Shrek 2 (soundtrack)

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For the sequel, Chris Douridas served as the music supervisor, curating and producing the soundtrack.^[3][4] Like the first film, the sequel's soundtrack also included covers and renditions of pop hits which were licensed and incorporated for this film. However, an original song "Accidentally in Love" was written specifically for this film, which was performed by the rock band Counting Crows.^[5][6] The song was preceded as a single on May 3, 2004, to promote the album and the film and achieved significant commercial success.^[7] This song was considered a placeholder for one of the songs from an artist,^[a] to depict Shrek and Fiona's relationship in the opening sequence and Weezer's "Island in the Sun" was temped for it, but the artist refused to work on it, and as a result, the song "Accidentally in Love" was composed for that situation.^[8] Douridas said that the band watched the opening sequence of the film and impressed by it, had written the song within minutes. He further added that the band had cancelled their shows in Brussels at the last minute and recorded the song within a day.^[9]

For the rest of the songs, Andrew and Douridas brainstormed on selecting efficient needledrops that would compliment the story and while also being appealing.^[8] Other songs from indie rock bands such as Eels ("I Need Some Sleep") and Dashboard Confessional ("As Lovers Go") were also utilized in the film, while Tom Waits and Nick Cave who made cameo appearances in the film, had also allowed to use their songs "Little Drop of Poison" and "People Ain't No Good" (courtesy of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds).^[8][10] Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" was considered to be the favorite of Mike Myers (who voiced Shrek) as he found the band to be the underrated cultural influencers.^[8]

Douridas approached Guy Sigsworth to convince Imogen Heap to cover a version of "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler for the film, as he was a fan and supporter of the electronic duo Frou Frou (featuring Sigsworth and Heap) which disbanded the group following the eventual failure of their debut album Details (2002), although "Let Go" attained popularity after its use in the soundtrack of Garden State.^[11] With Douridas' convinction, the duo appeared as Frou Frou to record the rendition of the song which featured in the closing credits. Rachel Brodsky of Vulture considered the cover to be a "simmering synth-pop gem that shows the power in a cover’s ability to both pay homage to and also reinvent a beloved classic".^[11] Another version of the song is covered by Jennifer Saunders, who played the fairy godmother.^[8]

Initial reception for the album was initially unfavorable. Heather Phares of AllMusic said that "the album doesn't have as many surprises as its predecessor", adding that "none of the songs here have the same left-field feel [...] making Shrek 2 a lukewarm compromise that isn't likely to satisfy either audience."^[12] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said, in his review of the film itself, that the "subdued cover versions" of the songs felt "pedestrian" and "disappointing".^[13]

However, it has since undergone a reappraisal and has been considered "one of the quintessential albums of the 2000s" rivalling with Shrek.^[14] Esther Zuckerman of Thrillist who ranked the Shrek soundtrack on number 49 for their publication's best soundtracks,^[15] considered the Shrek 2 soundtrack to be better than the first film's as it had a "cooler" and "moodier" appeal in comparison with the first film's soundtrack which was "overwhelmingly, almost aggressively, upbeat".^[10]

Commercially, the soundtrack peaked at No. 10 position on the Billboard 200 and topped the Soundtrack charts.^[16][17] Like the first film's soundtrack, it also received wide international success, though not on the same level as its predecessor.^[17] The album sold around 1.2 million units in the United States.^[17]