Welcome Back to Disney and HAPPY CHILLOWEEN/HALLOWEEN (whatever you like to call it)!!!🧡🖤🎃 I hope you enjoyed my last post on the Top 12 BEST Episodes from the Suite Life of Zack & Cody. I know it's been a couple of months since that last post, but I'm back with a special TREAT for you guys today. Raise your V's up high, wave 'em wide, side to side, and feel the vibe because today's post is all about the MUSIC from one of the BEST Disney Channel musical trilogies, Descendants.💜💗💙💛🎶
Yep, that's right. I'm taking a little break from my Top Ten Disney Channel Shows re-watch/ranking series of posts to share with you some other fun, exciting, nostalgia-filled posts, which includes this one you're reading now.😊Don't worry, though, because I will still be continuing with that other series of posts soon. But, TODAY, is all about DESCENDANTS!💜💗💙💛 So, if you're a fan of the Descendants franchise then you will certainly be a fan of this post. And if you've never seen the Descendants movies, I still think you'll enjoy this post just as much as those who have seen them. Well, at least, you'll be introduced to some BANGER songs that you'll then (more than likely) want to make a playlist of to listen to them on repeat. And, if you have seen the Descendants movies and just don't like them, well I still think you'll get some enjoyment out of this post even just a little bit because I mean who doesn't LOVE a great song, and let me tell you, this movie franchise has a lot of GREAT songs. Plus, I mean, it's CHILLOWEEN/HALLOWEEN. So there are a couple of other little special TREATS along throughout this post, as well, that I think you'll enjoy.🧡🖤🎃 And, no, this is not a TRICK to get you to read this post. Again, just hopefully a wonderful TREAT for you to enjoy.🍬🍫🍭
The Descendants franchise really was the last GREAT DCOM musical(s) to come from Disney Channel. In fact, to me, it was the last GREAT thing to come from Disney Channel, period. In other words, after the third Descendants movie came out, that's when I stopped watching Disney Channel. 'Cause it was the last thing I was interested in seeing from the channel. Having said that, this isn't my FIRST time talking about these movies and it won't be the LAST time I talk about them, either.
Obviously, the BEST part of any DCOM musical is the MUSIC, the songs from Descendants being no different. So, that's why I just had to rank ALL the songs from EVERY Descendants movie. I also decided to do this because I've re-watched these three movies so much lately, from last summer when I created my DCOMs' post (here) to even just this summer when I introduced my whole family to these movies and watched each one more than ever before in such a short period of time. I was SO HAPPY when I re-watched these movies with my big sister (Ariel) because it was her FIRST TIME EVER watching them and I was a little surprised that she ended up LOVING them. The SONGS from the movies, I'm sure, are one of the main reasons why she also LOVES the franchise like I do. As for my little sister (Amber), I think she hates to admit that she loves the Descendants franchise just because she's more of a Zombies fan, but I know even she likes some of the songs from the Descendants movies because I've heard her listen to them at times. (So, sorry but not sorry Amber, for spilling your secret😊😉💗) However, I do kind of understand where she's coming from (if she still doesn't really like the movies), because although I've always liked the first movie from the Descendants franchise since the first time I watched it when it premiered on Disney Channel in 2015, it did take some time for me to really LOVE it as much as I do now. Especially, when it came to the second and third movies from the Descendants franchise. And, that's just because at first I wasn't so sure about the messaging of evil in these movies as I'm not about glorifying evil or evil people, but once you watch the movies and understand the story, the songs and everything make sense for what it is. It's the good that you always root for, not the bad. In other words, although some of the songs from these movies make it seem like evil is good (which you will hear and see later), kind of sending mixed messages about the overall message of these movies, I understand that those evil, villain songs only make sense for the movie and in trying to tell the story of these bad, villain characters. Which is why those villain songs will go lowest on my ranking because they are not songs that seeing outside of watching the movie one should listen to every day on repeat. Good triumphs over evil always, which means same for the "good" and "evil" songs of these movies. So, SPOILER ALERT, you will see MOST (if not, all) of the villainy, evil-type songs lowest on my ranking for those reasons. While the "good" songs remain higher up on my ranking of every song from the Descendants franchise.
Let's just say, that after re-watching these movies last year for my DCOMs' post and re-watching them this year with my family just for fun, I have found a new LOVE and appreciation for these movies more than I ever did before. I not only chose to do this post because I had just re-watched all the Descendants movies but also because I've already ranked and discussed my favorite songs from every other DCOM musical that I LOVE, so I of course had to do the same for this one. And also just because, again, it's CHILLOWEEN/HALLOWEEN and these songs/movies go along pretty well with the theme of the day/month. Overall, the Descendants franchise is a GREAT, ICONIC, ONE (or few) of a kind, and must-watch set of movies. So, what are we waiting for? Let's get into A Definitive Ranking of Every Song from the Descendants Franchise!💜💗💙💛🎃🎶🎤🎸🎹
Just a brief note before we begin: This ranking only includes ALL the songs from each of the three Descendants movies. NOT any of the extra songs from the soundtracks, or the animated TV series, or from the TV specials. Also, when I am ranking these songs I am NOT ranking them just based on their performance or scene in the movie(s). I am taking the movie scene/performance into consideration, but I am mostly just going by listening to the song itself. I just included the performance clips of each song from the movie(s) for fun and for more context. There are also only 19 songs included in this ranking because I did NOT include any of the short reprises of the songs that they had fuller, longer versions of. You will just see those reprise songs included with the original, longer versions of the original. Now, for real this time, let's get into A Definitive Ranking of Every Song from the Descendants Franchise!💛💙💗💜🎃🎶🎤🎸🎹
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(from least to most favorite)...
#19 "Evil Like Me" by Dove Cameron & Kristin Chenoweth from Descendants (2015)
This is and has always been one of my least favorite songs from Descendants. So, it's really no surprise that it's at the very bottom of this ranking. Although, I will admit that at first, I did not originally have this song as the very last on this ranking. 'Cause I was going back and forth between this one and the next one that you will see for which one I believe to be the worst. I mean, this one and the next one are both clearly not my favorites from the Descendants movies, but this one has more things that I dislike about it compared to the next one I will be mentioning.
First of all, this song is not only the longest song from the first Descendants movie but the third longest song from the whole franchise. "It's Going Down", from Descendants 2, is the longest song out of ALL the songs from the Descendants franchise, and "My Once Upon Time", from Descendants 3, is the second longest. Therefore, making this one the third longest. And, yes, usually you would think that that would be a good thing but not for this song all because of the reasons I will mention next.
One reason is that I don't love the message of this song at all. as it's all about being evil. Obviously, because it's one of the villain songs. This song is sung by Maleficent after the VKs stumble upon the Hall of Villains and Mal lingers behind remembering what her mother said about not blowing her chance and Mal wondering what she should do. Mal's mother's statue comes to life and she (Maleficent) starts singing advice on being evil to Mal. In other words, the whole song is Maleficent encouraging Mal to be evil and promising her (Mal) that when she steals the Fairy Godmother's Magic Wand they will rule the land together as mother and daughter. So, you know, it talks about being evil, mean, cruel, nasty, brutal, making mischief your daily routine, not attending to the poor (cause as she sings "when you're evil, doing less is doing more"), just being very, very good at being bad, cause as she also sings "who wants an evil queen without a sack of sin".👎😞 Yeah, all things that make for a terrible person and a terrible song for anyone to like or want to sing or listen to on the daily. Again, I get that it makes sense for the movie but it's just not a good song to like. Just like one shouldn't like the character of Maleficent, in my opinion, one should also not like this song, which is why I don't.
This is also a very Broadway-esque style of song, one of the few Broadway-esque type of songs from the whole franchise, which is not my favorite genre of music to listen to. However, every time I listen to this song and watch the scene from the movie, it does give me Mother Gothel vibes. Especially, the more talking parts of this song, remind me of the "Mother Knows Best" song from Tangled. Anyone else?
If this song's lyrics and meaning had been different, more positive, and less evil, I actually would have ranked it a little higher because it does have a catchy melody and some playful lyrics, even if it is more Broadway-esque. That's the only reason why at first I didn't have it as last, because I do have to stop myself from singing along to it at times. If I had to say something that's good about this song from the movie it would be that the song does stand out just a little bit because it is the only Maleficent sort of solo song we get from the movies, and I only ever found when Mal started singing it with her, the more interesting and good part about the song and performance. But, other than those things, I really just do not like the song at all.
#18 "Do What You Gotta Do" by Dove Cameron & Cheyenne Jackson from Descendants 3 (2019)
This is the other villain song that I knew would go lowest on my ranking. However, I actually always thought that it would be the very last one on this ranking, but this time "Evil Like Me" took that title. However, this song is still one of my least, least favorites from all the Descendants movies. In fact, the only two reasons why I ranked this song above the previous one are because of the fun, melodic rock n' roll beat and because it is quite relatable.💜💙🎸
This song is a duet between Mal and her father (Hades) where the two face off in a confrontation after years of not speaking (Hmm...sounds very familiar to me. I can relate. Well, not the singing part but the confronting a parent after not speaking to them for years part. Raise your hand if you've been there, done that.✋) because Hades left Mal and her mother as a child. So, the song expresses the two having it out with each other, as Mal tells her estranged father how angry she is at him for not being a part of her life while also attempting to retrieve the ember to save Auradon, while Hades just tells her that she has been better off without him. Again, anyone with estranged relationships can relate to this song. At least, I can. Although, I don't have daddy issues like Mal, but mommy issues. But, like the song mentions, I believe I've become stronger because of them. Whether you have daddy issues or mommy issues, you can relate to this song. There are so many lines and verses in this song that I would love to sing about/to somebody I know.😉😏
The thing that really made me want to have this song lowest on this ranking and the only thing that really makes me dislike this song so much is just for the fact that Hades refers to himself as a god in the very first line of the song, which turns me off from the song instantly.👎 'Cause there is no other god but THE God who created the heavens and the earth. I also just don't like Hades' character for that reason alone, which is why he's also my least favorite character in Descendants 3 and also the other reason why I just don't like this song or any of the scenes involving him in the movie. I do like though that we got to see a duet between Mal and her mom and Mal and her dad.
My only other favorite part of this song, besides the rock n' roll beat, is the "Ooh-ooh-ooh" part and I also like the scene itself when Celia does the little dance during that part of the song in the movie. The spoken part of the song, when Hades says, "Get over it!" and Mal says, "I am over it!" and then they both say, "I'm over you being over it!" and then Hades says, "Let's dance", also makes me laugh every time I hear it and watch the scene from the movie. As well as the instrumental part that comes right after that. I also like that this song is not too evil or villainy, but I still consider it more of a villain song. This song also sounds the most karaoke, which also makes it stand out in a different kind of way. Basically, I would probably love this song way more if it didn't have that 'g' word at the beginning, but because it does, I strongly dislike it for that reason.
#17 "Queen of Mean" by Sarah Jeffery from Descendants 3 (2019)
This was a song that was actually really hard for me to know where I wanted to rank it. Although, it is a villain song, therefore I knew that it would go lower on this ranking. But, I still like it. First of all, I ranked this song above the previous ones because I love a good ballad and this one hits hard. Second, I love the message of this song, it's actually quite deep and relatable. As this song is sung by Audrey in the movie after she learns that she is not going to be the Queen of Auradon and she becomes jealous with rage that Ben chose Mal over her and even her Grammy's disappointment in her losing a chance at the throne and attitude towards her, rings in her head. So, Audrey listens to the devil on her shoulder and decides to become the "Queen of Mean" (hence, the title of the song) by breaking into the museum for the Queen's crown. Finding herself drawn to Maleficent's Scepter in the next room, she uses its magic to transform herself into a more villainous look and declares that she will get what she deserves. All of this is expressed, not only in the scene, but in the lyrics.
The only thing I don't like about this song, which made me rank it lower than I probably initially would have, is the fact that she sings about becoming evil and becoming the leader of the dark and the bad by also mentioning the bad person. As she sings, "Now, there's a devil on my shoulder where the angels used to be / and he's calling me the Queen". I don't like that person's name being mentioned anywhere by anyone and I'm only mentioning it here for the sake of this post. So, that's the only thing that really turns me off from really liking this song. The evil message and that person's name being mentioned. Also, I think I've just heard this song so many times by now that it's gotten a little monotonous and not in a good way. Although, the beginning still hits hard every time I listen to this song. In other words, I do LOVE the beat of this song, but the whole song does get old after a while of always hearing it. However, when you first hear this song, it is great as it does build and build and does get better as it goes on.
Fun fact, when Descendants 3 first premiered in 2019, this song was the most trending song on YouTube. I think I also remember seeing it trending on Twitter at the time, too. So, I feel like a lot of people really love this song and it's not the worst song from the Descendants franchise but it is one of my least favorites just for the reasons I mentioned above. This song is also more of a standout because it's Audrey's first and only solo song from all the movies. Another fun little fact, which has nothing to do with the song itself, but during the scene of the movie when Audrey turns evil her hair turns pink with blue highlights, which according to my research was a reference to when Flora and Merryweather were fighting over what color Aurora's dress would be in Sleeping Beauty. I just love the little Easter eggs and callbacks to the other fairytales and princess movies/stories that the Descendants songs and movies incorporated into their own.
Overall, I love the pop-rock, ballad sound of this song and every other element of it really does give off that feeling of anger, resentment, bitterness, and betrayal that Audrey is feeling during that moment. However, it also builds and builds from her feeling that way at the beginning to, by the end, her feeling fierce and determined to change. So, I do love the message of this song in that it's about self-discovery and self-empowerment, as it does encourage listeners to embrace your inner strength even when the world tries to tear you down. But, she chooses to do so in not the best way, by just becoming evil herself. Which is also not a message I would want to give to listeners. So, in the end, this is still more of an evil, villain type song, with not the best lyrics to be singing along to or listening to all the time, which is why it ranks lower on my ranking.
#16 "Rotten to the Core" by Cameron Boyce, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, & Booboo Stewart from Descendants (2015)
Okay, now I don't know if this is surprising to you that I ranked this song as low as it is, but when doing this I was actually really surprised myself that I ranked this song this low on the ranking. And that's just simply because I have such a fond memory of watching the first Descendants movie, which this song is from, when it first premiered on Disney Channel in 2015 and this was always my favorite song from the movie. It was one that I would always be singing in my head around the house. In fact, this song still pops up sometimes randomly in my head, but for some reason every time I get to the chorus part of it I start singing the Christmas version, "Jolly to the Core". Which is also a BANGER in its own right.😊💓💚🎄🔔 And I always thought that if I was to ever do a ranking such as this one for these songs from the Descendants franchise that this song would definitely be in my Top 3, but I've clearly changed my mind on that one. Though, don't get me wrong, 'cause this song will always hold a very special place in my heart, even though it's pretty low on this ranking.💓It's also quite special and will always remain special, because this song is the very first song to appear from the whole franchise, as it's the opening musical number in the first Descendants movie. So, this song is GREAT but because it's a villain song and obviously doesn't have the best message, is the only reason why it had to rank lower on this ranking. But even after going back to listen to this song, after listening to all of these other songs on this ranking together back-to-back, I did realize that this song is not the best compared to all the others. Especially, when you're just listening to the song and not watching the scene it was in or anything.
I've always loved the part of the song and scene whenever the hard beat changes and Sofia (aka Evie) sings "Mirror, mirror on the wall / Who's the baddest of them all?" lyric. And I've also always LOVED the instrumental, bridge, and dance breakdown part of the song and scene. It's like, that part of the song and performance I wish lasted forever, but it doesn't. This song is a dance-pop song with some elements of hip-hop, pop, and dubstep, which makes it unique from all the rest and all that for which I also LOVE. I love the part of the song when after Cameron Boyce (aka Carlos) sings, "They think I'm callous / A low-life hood / I feel so useless" and then they all four say, "Misunderstood!". I also like the part when Mal sings, "Call me a schemer / Call me a freak / How can you say that? / I'm just...unique!". Which, there is a great message in just that line, about the importance of not caring about what other people think about you. 'Cause if you are unique, own it. This song is also one of the few songs sung by just the core four friends, Evie (aka Sofia Carson), Carlos (aka Cameron Boyce), Mal (aka Dove Cameron), and Jay (aka Booboo Stewart), but while the chorus and stanzas are sung among those four friends, the pre-chorus is only sung by Sofia Carson and Cameron Boyce, which is quite interesting.
Again, I LOVE everything about this song, BUT the evil message, because it's all about the feelings of the VKs and introducing the VKs who are evil and wicked (at the beginning) saying that they like to be just like this. Which is just not a great message or great lyrics to sing all the time. It makes sense for the movie of course, but outside of watching the movie and hearing the song to introduce the characters, it's not the best song to be listening to. At least in my opinion. So, I would have LOVED to rank this song much higher on this ranking, but obviously for the reasons above I just could not.
#15 "Ways To Be Wicked" by Cameron Boyce, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, & Booboo Stewart from Descendants 2 (2017)
Okay, now this is another song from the Descendants franchise that I am really bummed about having to rank at the bottom of this ranking because I do LOVE the beat of this song SO MUCH. But, unfortunately, the beat of this song is the only great thing about it, because this is another evil, villain song.👎😞 Plus, I really wanted to rank this song higher just because it is the other one of the few songs from the movies sung by just the four core friends, Mal (aka Dove Cameron), Evie (aka Sofia Carson), Carlos (aka Cameron Boyce), and Jay (aka Booboo Stewart), and it's the opening musical number from the second movie, which is also my favorite movie from the three.
However, this is one of those songs that only makes sense for the movie. As even though the Core Four friends turn good by the end of the first movie, at the beginning of the second movie, it shows them singing this song about being...well, WICKED. But, it's all just a part of Mal's imagination. So, it's not meant to be taken that seriously or to be believed to be true that they are evil once again nor should one believe all the evil words they are singing in the song. Though, it is still a song sung in the movie for imagination purposes. In other words, it's not a song I would recommend anyone to just listen to on repeat daily and that is just simply because of the evil lyrics.
Although, I hate to admit that this song is very catchy and hard to get out of your head once you hear it. My favorite parts of the song, if I had to say, has always been the repetitional "W-I-C-K-E-D" chant and bridge, especially the line by Carlos when he sings, "Hear her voice in my head". I also love at the end of the dance break when Evie belts out the "Yeah" part. And the whole scene of this song is great, too. Not gonna lie. I just wish they were singing different lyrics with the opposite message about being evil. Speaking of lyrics, did you know that the line "Mother knows best" sung by Mal (aka Dove Cameron) in this song is (according to my research) an allusion to the song "Mother Knows Best" by Mother Gothel from Tangled. Did you also know that Mal's first solo line of this song, "Crashing the party, guess they lost my invitation", is also an allusion to her mother Maleficent, who, in Sleeping Beauty was not invited to the baptism of little Aurora. This song is also lyrically similar to that of "Rotten to the Core", which also makes sense as to why I think it is one of the better villain songs, even though those are both not songs I would listen to all the time.
The overall meaning of this song is about embracing one's wicked side and breaking free from the traditional expectations of a fairytale life. In the song, the characters express that they are tired of being seen as "bad" and are ready to show their true colors, believing that evil can be fun and empowering. They reject the idea of a perfect, "happily ever after" life and instead they find excitement and liberation in their misbehavior and non-conformity. So, the song does encourage listeners to embrace their own individuality and rebel against societal norms, which I LOVE but it does so by suggesting that being wicked is the only right form of self-expression and personal freedom and that by taking control and choosing their own path, the characters find joy in their mischievous actions and celebrate being different and they invite others to join them in their rebellion against the norm. Again, LOVE the message about the importance of embracing your differences and choosing your own path in life, but I don't LOVE the WICKED way they say to do so.
#14 "One Kiss" by Sofia Carson from Descendants 3 (2019)
This is a song that I actually don't really love, as it is the most boring one to me from the whole Descendants franchise. In fact, the only reason why it ranks higher than the previous ones is simply just for the fact that it's not a villain song with evil lyrics. In other words, if all the previous songs I just mentioned above weren't evil songs, this song would be last on this ranking. Sorry, to those of you who may like this song, but it's just not my favorite.
This is quite a special song and moment though in the movie just because it is Evie's first and only solo song from the whole Descendants franchise. Which is kind of a bummer because she finally gets her own solo and it's just about kissing a guy? Why? But, she is boy-crazy, so it makes sense I guess. However, that's just one reason why I don't like this song as much as the others on this ranking, because it's just all about wanting to kiss a guy but being scared to. As during this scene of the movie, Doug is under a sleeping spell and theoretically, Evie could wake him up with a kiss if their love is true, but Evie is worried because she doesn't know if they're each other's true loves. But at the end of the song, she ends up kissing him to find out for certain where their relationship stands.
Again, this song isn't the worst, just because it's not a villain song. But it's also not one of the best, in my opinion. However, you really do get all those princess, fairytale vibes from this song, which is nice. There are also some great background vocals from Mal (aka Dove Cameron) and Uma (aka China Anne McClain) which also add a nice touch to the song. This song just doesn't go higher up on my ranking because it's more slow and boring. Not a lot to it, nor to the scene itself.
#13 "Night Falls" by Cameron Boyce, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, China Anne McClain, Dylan Playfair, & Thomas Doherty from Descendants 3 (2019)
This is another song that I had a really tough time deciding where to rank it. 'Cause at first I had this song a little higher up on this ranking but I changed my mind about it sort of last minute. It definitely wasn't going to be in my Top 10, but it could have gone higher than where it is now. Although, I'm happy with where I put this song as of now. I mean, it's still one of the top BEST songs from the third movie, just not from the whole Descendants franchise. And that's just because, to me, the scene with this song is better than just listening to the song itself.
As this song is sung during the scene when the VKs (Mal, Evie, Carlos, Jay, Uma, Harry Hook, and Gil) are in battle against enchanted suits of armor, set on them by Audrey. Throughout the song, Mal and Uma argue about whose battle plan to follow until Evie steps in to remind them that they are on the same side, for the time being, and for them to put aside their differences in order to win the fight against Audrey, which they do end up doing by the end. So, basically, the song is about the VKs and Uma and her crew coming together to fight off these suits of armor they're being surrounded by and warning each other to "watch your back". Literally, I just feel like this song is just that line, "watch your back" so many times over. Which is why this song gets a little monotonous and boring at times.
Out of context from the movie, this song alone is just not the same or not as good. The only part I've always loved about this song and the scene is after the third verse when the instrumental dance break happens and the girls (Mal, Evie, and Uma) sing in harmony the "Ahhs". The beat of this song is good, and the lyrics are fine, but it just gets a little boring and repetitive after a while up until the BEST part, which is the instrumental dance break. Also, because this is more of a hard-hitting, dance song with a great beat is the only reason why it ranked above the previous song I just mentioned. And the message is better than the previous one, too, because it's all about putting your differences aside, and coming together to fight against evil.
#12 "Be Our Guest" by Mitchell Hope, Marco Marinangeli, Kala Balch, & Spencer Lee from Descendants (2015)
This is another song that got moved around quite A LOT on this ranking. It was much higher, then I ranked it lower, now it's sort of in the middle, but not really. Having said that, I really do LOVE this song even though it's not that high up on this ranking, and even though I think they could have taken out this song from the first movie to give us the Ben and Mal duet that we (Descendants fans) deserved. But, I still LOVE this song for many reasons. I mean, even though it's the only non-original song from the whole Descendants franchise, as it is a remix/remake of the classic "Be Our Guest" song from Beauty and the Beast, it's still unique and just as GREAT. In fact, I actually kind of like this version better than the original version, just because it is slightly more upbeat. Anyone else?
Again, even though I feel like this is the one song/scene that could have been cut from the first movie and it wouldn't have even made a difference, I'm kind of glad it wasn't because again I LOVE the callbacks/tie-ins to the original fairytale, princess movies/stories/characters in these Descendants movies. I mean, Beauty & the Beast is one of my all-time favorite Disney Princess films, so of course I LOVE this song and appreciate that it was even included in Descendants at all. I also chose to rank this song higher than the others because not only is it a happy song with a great, positive message but it is also one that stands alone outside of the movie quite well. In other words, you don't need to see the scene to really enjoy listening to this song, unlike some of the others I mentioned previously.
Re-listening to all these songs from the Descendants movies, this song was actually one that I kind of surprisingly kept going back to listen to. It's just really catchy and fun to sing along to, all thanks to the dynamic melody and expressive lyrics. Just like the original, this song does a great job showcasing the joy and excitement the castle's inhabitants (in this case, Auradon's inhabitants) have for bringing happiness to its guests (in this case, the VKs). As this song is sung and performed by Ben and the rest of the AKs (Auradon Kids) as a special treat for their parents and other relatives visiting on Family Day. The original version of this song was sung by Lumiere to Belle in Beauty and the Beast and both Belle and Beast are present for the song when their son (Ben) sings it in the Descendants movie.
This is definitely probably one of the most UNDERRATED songs from the Descendants franchise, I mean even my sisters don't like it that much, but I LOVE it and appreciate it for what it is, which is just a happy, nostalgic, feel-good song. It's very entertaining and welcoming which is also just the whole message of the song. The only reason it goes lower than the others I will be mentioning next is because it is just a remix of a classic, and because the other songs I will be mentioning are better in regards to some other things. 🍽💙💛👑
#11 "What's My Name" by China Anne McClain, Thomas Doherty, & Dylan Playfair from Descendants 2 (2017)
Okay, I know, technically this is a villain song BUT it only goes higher on this ranking and is one of the BETTER villain songs just because it doesn't have such evil lyrics like the other villain songs and it's not encouraging listeners to go out and do evil things. The lyrics of this song are very conceited and just shows how much of an ego Uma has , but that's it. Which is not a positive thing, by any means, but it's not as bad as the other evil, villain songs I've mentioned already. So, that's one of the reasons why I ranked this song where it is. I'm actually surprised myself that this song is not ranked even higher on this ranking because it's always been more of a stand-out song from all of the Descendants movies. But I think part of the reason for me not ranking it higher is just because I've heard this song SO MANY times now since it first came out, and kind of sadly, it's just gotten a little old to me now. However, there's no denying that this song is a BANGER and changed the Descendants song game in the BEST way.
Throughout this song, Uma sings about how she plans to escape the Isle of the Lost to get revenge on Mal and take over all of Auradon. All because she (Uma) is angered by the fact that Mal is now in the position to become future queen of Auradon, while she (Uma) is just still stuck on the Isle. Annoyed by Gil's ignorance of her anger, Uma demands him and the rest of the pirate crew to chant her name repeatedly. While Harry Hook sings nothing but positive things about his captain (Uma).
This is another song that stands alone GREAT outside of the scene it's in. This is a very commanding, feet-stomping solo of a song. Even though there are some vocals by Harry Hook (aka Thomas Doherty) and Gil (aka Dylan Playfair), Uma (aka China Anne McClain) takes the lead vocals on this song making it, to me. HER SONG and her only solo song from the whole franchise (I know. Shocking, right?). This song and scene in the movie establishes Uma as the self-proclaimed queen of the Isle of the Lost. She really brings it all in this performance and adds just the right amount of attitude to the song/performance. It's a great power ballad and song that kind of gives you a boost of confidence yourself every time you listen to it. At least, it does for me. I mostly just LOVE the pop, electrohop, R&B style beat of this song. Again, although this song has gotten a little old to me, there's just something about it that makes me want to keep going back to listen to it, which is a sign of a GREAT song.💚💙🌊
#10 "Good To Be Bad" by Cameron Boyce, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, Anna Cathcart, & Jadah Marie from Descendants 3 (2019)
Okay, now, this song was the hardest one to rank because you don't understand how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the beat of this song, BUT I don't like the title or first line of the chorus of this song at all. However, I will say that when I first heard this song I thought they were singing it's "Good to be back" NOT it's "Good to be bad".😂And because I don't like what they actually say/sing, I always just sing the words "Good to be back" whenever I listen to the song, because I just prefer that lyric over the one that is the actual lyric. Plus, I just LOVE the hard-hitting, dance beat of this song way too much to just not listen to it ever again and to not rank it here at #10. I mean, I really was at first going to rank this song in the Top 5 because it's that GREAT beat-wise and lyrics-wise, except for the whole "Good to be bad" part and title. So, because I was SO INDECISIVE about where to rank this song, is why I ultimately decided to rank it in the middle of all these songs. 'Cause it's good and bad. Haha. See what I did there?😊❤💓
This song literally NEVER gets old. Every time I listen to it, I just want to sing and dance along to it. In fact, I keep telling myself that I'm going to learn the dance to this song because I LOVE it that much. This song, the scene, EVERYTHING about it is just AMAZING. Again, I just so wish they would have made it "Good to be back" instead of "Good to be bad" because it would have actually made more sense for the movie and storyline anyway. As the lyric and title they do use, doesn't make sense at all. Considering the characters are supposed to be "good" by the third movie, yet they are promoting being "bad" at the start of the third movie. Make it make sense!
It is a little interesting that I LOVE this song SO MUCH though, just because I never really cared for it or payed that much attention to it when I watched the third movie for the very first time. But for some reason it really got my attention the second time I watched Descendants 3 with my sister (Ariel) and this song is now one of the few songs I think about instantly whenever someone mentions Descendants. So, it's safe to say that I've just found a new LOVE and APPRECIATION for this song. I mean, I even incorporated some lyrics from this song in my introduction of this post, which just shows how much I truly LOVE it and how UNFORGETTABLE it is to me.
Like I briefly mentioned before, this song is sung at the very beginning of the third movie when Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay are looking to recruit new VKs to come to Auradon and this song revolves around that. 💓💜💙💛💚💗 This song's lyrics and beat alone, does make it feel like a big celebration. In a way, even though the VKs are singing about it being "Good to be bad" they are kind of only saying that because they are kind of taking their power back in that way and not caring about what the haters have to say about them as when Mal and Evie sing, " Everyone come and take your shot / Now's the time, show 'em what you've got / 'Cause everyone is gonna get their chance / They said that being from the Isle was bad / Well it's good to be bad".
In other words, the VKs are the misfit kids and they have a sense of pride all of a sudden because they're like maybe we are the bad kids, but we did some good considering where we came from (a bad situation) and now everyone is stoked and we're able to do more good by helping more people but we're not forgetting where we came from because it did get us here. Again, this song is just about celebrating where they came from, which is some self-empowerment messaging there, as they sing, "You're from the Isle if anybody asks/It's good to be bad". And they're trying to make the new VKs feel not so bad about where they come from because those kids can't help it and they can change for the better just like Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay did. So, if you look at the song in that way it's actually not that bad of a message. I don't know if anything I typed there just made sense, because honestly I am just not so sure myself what kind of message they were trying to give viewers listening to this song. I'm still just trying to make sense of it myself. And that's why I'm indecisive about it and it goes in the middle of this ranking because I'm a little iffy about the lyrics and the whole message.
Honestly, this song doesn't need my explanation on why it's still SO GOOD. Though. I just mostly wanted to explain why, even though it sends a mixed message about being "bad" (which I don't support and will never support) there are still some good and positive things about the song. Just take a listen or watch for yourself and you'll hopefully understand why this song will forever be a BANGER. At least, in my book.💓💜💙💛💚💗
#9 "Break This Down" by Cameron Boyce, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, China Anne McClain, Thomas Doherty, Dylan Playfair, Jadah Marie, Mitchell Hope, Brenna D'Amico, Zachary Gibson, & Sarah Jeffery from Descendants 3 (2019)
This is not only one of the three big ending songs from the Descendants franchise, but it was THE very LAST song to wrap up the movie franchise, and a very GOOD one at that. This song is unique and special because it literally brought everyone together singing it in the movie, Mal. Ben, the rest of the VKs, and all of their friends from the Isle of the Lost and Auradon. In other words, the whole cast of Descendants 3 sings this song. The song is also performed at the place where Auradon and the Isle of the Lost meet, as well as on the bridge connecting the two after Mal takes down the barrier forever connecting the two lands once and for all.
Therefore, this song is one of the most emotional and celebratory songs from any of the movies. As you can tell, this is not only one of my MOST FAVORITE songs from Descendants 3 but it's also just one of my FAVORITE songs from the whole Descendants franchise. The song stands alone good, too, aside from the movie. But I do also love the GREAT musical scene with this song in the movie, as well. It's not an evil, villain song, which is also a plus, and one of the main reasons why it ranks this high on the list. In fact, it has a great, positive, and inspiring message about unity, knowing that we're stronger together than apart, new beginnings in life, and just celebrating all that while still being you. All in all, this is just an EPIC song for an EPIC finale. It makes me feel all the feels. It's just a nice, happy, emotional, energetic pop song that has a GREAT message and makes you want to dance every time you listen to it. And I don't really have a favorite part of this song because I just LOVE it ALL.💓💙💜💛💚💗👑
#8 "My Once Upon A Time" by Dove Cameron from Descendants 3 (2019)
So, I LOVE a good energetic, dance, pop song but I also LOVE a good ballad and this song is just that. However, this is another song that I never would have thought would be ranked this high on my ranking, because just like with "Good to be Bad" I didn't care for this song or pay much attention to this song the very first time I ever watched Descendants 3, but for some reason when I re-watched the movie for the second time this summer with my sister (Ariel), I fell in LOVE with this song. Okay, not literally fell in love, but you get the point.😊💓 So, like a few of these songs on this ranking that I've mentioned already, I most definitely have found a new LOVE and APPRECIATION for this song since hearing it the very first time that I did.
This song just makes me smile and feel SO HAPPY whenever I listen to it, even though it's supposed to be a pretty emotional song. At least, the scene in the movie makes it feel more that way. And I do get those emotional, kind of sad vibes when listening to it, too, but I also just get all the Disney princess vibes whenever I listen to this song. In fact, this song literally sounds like a song that would be on that animated Disney princess series, Sofia the First. When my sisters watched this movie with me one of them mentioned that, I was like, "She's so right", it does sound like a Sofia the First song. So, if you like Sofia the First, then you'll more than likely also like listening to this song.
Mal (aka Dove Cameron) had two of the BEST songs from the whole Descendants franchise, this obviously being one of them.💜🎶 This solo song of hers in particular, expresses the course of the story (her story) and where she has come, as well as where she hopes to be by the end of her journey. In the song, she relates herself to her parents while simultaneously coming to terms with this being her story and her life being affected by her own choices and not theirs. I LOVE how the song starts off kind of deep and dark and she even sings it in a bit of a lower register and then it picks up, and her pitch gets higher and higher and by the end, she's just belting the song out fully. In other words, the song like builds and builds just as her confidence grows stronger and stronger by the end of her knowing what she wants to do. It's just SO GREAT. I actually LOVE just belting this song out loud myself. It's quite an empowering song and when I sing or listen to it, it makes me feel determined and motivated and just makes me feel like I can do anything.
This song also has a really GREAT, relatable, and positive message about living life the way you want to and not how your parents or others might want you to, but also knowing that you can't blame other people when your life story doesn't go as you planned it to. As I LOVE when she sings the part of the song that goes, "This is not your father's fairytale / And no, it's not your mother's fault you fail / So when your story comes to light / Make sure the story that they write...". I also LOVE the part of the song when she sings, "Life is not a storybook, but life unfolds in chapters / Turn the page and start to make amends / There's no pre-written guarantee of "Happy Ever After" / Step into your greatness before your story ends / So when your story ends..." which is a great message in and of itself about knowing that life is not perfect, taking life day by day, and knowing that it's not guaranteed that life will go just as you plan, as well as knowing that life is short so step into your greatness before it's too late. Another line of the song that I LOVE is when she sings, "You cannot build a castle on a mountain made of sand".🏰
This song also gives a message about the importance of taking personal responsibility for your own actions. Like I mentioned before, during this song/scene Mal is just coming to terms with the wrongful actions she did throughout the movie, as her friends are literally turned to stone which leads her to sing this song, and she takes personal responsibility for her actions rather than blaming her upbringing, as she even asserts that she will take charge of her narrative to change her story. Which is also just a GREAT and POWERFUL message in and of itself. Again, there are just SO MANY great, uplifting messages one can take away from listening to this song. At least, those are just some of the ones that I did when listening to this song once again for this post. Throughout this song/scene, we are literally seeing her have this internal struggle to realize her positive potential, which is also just so relatable. Something about the sound of this song also just evokes that sense of NOSTALGIA, which you know I also just LOVE.
Even though this song is more of a Broadway-style ballad, and I'm not the biggest Broadway fan, I still do LOVE this song A LOT. Hence, as to why it's even this high up on the ranking. The only reason why this song doesn't rank even higher is because it's still quite new to me, and the others that I will be mentioning are songs that I have always loved since they first came out and I first heard them. Plus, just when compared to this one, the next ones are better in other ways. But, again, this is such an UNDERRRATED song from the Descendants franchise and one that I would recommend anyone to listen to.💜💙👑🐉🔥⭐
#7 "Did I Mention" by Mitchell Hope & Jeff Lewis from Descendants (2015)
Okay, so I'm gonna try not to mess up and type the word "Ridiculous" when mentioning the title of this song because I always seem to do that whenever I talk about this song to someone for some reason. In other words, I always seem to refer to the title of this song as being "Ridiculous" not "Did I Mention". I mean, the word "ridiculous" is said so many times throughout this song, that me getting the title of it wrong is a classic, reasonable mix-up.😊Anyways, back to the actual title of this song, "Did I Mention"...
This song is what I believe to be, another VERY UNDERRATED song from not only the first Descendants movie but from the whole Descendants franchise. Okay, well, I don't really know what a lot of people say about this song, but I never see it talked about anywhere so I'm just assuming it's not talked about enough. I mean, I get it. Lyrically, this song isn't the most amazing, but that doesn't make it any less GREAT. To me, this song is just very, very FUN to sing along to. And it's great because you don't need the scene in order to like or understand this song. In other words, it's one of those songs that stands alone from the movie pretty well. Although, the scene itself is pretty GREAT and so, SO FUNNY.
As this song is sung by Ben, with some chants and callbacks from all the other students of Auradon, after the big Tourney (Auradon's favorite sport, which is a cross between lacrosse🥍, soccer ⚽, hurling, and football🏈) game win against the Sherwood Falcons. Right as the sports announcer is congratulating the Fighting Knights (Auradon's team), Ben takes the mic and gets the crowd to chant Mal's name.👦👧💙💜🎤 So, this song is all about Ben declaring his LOVE for Mal, which is very cute and sweet.💜💙 Even though he does it while under Mal's spell. but from seeing their (Ben and Mal's) very first interaction with one another and all the stuff after that from this movie, and the two movies after this one, we know he really always LOVED her. And, I did kind of feel bad for Audrey in this scene at first, but she does move on fast herself after Ben sings this song to Mal. So, you know, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.😂😊🦆
That isn't the only scene that this song is sung during, though. As this is one of those songs that had a short reprise during another scene, which was in the third Descendants movie. Yes, in Descendants 3, Ben sings a shorter version of "Did I Mention" when he proposes to Mal, therefore also confirming that he seems to have remembered still singing the song the first time even when he was under that spell in the first movie.👦👧💙💜💍 Which is also just such a GREAT, CUTE, SWEET, and quite EMOTIONAL scene. I LOVE full-circle moments like that one. According to my research, this is also the song that Ben and Mal were originally supposed to have a duet to in the first Descendants movie, but unfortunately, it was cut from the film.👎😞Also, according to sources, despite Mitchell Hope being credited, Ben's singing voice in the first Descendants movie was actually Jeff Lewis's. However, Mitchell Hope did sing all the songs in the second and third movies that his character (Ben) was a part of.💙👦🎤
This song really hits hard right from the very beginning. I LOVE the beat, the clapping, the heys from the audience. I also LOVE the added band elements.🎺🥁🎤 Every time I listen to this song, it instantly gets my feet stomping, my hands clapping, and my body moving.😊👏💃 When it comes to the scene itself, I also LOVE the dancing (Carlos aka Cameron Boyce was killing it in this number as he did with all the musical numbers in these movies💓👏), and every time it shows the horse mascot and Ben (aka Mitchell Hope) riding on the horse, HILARIOUS.👦👑🐎 The scene with this song in the movie is just so full of energy and all that same energy comes through when even just listening to this song by itself. Overall, this is just a feel-good, sweet song all about loving someone and expressing that LOVE for them. It's fun to dance and sing along to and it never fails to make me smile and laugh. Truly never gets old.💙💛👦👑🐎🥍
Also, ever since I first saw this scene and heard this song in the movie when it premiered on Disney Channel in 2015, it always gave me Hocus Pocus vibes. Especially, the more talking part at the very beginning and the part of the song when Ben is singing one thing and the audience chants it back to him. It totally reminds me of that one scene in Hocus Pocus when the Sanderson sisters sing "I Put A Spell On You". Does anyone else get Hocus Pocus vibes from this song, too? No? Just me? Okay. I mean, it does make sense considering Kenny Ortega directed Hocus Pocus and Descendants. Well, if you can't see it, I did make a comparison video of the two songs below. So let me know what you think about the two? Are they similar in any way?
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#6 "Space Between" by Sofia Carson & Dove Cameron from Descendants 2 (2017)
This is actually another song that I NEVER thought would be this high up on this ranking. 'Cause it's never been a favorite of mine, until now, clearly. In fact, if you would have asked me about this song before I re-listened to it for this post, I would have said that this was one of my least favorite songs from not only Descendants 2 but from the whole Descendants franchise. However, again, I've clearly changed my mind on that.
I've changed my mind about this song, and actually really like it now, all because of after creating this post and having to re-listen to all the songs at one time, this song actually has a lot more going for it. First of all, it's one of the few more positive, not evil types of songs from the Descendants movies. It's also one of the most emotional and relatable songs. And it's the only Evie (Sofia Carson) and Mal (Dove Cameron) duet we get from all three of the Descendants movies.💜💙So, it's very special and unique in that way. I also just LOVE the sweet and relatable message of this song. It's a true friendship song, which is just GREAT, and few and far between when it comes to the Descendants movies.
This song is sung after Mal returns to the Isle of the Lost and her friends (Carlos, Evie, Jay, and Ben) follow her trying to convince her to come back to Auradon. During that process, Ben gets taken by a couple of Uma's crew members (Harry Hook and Gil). So when preparing for Ben's rescue, Mal and Evie return to their old hideout. They break out into this song with Evie questioning Mal about why she tried to keep her real feelings bottled up inside; while Mal explains that she didn't want to disappoint Evie since she really loves living in Auradon. They proceed to sing about their friendship, reflecting on how even if Mal chooses to stay behind on the Isle of the Lost, the two of them will still be connected by their hearts. In the end, the Core Four friends (Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay) with the help of Lonnie go rescue Ben, and Mal joins her friends in returning to Auradon showing that telling (well, in this case, singing about) how she felt helped her out. A great and important message about not hiding the truth and not being afraid to tell others how you feel.
For some reason, while re-listening to this song for this post, it really got me all in my feels. It made me quite emotional every time I played it.😢All because, again, it talks about two people who were once really close and them now feeling distant from each other, but them telling each other that they'll always be there for each other and in each other's hearts because they are a part of each other. I have two sisters so I just think of them anytime I hear this song. I mean, we are very close, but we've also gotten older and things do change as Evie and Mal also sing about in this song. In some seasons of your life, you might be really close to your sisters and hang out all the time, and during other seasons of your life things could be completely different. I know I've experienced both of those things at one time or another, as I'm sure a lot of siblings have. But, that can even go for just any kind of relationship, not just sibling or friend relationships. So, this song is very relatable, thought-provoking, and quite deep.
It's not all sad and emotional, though. It's very uplifting, too, as the song also talks about the importance of listening to your heart and being proud of all your scars and who you are. I also LOVE the message about knowing that even though we have to grow and change nothing else ever really has to unless you want it to. Again, just so many deep, emotional, relatable, and important messages one can take away from this song when listening to it. Like I've mentioned before, I LOVE a great ballad and this is just that. But it's also a girl-power, sister-ship, friendship sort of anthem, which I also just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. The only reason I didn't rank this song higher is because it is more on the sad, emotional side and therefore it's not a song I would rather listen to all the time compared to all the songs that I will be mentioning next.💙💜👧👧
#5 "You and Me" by Cameron Boyce, Sofia Carson, Dove Cameron, Booboo Stewart, Mitchell Hope, & Jeff Lewis from Descendants 2 (2017)
This is a song from the Descendants franchise that I knew would rank pretty high, but not this high on the ranking. So, I'm a little surprised that this song is in my Top 5 FAVORITES, but it deserves to be, because it's a GREAT song. However, I will admit, that this is another song that I had to warm up to a little bit. In other words, I didn't always LOVE this song from Descendants 2, but like I've said about a few of the songs from these movies, I have certainly found a new LOVE and APPRECIATION for it now.💓💙💛💜
It is just ONE of the THREE WONDERFUL and UNFORGETTABLE grand finale ending songs/scenes from the Descendants franchise. It's also, of course, one of the few songs/scenes that involves the whole cast of Descendants. As this song is sung in the movie after Mal breaks the love spell that Uma put on Ben with true love's first kiss, and after Mal has learned that she isn't an Auradon girl or just a girl from the Isle of the Lost; she's both. And with the love between them stronger than ever, Mal and Ben start singing this song about always being who you are at heart and not trying to be someone that you're not.💙💜💋 All the guests at the Cotillion join in and everyone sings and dances the night away on the wet deck of the yacht.🌊🛥 Which, the whole dancing in the water is also just what makes that scene in the movie so much FUN, ENJOYABLE, and INTERESTING to watch. I mean, apart from the song, it's the only reason why I really LOVE the scene itself. And, kind of off-topic, but anytime I see a show or movie scene with characters dancing or singing in water it just instantly reminds me of that ending scene in Step Up 2: The Streets. Anyone else?🌊🕺💃
Back to this song, though. Again, I just LOVE the part of this song when Mal and Ben sing, "Sometimes it's hard to find yourself / But it's worth it in the end / 'Cause in your heart it's where it all begins". I also just LOVE the fact that we did get a little bit of a duet with them (Mal and Ben) at the very beginning of this song as they sing the first three verses of the song just them two together.💙💛💜 Also, as I mentioned before, I LOVE that message about being who you are and not trying to be someone you're not, but besides that self-discovery and personal growth message, this song is also all about the power of unity and coming together to make a positive impact on the world, which you can absolutely feel by not only watching the scene with this song in the movie but also just by listening to this song by itself. This song also gives the BEST message about being bold, brave, and free and inspiring others to do the same, which I also just LOVE. It also talks about believing in yourself, which is another GREAT, POWERFUL, RELATABLE, and IMPORTANT message. Besides the many great messages of this song and the water yacht scene itself, I just always LOVE the songs when the whole cast is in it together and those are the reasons why this song deserves to be in the Top 5. This song is POWERFUL, CELEBRATORY, INSPIRATIONAL, EMOTIONAL, THOUGHT-PROVOKING, ENCOURAGING, just all the things. Another song that also never gets old.💓💜💛💙
#4 "Set It Off" by Cameron Boyce, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, Mitchell Hope, Sarah Jeffery, & Jeff Lewis from Descendants (2015)
Of all the group songs/performances/scenes, this one has always been and will forever be my MOST FAVORITE. And a lot of that is just simply because of NOSTALGIC reasons, because like I mentioned before, the first Descendants movie holds a very special place in my heart. And even though I go back and forth between the first and second movies on which one I think is the BEST overall from the whole Descendants franchise, it's a no-brainer that this grand finale song from the first Descendants movie is better than the previous song I mentioned from Descendants 2.
In fact, this is not only one of the BEST and one of my MOST FAVORITE songs from the first Descendants movie, but it's also one of the top BEST songs from the Descendants franchise as a whole. Hence, why it's here at #4 on this ranking. As you can also clearly see, it's my MOST FAVORITE grand finale performance from all three of the Descendants movies. I mean, seriously, how could it not be? This musical number is SO FUN, BRIGHT, COLORFUL, CELEBRATORY, full of HAPPINESS, just all the things. And I'm not just talking about the scene itself. The song literally gives off all those vibes just by listening to it. In other words, you can feel the JOY and EXCITEMENT coming from the vocals and music of this song. Watching the scene just makes the song even that better.
Like I mentioned before, this is the grand finale, closing song from the first movie and it is sung by Mal, Carlos, Evie, Jay, Ben, and all the rest of the students of Auradon Prep at the post-coronation party. The song actually mirrors the opening song of Descendants, "Rotten to the Core", given that the villains are looking out to the school from the island and the VKs have now allied with good.🍎The VKs, Ben, and all the students of Auradon Prep are dancing and singing together to party and celebrate Ben being crowned the new King of Auradon and Mal turning her once fearful mother (Maleficent) into a small gecko.💜❤🦎 And at the very end of this musical performance in the movie, comes a very ICONIC moment in Descendants and DCOM history, as after Ben and Mal eventually make it up to the balcony to watch everyone else dance and have fun, there is a breaking of the fourth wall moment. As Mal turns to face the camera directly, to us the viewers, and tells the audience (us) that "the story isn't over yet". Hinting that there was more to come, which came in the form of a sequel.👏Obviously, that breaking of the fourth wall moment is only seen and heard in the movie, not the song itself, but it's a part of this ICONIC scene so I just had to mention it. Plus, it's not only one of my FAVORITE parts from this whole movie, but it is also just one of the BEST endings to a DCOM EVER.💜💛💙👀
This song is literally performed by the full cast of the first Descendants movie, only excluding the parents of the VKs, Coach Jenkins and Mr. Deley. So, the older actors. Another thing I just LOVE about this song, besides the FUN, dance beat and the fact that it includes the full cast, is the UPLIFTING, HAPPY, RELATABLE, POSITIVE message of the song. There are actually a few great messages one can take away from listening to this song and even from just watching the scene, but the main one is all about the importance of knowing that even though everyone is different we can all come together and get along. As Mal sings in the song, "Break the spell, we were born this way / Be yourself, forget the DNA, / Everybody raise your hands and say / (Ohay, Ohay Hey!)", which has always been some of my most favorite lyrics from this song and just a stand-out verse. I, of course, LOVE the chorus of this song. I also LOVE every time they chant "Ohay, Ohay Hey!", and I really LOVE Carlos and Jay's singing/rap part in this song when they say, "It's time to set this thing off, / Let's make it happen now / I'll make my own future, ignore the rumors, / Show 'em my passion sound / They all told me I should back down / Judgin' me 'cause of my background / Thinking 'bout changing my path now / I ain't goin' out like that now". That's just a whole vibe in and of itself.💓💛🕺🕺
All in all, this song is just a NOSTALGIC, feel-good, uplifting anthem that encourages listeners to be confident in themselves, to embrace their individuality, take control of their own destiny, overcome obstacles, defy societal norms, be proactive in initiating positive change in their own life and in the world around them, among many other things. But, it's also just a GREAT party song. It's fun to dance and sing along to, and it's very catchy. Once you listen to it, you just can't stop singing the lyrics over and over in your head. At least, I can't.💓💜💛💙💃🕺🌎
#3 "It's Going Down" by Dove Cameron, China Anne McClain, Cameron Boyce, Sofia Carson, Mitchell Hope, Dylan Playfair, Thomas Doherty, & Booboo Stewart from Descendants 2 (2017)
This was one of the songs from the Descendants franchise for which I knew from the very beginning, before even doing this, that it would be in my Top 3. And I never changed my mind once about it. In other words, this song and the next two that I will be mentioning were ranked in their positions and never changed. They were solid, clear decisions from the start. This song is just ONE of the THREE MOST ICONIC and truly UNFORGETTABLE songs from the Descendants franchise for so many reasons, which I'll get into.
First of all, this song is one of the few songs from all three of the Descendants movies performed by the Core Four VKs and Ben, with Uma, Harry Hook, and Gil. It is sung during the big fight scene between the VKs and their crew and Uma and her pirate crew. In the song, Uma is stating clearly that she is in charge and if she doesn't get the wand Ben is...well, as the song suggests, going down. On the other hand, throughout the song, Mal is telling Uma that unless she gives the King (Ben) back, Uma won't be given the wand. So, Mal and Uma basically just go back and forth taking shots at each other while ignoring Ben's pleas for peace. SPOILER ALERT: In the end, Uma does give Ben back but the VKs give Uma a fake wand which, after Uma realizes this, chaos ensues. As it causes a full-on sword fight with this song still playing in the background as they continue to duel. When the VKs end up winning the long battle and therefore save Ben, Uma is left to furiously reprise her song "What's My Name" as she demands her pirate crew once again to say her name. So, we kind of get two GREAT songs in one with this big musical number.👏
This is not only one of the longest battle scenes in the history of DCOM musical battle scenes, but the song itself is also one of the longest songs from all three of the Descendants movies. Which I LOVE, because the longer the better, right?. Although, I know some people think this song/scene goes on for far too long, but I LOVE it. In fact, I wish it went on even longer because that's how much I love this song/scene from the movie. In fact, every time this song/scene ends I just want to start it back over and watch and listen to it again and again, because I can never get enough of it. Yes, it's that GOOD. This has always been a stand-out song to me since I first watched this movie when it premiered on Disney Channel in 2017. Even though I wasn't the biggest fan of the whole movie itself at first, this song/scene was one of the things that I did always like about it.
This song is very UNIQUE and quite special when compared to all the other songs that I've mentioned already because it's the only rap battle song. As you heard in some of the songs I mentioned before this one, some of those had some small rapping parts in them, but this song is like full-on rap the majority of the time. There are a lot of counter melodies and chants going on in this song and mostly talk-singing back and forth between Mal and Uma. Fun fact, when researching a little bit about this song, I read somewhere that this song was actually at first never in the script and that the scene was just supposed to be all dialogue but the director (Kenny Ortega) and Steven Vincent (Disney Channel's VP of music and soundtracks) had this "ambitious idea to create what ended up being this big musical moment that has influences from hip-hop, Hamilton, and West Side Story." So, it makes even more sense why this song/scene is the way it is and why it stands out from all the rest in the BEST way possible of course.
This song hits hard right from the very beginning. It's so enticing, infectious, and just a FUN, upbeat, catchy song. It truly NEVER GETS OLD. I not only LOVE the beat of this song for the fact that it is a dance-pop, hip-hop style song, with mostly rap-singing, but I also LOVE the part of this song when Ben has a little solo moment and the song becomes even more serious and slowed down. But again, just the large ensemble carrying the vocals and the action-packed fight choreography makes this musical number prove to be one of the BEST and MOST MEMORABLE. However, you don't even need the scene to enjoy this song for what it is. It stands just as well all on its own.💓💙💛💜💚
#2 "Chillin' Like A Villain" by Sofia Carson, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart, & Mitchell Hope from Descendants 2 (2017)
Now this, THIS SONG, is just...AHHHH...I just LOVE this song SO MUCH! Honestly, it's kind of sad that I had to rank this song second on this list because I really do LOVE it A LOT, but the next and final song that I will be mentioning takes the cake for the BEST song from the Descendants franchise for other GREAT reasons. However, having said that, this song is still just as WONDERFUL as the next, and even though it's second on this ranking that doesn't take away from how GREAT this song truly is. In fact, it comes a very, VERY close second to my #1 FAVORITE.💙
This song is sung by Evie (aka Sofia Carson), Carlos (aka Cameron Boyce), Jay (aka Booboo Stewart), and Ben (aka Mitchell Hope) in the movie, which is FUN and UNIQUE in and of itself just for that reason alone, because it's an interesting group of characters and the only time we see these characters sing a song together just the four of them.💓💙💛 Although, I will say, that I've always seen this song as more of an Evie (aka Sofia Carson) solo song, even though Carlos, Jay, and Ben do have their solo moments in this song, too, which doesn't go unnoticed, but Evie (aka Sofia Carson) does take kind of that lead role in this song and in this scene from the movie. I mean, she does sing a majority of the song, so it makes sense why I would think that. However, like I've mentioned before, Carlos's (Cameron Boyce's) dance moves are fire in this musical number.💓🕺I mean, they are all doing the same dance moves during this musical number, but your eyes just instantly go to Carlos because he is the BEST dancer of the group.💓 Speaking of the dancing, you don't just have to watch this scene in the movie to get those CHILL dance vibes, as just by listening to the song itself you get all those same vibes and know that this is just a GREAT dance song.💙💃🕺
This song is sung after the VKs (with the exception of Mal) have brought Ben to the Isle of the Lost in order to bring Mal back home to Auradon.💜Well, try to convince her to come back to Auradon.💓💜💛💙 Evie, Carlos, and Jay know that Ben's kind and friendly behavior will draw suspicion and attention that they don't need on the Isle. So, seeing that he (Ben) needs to learn their wicked ways, they (Evie, Carlos, and Jay) break into song with tips on how to be bad. Throughout the song, Ben tries to follow their example but makes several mistakes. But by the end, he is able to pit-pocket all three of them and he thanks them for their help, as he has successfully learned the art of chillin' like a villain. As you can tell, this is just such an INTERESTING, FUN, and UNIQUE concept for a song and scene like this one. Not only does Ben learn by the end of this song the art of chillin' like a villain, but listeners of the song do, too.
I not only LOVE the characters that are a part of this song/scene and the whole concept of the VKs teaching Ben how to be like them but, as I briefly mentioned before, I also just LOVE the dancing during this musical number in the movie. Something you don't get to see obviously just by listening to the song itself, but every time I listen to this song I do picture the characters doing all the dance moves they do to this song in the movie. They're just that MEMORABLE and ICONIC and CONTAGIOUS, because also every time I listen to this song or watch this scene from the movie, I instantly just want to start dancing along with them. However, I still need to learn the dance moves from this musical number because I so badly want to.
This song/scene is just close to perfect. There's nothing I don't LOVE about this song and scene in the movie. It gets me hyped from the very beginning every time I turn it on. It never gets old. Once, I hear this song, I just want to keep hearing it. In fact, every time this song/scene in the movie is over, I get kind of sad because I just want it to go on FOREVER. And even though the lyrics are about trying to teach someone how to be bad, how to act like a villain, it's really not like those other evil, villain songs from these movies that I mentioned before and ranked low. 'Cause if you've seen the movie you understand that it's just not that bad of a song just because it's talking about how to be bad; as just like they are teaching Ben how to act bad, this song is just like an act about being bad, because at this moment in the movie, none of the characters singing it are bad themselves. In other words, this song is really just all an ACT about how to be bad, which makes it not actually bad. Okay, I hope that makes sense.🤣 I'm just really trying to justify why this song is not as evil as it seems because if it were I wouldn't LOVE it as much as I do.😊💓
All in all, this is not only one of the BEST songs from all three of the Descendants movies, but as you can see, this is also THE BEST and my MOST FAVORITE song from Descendants 2. And even the Christmas version of this song, "Chillin' Like A Snowman", is a BANGER.💙⛄❆ In fact, a little random funny thing, sometimes when this song just pops up in my head and I start singing it, every time it gets to the chorus for some reason I always start singing the chorus of the Christmas version "Chillin' Like A Snowman". Lol, honest mistake. 🤣 But both are just such GREAT songs that I get them mixed up for good reason.😊💙💛💓⛄🎄
#1 "If Only" by Dove Cameron from Descendants (2015)
Okay, now, this is THE BEST and my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE song from not only the first Descendants movie from the whole Descendants franchise. I mean, I really shouldn't even have to explain why this song is my FAVORITE, but I will anyway just for those of you who don't know this song as well as I do.😊
Like I mentioned before, this was my #1 choice for BEST song from Descendants, since the very beginning before ever even deciding to create this post. Although, like I've also mentioned before, surprisingly this wasn't always my favorite song from Descendants let alone from all three of the Descendants movies. 'Cause my favorite song from the first Descendants used to be "Rotten to the Core".💓💜💛💙🍎 However, I did always enjoy listening to this song whenever I first watched the movie and I knew it felt more special than all the others, but I just LIKED it back then, I didn't LOVE it. And I especially didn't LOVE it as much as I certainly do now. So, like with a few of the songs from these movies, I have definitely found a new LOVE and APPRECIATION for this song. Even for the scene itself in the movie. In fact, the scene with this song in the movie, just like the song itself, is not only one of the BEST scenes from all three of the Descendants movies, but it's literally the BEST scene from the first Descendants. Well, scratch it being just ONE of the BEST scenes from all three of the Descendants movies, it is THE BEST scene ever from all the movies. Yep, I said what I said. And it's not just because of the song, because the song without the scene is GREAT, and the parts of the scene without the song are just as AMAZING. If the scene didn't even have the song in it, it would still be the BEST scene of all the movies just because of the whole setting and aesthetic of it all.
Speaking of the scene, this song is featured in the movie when Mal is on a date with Prince Ben, with whom she put a love spell on.👎She originally put the spell on Ben so she could steal the Fairy Godmother's wand like her mother (Maleficent) wanted.😞 However, she starts to enjoy spending so much time with Ben, but she can't tell if she is in love because she has never felt love before. So, in other words, lyrically the song talks about an internal conflict one is having over a love interest. There are also flashbacks of her and Ben during the song (which are always a PLUS), and that specific scene, that shows Ben did in fact have an instant attraction to her before she spelled him.👏💙💜 However, the scenes with this song don't stop there, as this song was featured not once, but TWO other times throughout the course of the first two Descendants movies.👏🎶
A reprise of the song was sung by Mal (Dove Cameron) in the same movie that that first scene was in (the first Descendants), during the scene when Mal is mixing together a batch of anti-love cookies to break her spell over Ben. 🍪👦👧💙💜A second reprise of the song was shot for Descendants 2, with Mal singing the song after having her heart-to-heart with the other VKs (Evie, Carlos, & Jay), and her then contemplating returning to the Isle of the Lost or staying in Auradon with her friends and Ben. But that version was cut from the film and became a deleted scene.👎😞 Which, I think they should have definitely kept that moment in, but watch the clips below and tell me what you think? Should they have kept the reprise of "If Only" in the final cut of Descendants 2? 👍 or 👎
Also, a little fun fact that I just learned myself while researching a little bit more about this song, did you know that if you listen closely to the end of this song (from the first Descendants, the full scene version) you can hear the faint voice of Ben joining in towards the end of the song?🤯Do, you think this should have been a Mal and Ben duet or do you like it just being Mal singing this song?👍 or 👎 I like that this is just Mal singing the song, but now I do wonder what it could have sounded like if Ben and Mal sang this as a duet.💜💙Anyone else?
Back to the song that made it into the movie...As you can clearly tell, I just really LOVE EVERYTHING about this song. But, the whole reason why I chose to rank this song the highest is because, not only is it a mix of bubblegum pop and a WONDERFUL ballad, with just some multi-tracked harmonies and some slow piano/keyboard instrumentation🎶🎹🎤, but every time I listen to this song it never fails to make me think and feel something so deep. It literally pulls at my heartstrings every time, in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY. This is not only the BEST song from the Descendants franchise to belt out and sing aloud, but it's also just so very NOSTALGIC and MAGICAL feeling. In other words, this song (and scene) from the movie gives off the most, magical, princess, fairytale vibes while also just being real, raw, relatable, and deep. It's one of the more emotional songs, but it also gives off a WARM, HAPPY, and MAGICAL feeling while listening to it, as well. If you've been in LOVE or even if you have never been in LOVE, you can relate to this song either way. It's a GREAT LOVE song, and just an AMAZING song in general. It never gets old and is truly just the BEST for all the reasons I mentioned above and many more that I'm sure you'll understand once you re-listen to this song below.💜💛💙👦👧👑🎶🎤🎹
Well, that concludes A Definitive Ranking of Every Song from the Descendants Franchise and my FIRST and ONLY Chilloween/Halloween post of 2023!!! Yeah, I know, BOOOO.👎😞👻 Sorry, for not posting as much this month, but I will try to do some more Chilloween/Halloween posts next year. This post was just sort of very last minute. In other words, I did not plan on posting this Descendants song ranking in October of this year but it just sort of happened that way and I'm actually so glad that it did because I think it fit perfectly for this time of year. And, like I mentioned before, I had watched these movies quite A LOT this year, so it just made perfect sense to post this now. Plus, I just had SO MUCH fun listening to these songs again, ranking them, and just creating this post for you guys, and I hope you had just as much fun reading this post and listening to these songs as I did. I will say, though, that ranking all of these songs was A LOT harder than I initially thought it would be, because there are so many great songs from these movies and they are all SO DIFFERENT but I'm happy with where I ranked these songs (at least, as of now).😊Let me know in the comments below what you think of my ranking, what your favorite song from the Descendants franchise is, or which Descendants movie do you think had the better songs, and come Back to Disney soon for more!💜💙💗💛🎃🎶🎤🎸🎹 HAPPY CHILLOWEEN/HALLOWEEN!!!🧡🖤🎃✌
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