One of the great things about the "Center Stage" soundtrack is that there is a combination of slow, romantic songs and fast and furious dance tracks. Mandy Moore's "I Wanna Be With You," International Five's "First Kiss," Ashley Ballard's "Don't Get Lost In The Crowd," P.Y.T.'s "A Girl Can Dream" and Ruff Endz "If I Was The One" are all slow/romantic songs. P.Y.T.'s "We're Dancing," Thunderbugs "Friends Forever," Cyrena's "Get Used To This," my favourite band Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat" and the ultimate funk trip "Cosmic Girl," Red Hot Chili Peppers remake of "Higher Ground," Elvis Crespo's "Come Baby Come," Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel," and the "I Wanna Be With You Soul Solution Remix" are all awesome groove-inducing cuts.

Newcomer Cyrena's "Get Used To This" is a saucy, smouldering, hip-shaking R&B groove that is great for dancing and singing along to. P.Y.T.'s "We're Dancing" starts off slow but quickly kicks things up a notch...considerably. Every time I hear Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat" or "Cosmic Girl" I can't help but dance...just ask puzzled sales staff! This is a great album for choreographing, much like the workshop in the film. Elvis Crespo, the salsa god himself, puts in a cameo in the film and a song on the soundtrack... "Come Baby Come" is "shake your bonbon music" to the max...killer horns, bump-and-grind rhythm, hyped-up bass and drums. Fantastico!

Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" is a great song, but seemed out of place. If I was choreographing something I'd have chosen "Billie Jean," but hey, at least they put the King of Pop on the soundtrack. I didn't care as much for the Red Hot Chili Pepper's remake, but it is certainly danceable.

This is the ONLY soundtrack that I play all the way through without skipping songs or programming them out. It's that good! Great for workouts or parties, or listen to the slow songs for a more mellow, romantic mood. Ten stars!


This CD is AWESOME   April 26, 2000
Melissa (Fort Worth)
20 out of 23 found this review helpful

I bought this CD the day it came out and it was really really good. If you are a pop music lover then you will like it a lot. The Mandy Moore song "I Wanna Be With You" shows a much more mature sounding side of Mandy. The awesome group of 13 and 14 year olds, PYT put out 2 awesome songs on this album, uptempo "We're Dancing" and slow tempo "A Girl Can Dream" (my favorite because it's really pretty and I can relate to it a lot). Some other tracks I really liked are "First Kiss" by International Five and "Friends Forever" by Jamorique (I think I spelled it right). If you love pop music about love and relationships, you'll love this CD so I reccomend buying it if that kind of music is your cup of tea :).


Great listening   May 12, 2002
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

This is a great compilation of music that totally sets the mood for the movie. It is equally upbeat and light-hearted, and it invokes the fun and strikingly beautiful images from the film. The soundtrack includes Michael Jackson, a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground", R&B group Ruff Endz, pop star Mandy Moore, amazing Jamiroquai, and several unknown (at least to me) groups and artists.

The first song is Mandy Moore's first big hit "Wanna Be With You". It annoyed me until I saw the movie and bought the soundtrack. It fits with the plot so I'll give it a thumb up.

Number two is "First Kiss" by International Five. This would also normally annoy me, but it's sappyness again fits with the movie, so I have grown to like it.

The third song is "Don't Get Lost in the Crowd" sung by Ashley Ballard. This is the best "unknown" song I heard on the soundtrack. I really like it.

P.Y.T. wins me over simply for their name, I mean, naming yourself after a Michael Jackson song earns you numerous points before anyone has heard you. But "We're Dancing" is also an awesome song, it has energy and an up-tempo that inspires me to dance everytime I hear it.

Thunderbugs singing "Friends Forever" can get on my nerves. The lyrics are so sickly sweet I can only handle this song after I've seen the movie, or if I haven't listened to the CD in awhile. But it's an ok song.

I usually skip over "Get Used to This" by Cyrena, and the next P.Y.T. song "A Girl Can Dream" to get to the Jamiroquai song faster, but they have their good points. Both are sort of softer compared to the other songs on the album.

"Cosmic Girl" by Jamiroquai is of course amazing. It provides the PERFECT mood to dance and get energized. I absolutely love it.

Ok, I am a big fan on Stevie Wonder, and his version of "Higher Ground" is much better than the Red Hot Chili Peppers' cover, but the song makes me think of the scene in the jazz class, so I can forgive the rock style and unintelligible lyrics. The beat provides a very...loud mood.

I always skip Elvis Crespo and Gizelle D'Cole's "Come Baby Come" while listening to this CD simply because I can only tolerate it while watching the dancers in the salsa bar. I'm not a big fan of this song.

Ahhh..."The Way You Make Me Feel" by the King of Pop is undoubtedly the best track on this album. Kudos to those who decided to add this to the soundtrack and put it in the last ballet scene. That was the hilight and best decision of the movie.

Ruff Endz' "If I Was the One" (which is written by Diane Warren) is great. I personally like that R&B sound, soul, sappy, and beautiful.

The next Jamiroquai song, "Canned Heat" is amazing while accompanied with the dancing in the movie, which again inspires me to get up and dance. Great great song.

I don't particularly like the last track which is a remix of the first song. So I just stop on a good note, Jamiroquai.

This album is awesome and a great addition to anyone's collection. Buy it! And see the movie if you haven't.


It is one of the best soundtracks   May 3, 2000
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

This CD is one of the best soundtracks I have heard. I don't have to skip any of the songs because I like them all. "We're Dancing" is one of my favorite tacks on the CD and I also like the Mandy Moore track "I Want to be With You". It seems that with such a goo round up of songs the movie will be great. I can't imagine it not being as good as the soundtrack.