Let me take you back to your nostalgic childhood. When life was a little easier and when you didn’t have to worry about your latest situationship or your upcoming midterm. I’m talking about the era of DCOMs.
For those who didn’t grow up with Disney or just aren’ familiar with the acronym, DCOM stands for Disney Channel Original Movie. You may remember High School Musical or Camp Rock being the movies of the summer growing up. Or maybe you saw the songs popping back up on your TikTok and Instagram Reels feeds. Those are some of the many iconic DCOMs that Disney has released throughout the years.
But the real ones know the best part about those DCOMs: the amazing soundtracks that accompanied (and arguably carried) these movies. To help you relive your Disney dreams or introduce you to some of the best songs in the DCOM soundtracks, I’ve compiled a list of my five favorite DCOM songs (with some bonus songs).
1. “Introducing Me” – From Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam
Starting the list off strong, we have “Introducing Me” sung by Nick Jonas. While he’s trying to use the song to rizz up a girl from the opposing camp, Camp Star, he ends up rizzing us — the audience — up as well. It’s such a cute song, and I promise you won’t regret listening to it.
2. “One and the Same” – From Princess Protection Program
In my opinion, this is actually one of the best, if not the best, DCOMs on the list (sorry,
not sorry High School Musical fans). The two iconic leads of the film, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato, are the stars of the movie and the main vocalists of this iconic song. From car rides in Malibu to your latest workout playlist, and even just walking to your next class, this is an empowering singalong you can’t leave out of your playlist rotations.
3. “Hero (Unplugged)” – From Starstruck
From personal experience, this song hits the most when you’re burnt out at 3 a.m. and just want to take a break from life. This song comes from the era of 2010 teen boy pop singers. Think Grayson Chance, Austin Mahone, Jesse McCartney type of beat, if that rings a bell for you. This song literally always gets me in the feels; my man is singing his heart out for the leading lady and you can feel all of the jam packed emotions within this two-and-a-half-minute song.
4. “I Don’t Dance” – From High School Musical 2
Okay if you happen to be listening to this list in order of this list, this is the exact opposite of “Hero (Unplugged).” This power-packed musical number is sure to get you fired up and ready to play ball. From getting ready in the morning, to powering through that five page essay that you have due in an hour, I can guarantee that Chad and Ryan’s number will get you pumped up enough to be unstoppable.
5. “She’s so Gone” – From Lemonade Mouth
This last one is for all of my girls out there! Disney was literally so ahead of their time with this masterpiece and we’re all here for it. This song is literally the definition of female empowerment — just listening to this timeless bop lifts my spirits, self-esteem, and confidence. I promise, out of all of these songs, this is the one that you don’t want to miss.
As a girlie who has been consistently getting 100,000 minutes listened to on her Spotify Wrapped every year, this list of DCOM songs are ones that I still go back to 10+ years later. So I promise, they’re truly timeless gems in my eyes. I hope that this list stirs up some nostalgic emotions for you. Or at the very least, you got to spend a few minutes discovering some amazing songs.