Bring It On: Songs 1-5

When I found out that Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tom Kitt tag-teamed the score for Bring It On, I knew I had to check it out, but I hadn’t expected to enjoy it as much as I do.  This is a show with plenty of awesome music, and the blend of the two composers’ styles makes for an interesting combination (much like Campbell and the Jackson kids.)  As with my In the Heights song rundown, I’ll be repeating the entries I originally posted in my Top Five Songs write-up for the show.  Also, while there are definite places where you can feel Miranda’s handiwork as opposed to Kitt’s and vice versa, I won’t try to parse out each song.  So, we’ll just look at the whole thing, five songs at a time.

“What I Was Born to Do” – This showcase for Campbell opens the show with energy and spirit.  The chorus, with its mantra “These Truman girls / Are superhuman girls,” is ridiculously catchy, and I love the cheer introductions in the middle.  Right away, we see that Campbell is a cheerleader because she loves it, not because of stereotypical high-school-movie pecking order reasons, which gives us a better idea of what kind of show we’re about to see.

Best line:  “We got one shot that we work all year for - / We got more balls than the team we cheer for.”

“Tryouts” – Short but amusing, with the lofty melody at odds with Skylar’s bitchy lyrics.  Very fitting for her character, to respond to the demands and insults she received back when she tried out by doing the same thing to the new cheerleading hopefuls.

Best lyric:  “I’ll uphold the great tradition / With these young lives on my watch. / Let’s set the stage, / I’ve come of age / To be a raging castrating / Bee-yotch.”

“One Perfect Moment” – We’re trained to think of cheerleading as something frivolous and silly, but the show defies that notion.  Some really nice lyrics here as Campbell thinks about what cheerleading gives her.  There’s her desire to win and her drive to execute her moves flawlessly, but there’s also the pure physical sensation of flying, just for a moment, and that’s the feeling this song chases.

Best lyric:  “High in the air / There is a moment just before you start to fall -- / Live in that one moment.”

“Do Your Own Thing” – Lin-Manuel Miranda has such a talent for scene songs that establish settings and characters, move the plot forward, have insane hooks, and boast clever lyrics all at the same time.  This song, in which Campbell starts her apprehensive first day at Jackson High, is a stellar example of this.

Best line:  “Step one to become invisible: / Books up – de-accentuate the physical, / Head down – use only your peripheral. / Stick with me; we’ll be indivisible.”

“We Ain’t No Cheerleaders” – I’m so in love with the groove of this song.  Danielle leads us with strut and stagger, and she’s backed well by Nautica and La Cienega.  The dance crew wasn’t around for “What I Was Born to Do,” so their idea of cheerleaders is the teen movie stereotype, and they clarify their roles in this number that sizzles with attitude.

Best line:  “You can call your therapist / And complain, ‘Those girls ain’t right,’ / ‘Cause every day / We get haters / Who say they can take us. / Okay, baby - / If that helps you sleep at night.”