The Music of SMASH [Soundtrack, Import]

The soundtrack to the US hit television show Smash features stars Katharine McPhee (Karen), Megan Hilty (Ivy Lynn) and other cast members performing the original music created for the show’s narrative and for the musical-within-a-musical.
Smash celebrates the beauty and heartbreak of the Broadway theatre as it follows a cross-section of dreamers and schemers who all have one common desire: to be a ‘smash’. Evolving from an idea of executive producer and multiple Emmy and Oscar winner Steven Spielberg, the show centers on a desire to create a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe--the series unites the hit-making Broadway writing team of Julia Houston (played by Debra Messing, Emmy winner, Will & Grace) and Tom Levitt (Christian Borle, Legally Blonde: The Musical) with producer Eileen Rand (Anjelica Huston, Oscar winner, Prizzi’s Honor) to create this new musical. A rivalry soon forms for the lead role between a youthful, inexperienced Midwestern beauty Karen (Katharine McPhee, American Idol), who is trying to find fame in the big city against all odds, and stage veteran Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty, 9 to 5: The Musical), who's determined to leave the chorus line and finally get her big break.
Highlighted on the album are the Broadway-caliber songs written for the series by Tony and Grammy winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. The Smash album also includes some of the pop tunes that have been adapted for the show, such as Christina Aguilera’s "Beautiful", the show-stopping song that Karen sings so effectively for her audition that she is plucked, literally, from obscurity to audition for the musical’s starring role. Among the other songs included on the soundtrack are the charming "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", sung by Hilty as the character of Marilyn and Will Chase performs as the actor playing her new husband, Joe DiMaggio. And one of the season’s most attention-getting songs has been the stunning "Let Me Be Your Star", sung simultaneously by Hilty and McPhee. In addition, Hilty’s show-stopping performance of Crazy Dreams will also be included on the soundtrack.
The cast also features Jack Davenport (This Life, and Pirates of the Caribbean films), Raza Jaffrey (MI-5, Sex and the City 2), Brian d’Arcy James (Shrek the Musical) and Jaime Cepero (Porgy & Bess). In addition to Spielberg, the executive producers include Theresa Rebeck (Mauritius), David Marshall Grant (Brothers & Sisters), Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Chicago, Hairspray), Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey (United States of Tara, The Borgias) and Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Catch Me If You Can).