Lakeshore Records has released DEAR DUMB DIARY - Original Television Soundtrack digitally and it will be available on CD October 1, 2013. Emily Alyn Lind enrolls in Mackerel Middle School to portray Jamie Kelly - the diary keeper of Jim Benton's beloved books-turned-Hallmark Channel movie. Lind performs seven original songs for the soundtrack including, "Dear Dumb Diary," "My Awesomeness is Awesome," and "Dear Future Jamie," a cover of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi," and the new single, "Same Girl." The album also features a Karaoke mix of the title track.
"We made it a musical!" said director
Kristin Hanggi. "My core background is musical theater, and part of the [executive producers Janet and Jerry] Zucker's concept is that every time Jamie writes in her diary, it becomes a musical number."
The filmmakers collaborated with several Grammy nominated and platinum-selling songwriters and producers to create music that pops out of the pages of Jamie's diary. .Award-winning music supervisors Bonnie Greenberg and Christy Gerhart tapped some of the top working songwriters and producers to execute the collective vision. "Dear Dumb Diary" and "May the Dumb Be With You" were penned and produced by Rick Chertoff -- a five-time Grammy-nominated producer responsible for such hits as
Joan Osborne's "One of Us",
Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Time After Time" and Sophie
B. Hawkins' "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover." These songs along with "My Awesomeness is Awesome," "Just a Number," "Meatloaf Mystery" (perfomed by award winning actress and Warner Recording artist
Lea DeLaria) and "Perfect People of the World" transport us into Jamie's imagination where we see everything through her artistic eyes and anything can happen.
Leah Andreone performs on the 80s flashback song "Love is Everything." Together with her partner Kevin Fisher, they have earned gold and platinum records and Top 40 hits with multi-platinum selling artists such as
Rascal Flatts, Sara Evans, Leah Andreone,
Uncle Kracker, and others. Their songs have appeared on television in shows including True Blood, So You Think You Can Dance, Nashville, and Pretty Little Liars.
Jamie (Emily Alyn Lind) marches to the beat of her own music video. As an artistic and energetic glitter-loving diva in the making, the 11-year-old's vivid daydreams about how life should be are often played out as full-blown musical productions. In her mind, Hudson Rivers (David Mazouz), the eighth cutest boy in Mackerel Middle School, returns her affections and Angeline (Sterling Griffith), the prettiest and most popular girl in school, and other perfect people like her, are banished so that average folk get their due. Real life, however, is somewhat different and, as a result, Jamie pours out her innermost thoughts in her cherished diary and shares some of her feelings with her beloved Aunt Carol (
Laura Bell Bundy) as well as her shrewd best friend Isabella (Mary-
Charles Jones), who may not be the best influence on her.
When Mackerel Middle School's arts program is threatened because of budget cuts, Assistant Principal Devon (
James Waterston) announces the district's first-ever Jump-a-thon fundraiser. Jamie sees her winning participation as an opportunity to not only save the arts program, but to impress Hudson, and by beating Angeline, bring justice to ordinary people of the world. At the same time, she becomes the unwitting participant in one of Isabella's schemes and her diary goes missing. As the story progresses, Jamie recognizes the importance of doing the right thing, learns not to judge by appearances and puts aside personal feelings for the greater good. She also discovers her own sparkling inner beauty, which was there all along. Does Jamie's beloved diary land in the wrong hands, or is she able to get her prized possession back unscathed?
"When we sing in musicals it's because our emotions have gotten so big, we must sing - and that's exactly why we write in our diary," said Hanggi. "These allowed for the musical numbers to be larger-than-life, over-the-top, flights of fancy. Jamie goes anywhere in her imagination! We had so much fun conceiving the numbers and developing the songs. We began to see Jamie's world take shape through the BIGNESS of her musical world, and the contrast of her everyday life."
Track Listing:
01. Dear Dumb Diary - Emily Alyn Lind
02. Same Girl - Emily Alyn Lind
03. Just a Number - Emily Alyn Lind
04. My Awesomeness Is Awesome - Emily Alyn Lind
05. May the Dumb Be With You - Emily Alyn Lind
06. Dear Future Jamie - Emily Alyn Lind
07. Meatloaf Mystery -
Lea DeLaria
08. Perfect People of the World - Emily Alyn Lind
09. Paparazzi - Emily Alyn Lind
10. Love Is Everything - Leah Andreone
11. Score Suite for Dear Dumb Diary - Steven Argila
12. Dear Dumb Diary (Karaoke Mix) - Emily Alyn Lind
The DEAR DUMB DIARY - Original Television Soundtrack is available digitally now and will be on CD October 1, 2013.
