rules to determine eligibility: 1.) Only original songs qualify. Unfortunately, that eliminates The Blues Brothers, The Commitments, and the Soggy Bottom Boys. 2.) Songs from biopics are excluded since those songs achieved greatness without being in a movie. 3.) Finally, the song can’t be solely serve a narrative purpose. Yes, songs from “The Lion King” or “Frozen” have made it to the radio, but we’re looking for original music that excels even without the context of a film.
Now with that in mind, let’s strike up the bands.
That Thing You Do by The Wonders
Do you ever wonder what happened to The Oneders? In his feature writing and directing debut, beloved actor Tom Hanks chronicles the rise and fall of the strangely named pop band from the 1960s as they became the one-hit wonders known as The Wonders in the 1996 movie “That Thing You Do!”.
Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn, Ethan Embry, and Tom Everett Scott star as the young musicians Jimmy Mattingly, Guy Patterson, T.B. Player, and Lenny Haise who become a sensation overnight as their hit song “That Thing You Do!” goes from a local hit in western Pennsylvania to number seven on the Billboard charts. They soon find themselves signed to a record label, touring with other chart-toppers, and nearly consumed by seas of fans wherever they go.
Although for a fake band to warrant Beatlemania levels of fandom, their big song had a lot to live up to. Luckily, the titular track was written and composed by musical mastermind Adam Schlesinger, who knows a thing or two about one-hit wonders thanks to his band Fountains of Wayne and their song “Stacy’s Mom.”
Along with Mike Viola of The Candy Butchers as the lead vocalist, the irresistibly catchy power-pop number with tight harmonies and a toe-tapping beat managed to earn some real world accolades as well. In addition to topping out at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 when the soundtrack was released in 1996, the song was also nominated for Best Original Song at the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.
Drive It Like You Stole It by Sing Street
There are many reasons to make music. Maybe it’s your passion or your calling. Or maybe you’re just looking to impress your crush. In John Carney’s endearing, coming-of-age love letter to the ’80s, “Sing Street,” that’s exactly what happens. Although, while that may have been why Ferdia Walsh-Peelo’s Conor Lalor started the band, they did turn out to be quite good. That’s most evident when you hear “Drive It Like You Stole It.”
In 1985 Dublin, the band Sing Street (named after their private school Synge Street) tries to develop their own unique style and sound. They go through a number of phases where they try out several different musical influences during this time. Their experimentation leads them to songs that sound like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, and The Clash, among others. But when they tap into their inner Hall & Oates, they find their sweet spot with “Drive It Like You Stole It.” Sure, they basically lift the beat directly from “Maneater,” but the synth and sax heavy track is the perfect jam if you want to practice doing the dance moves from “The Breakfast Club.”
As a musician himself, Carney assembled a venerable collection of musicians for the “Sing Street” soundtrack. “Drive It Like You Stole It” was composed by Gary Clark, the frontman for the popular Scottish band Danny Wilson. For the other songs from the fictional band, Ken and Carl Papenfus of Relish, Graham Henderson, and Zamo Riffman share composing credits with the filmmaker. Adam Levine of Maroon 5 even contributed the original song “Go Now” to the album. But the bona fide rockstar still doesn’t manage to upstage the ragtag band at the center of this beloved movie.
Grow Old With You By Robbie Hart
“The Wedding Singer” manages to give us one of the most romantic songs to come out of the movies, maybe ever.
In the 1998 romantic comedy set in 1985, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore play a wedding singer and a waitress (respectively) who fall in love while working at a New Jersey event space. However, Barrymore’s Julia Sullivan is engaged to someone else, which propels Sandler’s Robbie Hart into action to stop the wedding and prove his true feelings for her. On his way to Las Vegas to do just that, Robbie learns that Julia and her fiancé are on the same flight. With the help of the flight attendants, his fellow first class passengers, and ’80s music icon Billy Idol, Robbie performs “Grow Old With You,” a song that he wrote especially for Julia.
Sandler is no stranger to original music. His stand up routines typically contains a musical component. When he was a cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” some of his most remembered segments were “The Thanksgiving Song” and “The Chanukah Song.” And of course, we can’t forget the songs he wrote for the animated holiday film “Eight Crazy Nights.” But “Grow Old With You” hits different. It is just as romantic, endearing, and relatable as he usually is funny. This might even be the best song he’s ever written, which is extra special since it was written for his actual wife, Jackie Titone. He even updated the song in his Netflix special “Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh” with similarly successful results.
Scotty Doesn’t Know by Lustra
It’s always bad when your partner is cheating on you. It’s even worse when you have no idea. But when that experience gets turned into the international song of the summer, does that soften the blow? No, not really, but it makes for an excellent running gag in the raunchy cult classic comedy “Eurotrip.”
In the 2004 film, Scotty Thomas (Scott Mechlowicz) gets dumped by his long-term girlfriend Fiona (Kristin Kreuk) on graduation day. This leads him to joining his friends on their backpacking trip through Europe so he can find his attractive German pen pal Mieke (Jessica Boehrs) to express his true feelings for her. But before the gang leaves on their trip, Scotty is confronted by his ex’s infidelity thanks to an insanely catchy pop-punk song titled “Scotty Doesn’t Know” sung by the man who has been sleeping with Fiona behind his back.
While Matt Damon cameos as lead singer Donny in the movie, the song was written and performed by the band Lustra. Though it may seem super random for an actor of Damon’s caliber to appear in a cult classic like “Eurotrip,” it turns out that he went to Harvard with members of the band and the film’s writer David Mandel, so all the pieces just fell into place for a reunion. As for the song itself, its hilariously crass lyrics and instantly recognizable tune became an enduring pop-punk anthem of the 2000s. While Donny’s band wasn’t real, Lustra was a real band until their break up in 2016. Though the band is no more, their hit song lives on in the hearts of millennials everywhere.
3 Small Words by Josie and the Pussycats
As we all know, “Josie and the Pussycats” is the best movie ever made. (Join the Army.) Well, Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan’s 2001 film based on Archie Comics characters was actually a huge flop. Thankfully, critics and analysts have since revisited the movie starring Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid, and Rosario Dawson and praised its brilliance for being a cutting satire about consumerism, commercialism, and corporate greed.
Regardless of how audiences received the film at the time, they could not deny that the soundtrack was filled with certified bangers. Any one of those songs could have climbed the countdown on MTV’s “Total Request Live” or tore up the Warped Tour stage in the 2000s. Instead, the album quickly became certified gold after selling over 500,000 copies and peaked at the number 16 spot on the Billboard 200. The soundtrack might even be one of the best pop-punk albums of all time.
But out of all the great songs on the track list, “3 Small Words” really set the tone right off the bat. Not only does this song kick off the album, but it’s also used in the movie to introduce the audience to Josie McCoy, Melody Valentine, and Valerie Brown. Written by Elfont, Kaplan, Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, and Dave Gibbs of Gigolo Aunts, as well as featuring Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo as Josie’s singing voice, the song starts off with the classic count off by the drummer. Then, it continues to go hard and fast through nearly three minutes of a rockin’ good time. Simple, straightforward, and punk AF.
I2I by Powerline
The music from Disney’s animated movie musicals are basically showtunes, which don’t count for this list. However, “A Goofy Movie” mixes the more classic Disney numbers with “real” songs from Powerline, a musical artist from the world of the film.
Max Goof and his friends are obsessed with the performer who seems to be an amalgamation of Prince, Michael Jackson, and New Edition. The criminally underrated cult classic from the House of Mouse features two of his songs in absolute show-stopping numbers. First, as Max tries to impress his crush Roxanne in front of their whole school, he performs his own rendition of “Stand Out,” a powerful song that encourages the listener to be themselves (which is ironic since Max is trying to be Powerline).
The other song comes during the 1995 movie’s climax. As the final number of his massive concert being broadcast around the world on pay per view from Los Angeles, Powerline cues up “I2I.” Just then, he’s joined on stage by Goofy. He brings his son onstage and the three of them do the Goof family’s Perfect Cast, which catches on as the newest dance craze.
As great as both songs are, “I2I” is the one that needs to be on this list, because it really lets Tevin Campbell shine as Powerline with its gravitas. The R&B singer known for his hit 1990s song “Can We Talk?” shows off all of his vocal prowess in this track alongside renowned singer Rosie Gaines. Since Patrick DeRemer & Roy Freeland were clearly channeling Prince with their music and lyrics, it’s only fitting that the two vocalists on the track both have a history of working with the legendary artist.
Falling Slowly by Guy and Girl
John Carney cornered the market on beloved movie musicals set in Ireland. We’ve already heard about “Sing Street,” and his recent film “Power Ballad” also contains a song that belongs in the conversation of best real songs by fictional bands. But the filmmaker’s breakout hit “Once” takes its proper place in the upper echelon of our rankings.
Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová star as two unnamed musicians in Dublin who are struggling to make ends meet. The Guy wanders around the city and plays his guitar for tips in between odd jobs like fixing vacuums. The Girl sells magazines and flowers to get by. When the two meet and discuss music, they become instantly harmonious. They even decide to record an album together. Although just before that’s decided, the duo finds their way into a music shop to play their piano since Girl can’t afford to have one of her own. That’s where Guy teaches her his song “Falling Slowly.”
Just like fellow Academy Award-winning song “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from “A Star Is Born” (2018), “Falling Slowly” is a beautiful and somewhat haunting moment that also serves as a pivotal moment for the pair singing the duet. However, it was almost deemed ineligible for award contention for appearing in other places prior to the movie’s release. Eventually, it was uncovered that Hansard and Irglová wrote and composed the song during the film’s preproduction period. In between then and the film’s premiere, it would end up on two different albums involving Hansard: The Frames’ 2006 album “The Cost” and the self-titled album of the duo’s real life band The Swell Season (which formed because of their initial collaboration on the movie).
Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight by Spinal Tap
Long before “What We Do In The Shadows,” “Parks and Recreation,” and “The Office” became popular, Christopher Guest adopted the mockumentary style of filmmaking to create some of the funniest movies ever made. Although, when he teamed up with Rob Reiner (in his feature directorial debut), Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer to tackle the world of rock and roll for their 1984 comedy “This Is Spinal Tap,” the infamous improvisors also managed to create one hell of a hard rock/heavy metal album.
The film’s soundtrack acts almost as a best of compilation since it features songs from all over their 17-album discography (even though only four releases made it to the real world). With so many hits, it was hard to pick just one to include here. However, while every song from their catalogue such as “Big Bottom” and “Stonehenge” is respectable and worthy of being turned up to 11, “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight” is the one that makes the cut.
How can you not get hyped up after hearing the epic guitar riffs, the pounding drums, and the promise of a rockin night? Following in the footsteps of Black Sabbath, Twisted Sister, and KISS, Spinal Tap puts their stamp on the rock genre. Although, unlike everyone else on this list, this fictional band’s songs are actually written and performed by the members themselves. Obviously, they know a thing or two about “Rock and Roll Creation.”
Rainbow Connection by Kermit the Frog
The question isn’t whether or not we would include The Muppets on this list. The real question is which song would we include. After all, this merry troupe of performers have delivered their faithful fanbase with several songs over the years. But some of them definitely don’t fit the parameters that we laid out for this list of best real songs by fictional bands (or musicians). While great, “Movin’ Right Along,” “Together Again,” “Man or Muppet,” and basically every song from “A Muppet Christmas Carol” serve the narrative of their respective stories. They don’t really stand alone out of context very well. The Electric Mayhem’s signature song “Can You Picture That?” definitely comes to mind too, since they’re one of the best fictional bands of all time. However, there is only one song from The Muppets that can really go in this spot.
When we first meet Kermit the Frog in “The Muppet Movie,” he’s sitting on a log in his swamp playing his banjo and singing “Rainbow Connection.” With music and lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher, Kermit’s innocent folk song has come to represent himself as his signature song, as well as a mission statement for The Muppets as a whole over the years. It acts as a beacon of hope in dark times for all the lovers and dreamers out there. And no matter which Muppet performer is singing it, may this wholesome song always remind us to keep a little bit of whimsy in our lives no matter what we’re doing.
Golden by HUNTR/X
When Sony Pictures Animation’s “KPop Demon Hunters” premiered on Netflix in 2025, no one could have predicted just how popular it was going to be. But just as the protectors of the Honmoon did for generations, this film quietly thrived until HUNTR/X caught on and changed everything.
Featuring the voice talents of Arden Cho and Ejae as Rumi, May Hong and Audrey Nina as Mira, and Ji-young Yoo and Rei Ami as Zoey, the film follows three Korean pop stars/demon hunters who are working to permanently banish demons from the world. Things get a little complicated when the evil Gwi-Ma’s forces disguise themselves as a boy band to weaken their adversaries. To their fans, it’s just a little professional rivalry between the Saja Boys and HUNTR/X. In reality, they’re fighting for the fate of the world.
Luckily, all this battle doesn’t stop them from releasing their chart-topping music. Every song on the “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack is a banger. That’s why the record-setting album became the first film soundtrack to have four of its songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten at the same time. Although when it comes to the top spot on our list, “Golden” gets the prize. The Saja Boys’ songs are fun and catchy (and a bit sinister), but the girl group’s tunes are more complex and nuanced, which is certainly reflective of what they’re going through in the film. Those notes that Ejae is able to hit so effortlessly are next level. We may not all be able to hit them, but HUNTR/X fans will still happily sing along to these fake band jams.
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