# List of songs featured in Shrek
The songs featured in *Shrek* (2001) and its sequels are mostly pre-existing pop and rock recordings, called needle drops, placed into the films rather than written for them. The first film's soundtrack album, released on May 15, 2001, runs 39:50 and contains 12 songs plus a 13th track excerpting the original score by [Harry Gregson-Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-gregson-williams) and [John Powell](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-powell); almost all of the songs appear prominently in the movie itself.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r532466) Co-director Vicky Jenson has described *Shrek* as the first animated movie to use needle drops, songs that already exist, instead of ones written for the film.[2](https://embed.letterboxd.com/journal/vicky-jenson-margie-cohn-shrek-interview/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First soundtrack album | *Shrek: Music from the Original Motion Picture*, released May 15, 2001; duration 39:50; 12 songs plus one score excerpt track[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r532466) |
| Signature needle drop | Smash Mouth's "All Star" (1999) plays over the opening sequence, as Shrek emerges from an outhouse[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/shrek-soundtrack-still-breaks-the-mold-after-21-years) |
| Film-versus-album difference | The film uses John Cale's version of "Hallelujah"; the album carries Rufus Wainwright's cover[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r532466) |
| Film-versus-album difference | The film uses Joan Jett's original "Bad Reputation"; the album carries a cover by Halfcocked[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r532466) |
| Second soundtrack album | *Shrek 2*, released May 11, 2004; duration 50:15[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/shrek-2-mw0000333159) |
| Original score | Composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r532466) |
| Awards | The first film's soundtrack lost the BAFTA for Best Film Music to *Moulin Rouge!*[5](https://www.theringer.com/2021/05/18/movies/shrek-soundtrack-legacy-all-star-hallelujah) |
## Songs in Shrek (2001)
The opening sequence set the tone for the whole franchise. Instead of a grand musical number of the kind that opens animated classics such as *Beauty and the Beast* or *The Lion King*, *Shrek* introduces its ogre fixing a wedgie to [Smash Mouth](https://www.edgepedia.org/smash-mouth)'s "All Star," a 1999 hit released two years before the film.[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/shrek-soundtrack-still-breaks-the-mold-after-21-years) Smash Mouth appears a second time on the soundtrack with "I'm a Believer."[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r532466)
The twelve songs on the album, as listed in the Hal Leonard piano/vocal/guitar songbook, are: "All Star," "Bad Reputation," "The Best Years of Our Lives," "Hallelujah," "I'm a Believer," "I'm on My Way," "It Is You (I Have Loved)," "Like Wow," "My Beloved Monster," "Stay Home," "True Love's First Kiss," and "You Belong to Me."[6](https://www.halleonard.com/product/2500414/shrek?menuid=776) Several of these have documented origins and placements:
- **"My Beloved Monster"** is by Eels, from their 1996 DreamWorks release *Beautiful Freak*.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r532466)
- **"I'm on My Way"** is the Proclaimers' 1988 recording.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r532466)
- **"Stay Home"** by Self and **"Best Years of Our Lives"** by the [Baha Men](https://www.edgepedia.org/baha-men) play during the end credits; the Baha Men track is a cover of a Modern Romance song of the same name from the early 1980s.[7](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/shrek-soundtrack-unsung-all-stars-self-baha-men)
- **"It Is You (I Have Loved)"**, sung by Dana Glover, began as a score cue by Gregson-Williams and Powell, to which Glover wrote lyrics, turning it into one of the film's featured songs.[8](https://www.cinema.com/articles/462/shrek-production-notes.phtml)
- **"Hallelujah"** appears on the album as a cover by [Rufus Wainwright](https://www.edgepedia.org/rufus-wainwright), a DreamWorks artist, while the film itself uses [John Cale](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-cale)'s version.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r532466) Director Andrew Adamson later said the team re-edited the "Hallelujah" storyboarding after choosing the song, to make the scene's beats work with the song's ebbs and flows.[5](https://www.theringer.com/2021/05/18/movies/shrek-soundtrack-legacy-all-star-hallelujah)
Songs heard in the film but not on the album in their film versions include [Joan Jett](https://www.edgepedia.org/joan-jett)'s "Bad Reputation" and Cale's "Hallelujah," both replaced on the album by other recordings.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r532466) • [5](https://www.theringer.com/2021/05/18/movies/shrek-soundtrack-legacy-all-star-hallelujah) The disco track "Funkytown" is also among the film's needle drops.[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/shrek-soundtrack-still-breaks-the-mold-after-21-years)
## Songs in Shrek 2 (2004)
The *Shrek 2* soundtrack, released May 11, 2004, runs 50:15 and, like its predecessor, emphasizes crossover pop appeal.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/shrek-2-mw0000333159) Songs identified in the AllMusic review include:
- **"Accidentally in Love"** by [Counting Crows](https://www.edgepedia.org/counting-crows), aimed at the older audience alongside Joseph Arthur's "You're So True".[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/shrek-2-mw0000333159)
- **"Holding Out for a Hero"**, covered by [Frou Frou](https://www.edgepedia.org/frou-frou) as a techno-pop revision of the [Bonnie Tyler](https://www.edgepedia.org/bonnie-tyler) original, and also performed by Jennifer Saunders as the Fairy Godmother in a "Believe"-styled version.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/shrek-2-mw0000333159)
- **"Changes"** by Butterfly Boucher, with a cameo from David Bowie, and **"Ever Fallen in Love"** by Pete Yorn, both covers.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/shrek-2-mw0000333159)
- **"Little Drop of Poison"** by Tom Waits and **"People Ain't No Good"** by Nick Cave.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/shrek-2-mw0000333159)
- **"Livin' la Vida Loca"**, sung by Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas as a cover of the Ricky Martin song.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/shrek-2-mw0000333159)
- **"Fairy Godmother Song"** by Jennifer Saunders, and mood-driven tracks including Dashboard Confessional's "As Lovers Go (Ron Fair Remix)," Eels' "I Need Some Sleep," and Rich Price's "I'm on My Way".[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/shrek-2-mw0000333159)
Unlike the first film's album, *Shrek 2* includes nothing as prominent as Smash Mouth's "All Star" or "I'm a Believer," relying instead on covers and mood pieces.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/shrek-2-mw0000333159)
## The original score
The instrumental score for *Shrek* is the work of Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell, composers whose other credits include *Chicken Run* and *Solo: A Star Wars Story*.[9](https://snottyrock.com/2022/07/09/left-ogres-anatomy-of-a-shrek-song/) Its central "Fairytale" theme recurs in transformed forms across the films: Gregson-Williams has described reshaping the opening waltz into music for a storybook, an award show, a power-rock pump-up scene, a tinny record player, and a tragic apparent death scene, including a [David Arnold](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-arnold)-style James Bond techno version as the dragon chases Shrek, and a big-band Oscars-style rendition in *Shrek 2* when [Joan Rivers](https://www.edgepedia.org/joan-rivers) introduces the ball.[10](https://college.berklee.edu/news/harry-gregson-williams-on-making-and-remaking-the-i-shrek-i-theme) • [11](https://filmmusic.com/content/article/?id=122) Only an excerpt of this score appears on the first soundtrack album, as its 13th track.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r532466)
## Approach and reception
The choice of existing recordings was deliberate. Music supervisor Marylata Elton told The Ringer that *Shrek* was the first animated picture to have pop references in its dialogue and music, saying that "Shrek became the pop culture itself."[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/shrek-soundtrack-still-breaks-the-mold-after-21-years) The songs were in flux right up until the film's final cut, but the decision to use needle drops was made early in production.[5](https://www.theringer.com/2021/05/18/movies/shrek-soundtrack-legacy-all-star-hallelujah)
The soundtrack's reach outlasted the film's release. "All Star" enjoyed a resurgence in the mid-2010s through memes that exposed Smash Mouth to a new generation of listeners, and the song's association with *Shrek* took its popularity to a new level two years after its May 1999 single release.[12](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/smash-mouth-the-story-behind-all-star-and-shrek-memes) The franchise's needle drops also introduced younger audiences to catalog artists including [Neil Diamond](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-diamond), Leonard Cohen, Joan Jett, Bonnie Tyler, and [Ricky Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/ricky-martin).[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/shrek-soundtrack-still-breaks-the-mold-after-21-years) At awards season, the first film's soundtrack lost the BAFTA for Best Film Music to *Moulin Rouge!*[5](https://www.theringer.com/2021/05/18/movies/shrek-soundtrack-legacy-all-star-hallelujah)
## References
1. [Shrek [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r532466)
2. [All That Glitters Is Green: Shrek co-director Vicky Jenson interview, Letterboxd Journal](https://embed.letterboxd.com/journal/vicky-jenson-margie-cohn-shrek-interview/)
3. [Why the 'Shrek' Soundtrack Is Still Nostalgic After 21 Years, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/shrek-soundtrack-still-breaks-the-mold-after-21-years)
4. [Shrek 2 [Original Soundtrack] review by Heather Phares, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/shrek-2-mw0000333159)
5. [Only Shooting Stars Break the Mold: The Massive Musical Footprint of 'Shrek', The Ringer](https://www.theringer.com/2021/05/18/movies/shrek-soundtrack-legacy-all-star-hallelujah)
6. [Shrek Piano/Vocal/Guitar Songbook, Hal Leonard](https://www.halleonard.com/product/2500414/shrek?menuid=776)
7. ['Shrek' soundtrack's underrated songs, Syfy Wire](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/shrek-soundtrack-unsung-all-stars-self-baha-men)
8. [Shrek: Production Notes, Cinema.com](https://www.cinema.com/articles/462/shrek-production-notes.phtml)
9. [Left Ogres: Anatomy of a Shrek Song, Snot Rock Bot Radio](https://snottyrock.com/2022/07/09/left-ogres-anatomy-of-a-shrek-song/)
10. [Harry Gregson-Williams on Making and Remaking the Shrek Theme, Berklee College of Music](https://college.berklee.edu/news/harry-gregson-williams-on-making-and-remaking-the-i-shrek-i-theme)
11. [Harry Gregson-Williams interview, Filmmusic.com](https://filmmusic.com/content/article/?id=122)
12. [How Smash Mouth wrote an anthem for bullied fans and became a pop culture phenomenon thanks to Shrek, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/smash-mouth-the-story-behind-all-star-and-shrek-memes)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Discographies and musical catalogues › Thematic song lists, charts, and media-franchise catalogs › Media, competition, and soundtrack song catalogs › Film soundtrack song and track lists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license