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Girls just wanna dance, and it’s never been more evident than in the weeks since Prime Video’s “Off Campus” premiered. Adapted from Elle Kennedy’s novels of the same name and following a group of friends at the fictional
Briar University, Season 1 is about Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli), a young hockey hotshot and Hannah Wells (Ella Bright), a bubbly music major. It’s only fitting that someone whose life revolves around music was accompanied by a lively soundtrack on-screen. “Hannah in the book has very eclectic taste, and she’s also a music person. That was a big reason why it was important to feel the current vibe,” says Amanda Krieg Thomas, one half of the music supervisor team behind “Off Campus.” “The idea of feeling current was also to make sure she felt credible in a ‘What would a musically knowledgeable cool girl in college be listening to right now?’ way.” From Elton John to Beaches, the soundtrack captures a range of moods among its various characters, with co-music coordinator Anna Romanoff saying they specifically chose needle drops that enhanced the show’s storytelling. The soundtrack has gone viral online too, raking in TikToks with Jennifer Lopez and concert invites from The Kid Laroi. It’s been surreal for Romanoff and Krieg Thomas, who say the most they hoped for was maybe one viral moment, let alone several that have been recognized by the artists themselves.
Below, Romanoff and Krieg Thomas break down the key needle drops of “Off Campus.”
“Dancing with Myself” by Billy Idol, and the Remi Wolf Cover
“It was always a song that was meant to connect Hannah and Garrett. The song felt appropriate for Hannah and her eclectic taste, Garrett and his older classic rock vibe. We’ve worked a lot with the Billy Idol estate over the years, and they’re very supportive. The Remi cover at the very end took a bit more convincing. We had to be like, ‘It will be a cool artist, just trust us!’ We had Remi booked not long before shooting, and she sang it live on the day and killed it.”
“Girls” by The Kid Laroi
“It’s so funny that such a small part of the show — of all things — has gone viral. It’s due to Belmont’s charisma; he danced to that on set, and we weren’t really sure if it would or wouldn’t stick.
Hannah is watching this striptease and being mentally reinforced about what a fuck boy Garrett is, so she’s questioning what she wants to do. There were a lot of conversations about what that song should be. But ultimately Belmont wanted that one, and he really gave it his all.”
“Bed on Fire” by G Flip
“It’s such a long montage, and it has so many different things in it. ‘Bed on Fire’ is great lyrically and moves through the sweet and the sexy well. If we pick something that was too sexy and raunchy, it wouldn’t work against the lasagna scene or the ice rink scene. We’re both long time fans of G Flip, and we sent the whole album to Louisa [Levy, showrunner] and everyone was bopping around to it. And now people are going back to that album that came out in the fall, and really rediscovering it, which is so special.”
“Sue Me” by Audrey Hobert
“Very early on, we were very like: Allie and Audrey, that feels like very paired together. The editors hit us up for end title ideas, and that spot late one night. We were like, ‘Oh, we’re signing off soon, but we can send you one song right now that we think is genuinely perfect for this, and we’ll follow up with more tomorrow. And we did, but ‘Sue Me’ just stuck throughout. It fits so well narratively, and with the end title songs, you’re really focused on the lyrics, because there’s nothing else happening on picture.”
“On the Floor” by Jennifer Lopez
“That was in the script; we can’t take any credit for that one. Now that we’ve seen how it has all played out, it’s been so wonderful, but you never know how someone will react if someone is dressing like them, but we knew we had to get a yes. Nobody wants anything derogatory about them, so our first thought is — could any part of this be seen as making fun of this person or this song? We went through what’s happening in the scene with her team and told them, ‘Everyone’s gonna love it, and it’s a couple that everyone’s gonna love.’”
