Step Up  (Audio CD) 
by Original Soundtrack

While Disney has successfully cornered the market for younger teens with its Disney Channel musicals, Step Up shows the company (through its Buena Vista subsidiary) addressing the older high-school set with equal flair. Directed and choreographed by Anne Fletcher (choreographer of the excellent Bring It On), the musical depicts a clash between kids representing "street" and more formal dance, though its soundtrack is resolutely turned toward the R&B/hip-hop/dancehall axis. The CD starts off with three fab collaborations: "'Bout It" by Yung Joc and 3LW, Ciara and Chamillionaire’s fantastically elastic "Get Up" (which may be even better than Ciara’s smash hit "1, 2"), and Sean Paul and Keyshia Cole's "(When You Gonna) Give It Up to Me." But the three most dance-inducing tracks are solo ones: Kelis is at her funkiest on "80's Joint," and it's practically impossible to stay still during Drew Sidora's bouncy "Til the Dawn" (including an Earth, Wind & Fire sample) and Jamie Scott's Prince-esque "Made." Don't miss, tucked toward the end, Deep Inside's "Lovely" and Gina René's "U Must Be," two wickedly catchy slow songs. --Elisabeth Vincentelli