Get your pink outfits in order because the Mean Girls musical movieis officially a week away from hitting theaters. This anticipated project on the 2024 movie schedule will combine aspects of the original hit movie with songs and scenes from the Tony-nominated stage musical of the same name. However, the tracklist for the film is shorter than the Broadway show’s, and fans aren’t thrilled about it.
To celebrate Mean Girls Wednesday, Interscope Records revealed the official soundtrack for the movie. The album, which will be released on January 12, features 13 songs, including a track with Megan Thee Stallion. Unfortunately, diehard fans of the musical are disappointed that several original songs appear to be missing from the soundtrack and the movie.
On Wednesdays, we reveal the @MeanGirls original soundtrack tracklist 💖 The film and soundtrack are out next Friday, 1/12! pic.twitter.com/J9uvYDPUUHJanuary 3, 2024
To put it into perspective, the official Broadway cast recording of Mean Girls features 21 songs, but the movie soundtrack only features 13. It is worth noting that two songs were written specifically for the movie (“What Ifs” and “Not My Fault” which features Megan Thee Stallion). However, that hasn’t stopped fans, like X user @abby_grace76, from mourning the loss of “It Roars,” “Fearless” and the other six songs that were cut.
In addition to missing songs, fans are also worried that iconic musical moments will be cut from the movie. For example, Reneé Rapp is the only person from the Mean Girls cast credited on the “Meet The Plastics” song despite the musical featuring parts for fellow Plastics Gretchen and Karen as well as Janis, Damian, and Cady. Upon making the discovery, @fakeyoubrooke21 wrote:
Fans expecting to see a scene-by-scene adaptation of the Broadway hit will also be disappointed to learn that Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney) will not be singing in the movie. This was confirmed back in December when Briney sat down with Entertainment Weeklyto discuss how he almost didn’t audition for the role because it required singing at first.
The lack of singing from a main character is an interesting choice, especially since the song “Someone Gets Hurt” traditionally features both Regina and Aaron. However, it won’t be the first time Rapp has to work with an Aaron who doesn’t sing. @mysticeras reminds us of the awkward musical mishap, tweeting:
It’s unclear what version of “Someone Gets Hurt” will be featured in the movie, since the musical also features a reprise that is sung solely by Rapp. Perhaps, that’s the version fans will be greeted with when the movie hits theaters on January 12.
It’s not all bad news though, as several fan-favorite songs did make the cut for the movie. Many members of the talented cast will get their moment to shine including Auli’i Cravalho’s Janis, who takes the lead on three songs. @FIERSCORP speaks for many of us when she tweeted:
Unfortunately, fans will have to wait another week before they can hear anyone other than Rapp sing the iconic Mean Girls songs since the latest trailer still doesn’t feature a clip of a musical moment beyond a small dance break. Just like Wonka, Hollywood refused to market The Plastics in all their musical glory.
Make sure you head to your local movie theater website to secure your tickets for Mean Girls. In the meantime, you can stream the original movie with a Paramount+ subscription and listen to the Broadway cast album (to hear what we will and won’t be getting in the movie) wherever you get your music.