Every Camp Rock Song, Ranked By How Feral It Made Us In 2008
I need you all to remember the song that actually won the Final Jam, because... what?
Some of my fondest memories in high school involved inviting my friends over to my parents’ basement on a Friday night when Disney Channel was premiering a new movie. That iconic “Let’s watch a Disney Channel movie” jingle still triggers a feeling of pure childlike euphoria in my brain. As every millennial knows, the mid-2000s were peak for DCOMs, and one of the most exciting was Camp Rock. But as the franchise is being revitalized for a new generation with Camp Rock 3, I began to wonder if those 2008 songs I know by heart are actually any good, or if I’m deafened by nearly two decades of nostalgia. So, I embarked on a project.
I rewatched Camp Rock as an adult, and I can confirm that... it really does not hit the same as it did back in my parents’ basement. That’s to be expected, though. The positive side of this rewatch is that I still love so many of these songs, even a few that I forgot in the 18 years since I first heard them. But of course, there are also a lot of cringe-y numbers that I really struggled to get through this time.
Now that Camp Rock is entering its next chapter, here are the original songs that really stand the test of time, and the one’s that are best left in the past.
13. Caitlyn's Song
Yes, we all know that Caitlyn is famously “really good” thanks to the viral meme her short, frenetic keyboard performance spawned. But of course, that moment only became a meme because her song is so short, it’s impossible to tell if it’s actually good or not. In the movie, the seconds-long instrumental is interrupted by jealous villain Tess Tyler. While the viral scene is all over social media now, it’s a clear musical low point in the movie.
12. “Who Will I Be?”
Of all the Camp Rock songs, this is the one I totally and completely forgot. A big reason for that is it’s not actually performed by a character, but instead used as background in the very first scene as Mitchie plays dress-up in her (randomly massive) bedroom. And I’m fine forgetting it once again — “Who Will I Be?” feels like it was written as a generic jingle to introduce any dime-a-dozen Disney character about to embark on their journey of self-discovery.
11. “Hasta La Vista”
I did remember this bizarre attempt at Latin-tinged rap, although I wish I hadn’t. “Hasta La Vista” is mainly a dance number to show off a group of side characters (their names are Barron, Sander, and Ella by the way, not that anyone in the world actually knows that). A rap song is obviously going to flail when all forms of innuendo need to be dampened for a G-rated movie — and this song gets especially childish once the group just devolves into spelling out “H-A-S-T-A” towards the end. It’s probably the cringiest performance of the whole movie — which is great news for Caitlyn!
10. “Our Time Is Here”
If you have never heard this Camp Rock bonus track, I don’t blame you at all. I only discovered it exists when making this list. “Our Time Is Now” is not in the movie, but Disney Channel did release an online featurette showing the female main cast singing it together. Still, it’s easy to see why this b-side was relegated to the sidelines. It’s a fairly bland retread of the other major hits, that can’t live up to their belting highs no matter how much Demi Lovato tries.
9. “Here I Am”
This has always felt like such a weird song to me. In any other movie, it would be positioned as the big, climactic ballad about finding your identity... but Camp Rock already has "This Is Me." Strangely, the performance by Tess' former lackey Margaret (née Peggy) is interspersed with not-very-memorable flashbacks to how she's been mistreated by Tess. Since Margaret really wasn't given a spotlight before this, it's a nice twist to see her take center stage, but also confusing since we really haven't established a connection with this character at all.
Overall, this feels like the unnecessary kid sibling of "This Is Me," and it feels really off that it’s declared the Final Jam winner — especially since the prize is a duet with Shane Gray... who literally just jumped on stage to sing with Mitchie because he was so inspired to collaborate with her. But whatever; chock it up to Disney Channel logic!
8. “2 Stars”
Oh, my beloved Tess Tyler. I really don’t think Camp Rock’s villain gets the flowers she deserves for serving Addison Rae-adjacent winking pop jams back in 2008. But there’s no denying “2 Stars” is the lesser Tess song. It’s honestly a pretty nice pop track, but the movie telegraphs that it's meant to be bad, with Tess messing up her performance when her distant pop-star mother takes a call while she's singing it. Her other song is way better anyway, so it's not a huge loss.
7. “Start The Party”
Like “Who Will I Be?,” this song isn’t fully performed in the movie. Instead, it plays on a boombox as Shane teaches the campers how to dance. And then several background characters sing it (to varying degrees of non-success) around Shane when they learn he’s trying to find a specific voice.
It has a classic JoBros sound, but it’s far below their other group performance in Camp Rock. And its repetitive chorus gets grating pretty quickly in the second time it pops up in the movie.
6. “What It Takes”
“What It Takes” is such an overlooked groove — it will still randomly get stuck in my head to this day, even if I can’t quite place where I’ve heard that catchy hook before. However, the character Lola (who basically doesn’t appear in a major capacity apart from this) performs it with a confusingly low energy, which highlights how it would be better if it wasn’t at such an awkward midtempo speed. Still, it brings me back to the Keri Hilson era of the late 2000s, so I kinda vibe with it despite its issues.
5. “Gotta Find You”
OK, now we’re entering iconic territory. The image of Shane singing to Mitchie by the lake is such a defining shot of the Camp Rock franchise, but “Gotta Find You” kind of falters because it’s used much better later in the movie. The acoustic performance is nice, if a bit silly since the realism is thrown out of the window when layered backing vocals suddenly join Shane to sing the chorus. The real reason this scene is needed is so the song can be brought back during “This Is Me” to give Shane and Mitchie the ultimate duet. If it wasn’t for that, I don’t think “Gotta Find You” would be nearly as memorable as it is.
4. “We Rock”
Every movie musical needs a big group number at the end, but following the inescapable fever around High School Musical’s “We’re All In This Together” was not an easy feat for Camp Rock. “We Rock” still manages to be a high-energy ensemble song with easy-to-learn choreo that fans still recreate on TikTok to this day. Unfortunately, “We’re All In This Together” is just better, but if that comparison didn’t exist, “We Rock” might have become the ultimate DCOM dance song.
3. “Too Cool”
This may be my most controversial placement, but I don’t care — I can’t resist a good Disney villain song! “Too Cool” is Tess’ bratty, self-indulgent anthem about how much better she is than everyone else. And you know what? Go off, queen! Upon rewatching this performance, I got annoyed with how often the camera panned to Mitchie looking upset as a background singer, clearly telling viewers that this crystalline pop banger is meant to be bad because our hero isn’t singing lead. Justice for Tess Tyler!
2. “Play My Music”
Dear reader, we have finally achieved peak Jonas Brothers! “Play My Music” is the only time the JoBros share a stage in Camp Rock as their fictional alter-ego Connect 3 (which is meant to be a band name and not a popular puzzle game with missing pieces). After seeing Joe push it alone as Shane, it’s immediately apparent how much more he thrives with his brothers by his side, tossing himself all over the stage with the most energy he’s shown in the whole movie.
The chorus is infectious, and the hand-clapping bridge breakdown is such a fun switch-up, even if it's just the same repetitive lyrics. “Play My Music” is the song that’s stuck in my head the most after my rewatch; I’m starting to feel the JoBros obsession reforming within me!
1. “This Is Me”
Duh! Was there any ever doubt about which song would be number one? “This Is Me” is so clearly leaps and bounds above every other Camp Rock song in terms of production, vocal deliver, and straight-up iconic-ness. It also gave us Lovato’s “Disney knees” meme, as well as a truly touching duet that would go on to forge one of the biggest celeb couples of the era. This is exactly where the anthemic and ageless track is supposed to be on any Camp Rock list.
