Vocal Music In Sonic Games?

[StratusAsterion]

With the release of Sonic Forces and it's slew of vocal themes and while I await full version of "Infinite" I thought I'd ask is anyone knows, how do vocal tracks come to be in Sonic games?

I know during Shadow the Hedgehog's release it was stated that Sonic Team wanted to use "Broken" By Sins of A Divine Mother, but where unable to due to not being able to get a hold of the copyright, so they asked A2/Mona Lisa Overdrive to do "Chosen One" to sound similar to "Broken" so this leads me to believe "Broken" was considered cool and they wanted something similar but wasn't necessarily written FOR Shadow or the game.  So my question than is how does a vocal track come to be? in the case of Infinite's theme was the music composed first than lyrics and Dangerkids was asked to sing it? did Dangerkids write the lyrics and if so were they told "This is the kind of character Infinite is (kinda wasn't >.>) write something along those lines using this music we have composed for his boss theme" or did the vocal track come first and the boss theme is remix of that?

This can be applied to most tracks in the games, what is the artist given when they are asked to do a song, and has it changed since it started? And did artists like Julien-K, Zebrahead, Crush 40 etc have a little more freedom back in the day v now in terms of songs like "Infinite" & "Fist Bump" as Zebrahead & Bentley Jones have seemed to be able to remix their own songs to fit their style more allowing me to assume they had their own credits to the songs beyond just performing them which cycles back to how much info are they given about the song/game beforehand?

Sound off opinions or if anyone flat out has the answer

(Speaking of Sins of a Divine Mother I don't think their 2 songs "Broken" & "All of Me" ever really got official lyrics since the ones online sound wrong to me.)

[Kvitron Z]

"First Bump" and theme of Infinite was neat. And I still hope - vocal songs stay after they return.

[The Tenth Doctor]

Vocal tunes have always been a favourite part of the series for me. When I was a kid, before knowing the cd's existed, I'd stick a tape recorder next to my TV to record them to listen on the go. Now my mp3 is full of them. I was very disheartened when they disappeared. Very happy to have them back, hope they stay. Apparently Jun finds the people to perform, I remember Johnny saying Jun scouted him out because he was a Hardline fan.

Fun fact about the above story of Broken, A2 is mostly made up of people from the band "Sins of a Divine Mother", so technically Jun got most of the band, just not the song he originally intended. Also love Magni Fi's other Shadow track that didn't make it, Who I Am.

[StratusAsterion]

58 minutes ago, The Tenth Doctor said:

Vocal tunes have always been a favourite part of the series for me.

Absolutely agree I love them and have discovered some great music because of this franchise and I hope it sticks around!

[Scar]

The last good one was probably With Me (tied with OG Ungravitify).

[Natie]

They're fun, I love Sonic R's music the best. Forces tried to capture the "cheesy but enjoyable" feeling the the adventure games' vocal tracks had, but it just didn't feel as earnest.

[kalion]

I actually like the new style they went with, interspersing some lyrics here and there instead of overwhelming with a full song lyrics.

They worked with Knuckles stages cos' were'nt running fast, just slowly searching the area.

Kinda like the Sonic vs Shadow fight really. I missed the Shadow style of vocal songs so I'm glad they've returned with the DLC.

[molul]

I've hated vocal themes on Sonic since they appeared. I just don't like them. They're really cheesy, and distracting. On a driving game it's ok, like a radio. On a platformer, I personally find it embarassing.

 

[Meta77]

AS 2 had amaxing vocal tunes to me same for forces

[Solister]

In fact, made a lot of time which I didn't pick some Sonic music just to listen to it, so may what I write here not be so appropriate to the situation.

I didn't listen to the full version of Infinite's Theme because I'm trying to avoid the most Spoilers for Forces if someday I could play the game. But, I want to take another example. As many of us certainly played Sonic Adventure /DX, we know how Open Your Heart is related to the game story and specially with the end, now Open Your Heart is the most iconic vocal track of the series if isn't from the full series. This is an example of a good vocal track which (most) of us (certainly) like and explain the game by itself.

Going a little farther, I want to discuss about Sonic R one of the games of my childhood. The music in the game is a very delicate point, because many fans hate, and other many love. Assuming this, if we look to any other song of the game that isn't Super Sonic Racing, you can't find a good reason why that track was put there, because many tracks just say about the "adult life" which is almost nothing related with the Sonic series.

Then you give me an interesting point, on True Colors: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog Part 2, Amir Derakh, Julien-K's programmer, give us an interesting point:

Look at the Waking Up and This Machine, they are the only tracks in English (For an unknown reason). Look at track 6 (This Machine) description. Amir bring us an interesting point where he says the music lyrics had to be game specific, but they finished with the less obvious chorus.

I don't know about other bands, but when I firstly listened This Machine, I loved that robotic/electronic song, then (As many Julien-K fans), I started to follow the band, and looking into some Death to Analog tracks (Their first album), you can find some similarity between Sonic and Studio Album tracks.

[AzureLakeSanic]

Sonic R, Sonic CD, Sonic 3D Blast, and the OVA have the best vocal songs, I said it. The Amy, Sally, and Mina song is also pretty funny, if not cringey, but it does mention "Unleashed" so that's why I'm mentioning it here.

[BlossomHaze]

No matter how much people make fun of me for this, I LOVE Sonic vocal tracks!

My all-time favorite Sonic themes have to be...

- Dreams of an Absolution
- Infinite
- This Machine & Team Chaotix
- Supporting Me

"Dreams of an Absolution" became an instant favorite for me since I'm a big fan of the style (and of the singer himself). It's something I find myself listening to a lot if I'm having a bad day. Plus, Silver is my favorite Sonic character, so I guess it just makes sense?

"Infinite" is just... really good? I'm not sure how to describe my love for this piece. Not usually into this style of music, but I liked the melody and the lyrics enough to become attached.

"This Machine" and "Team Chaotix" are fantastic and fun themes that really represent their characters. I love the dark tones (um... no pun intended?) in "This Machine" and the silliness of "Team Chaotix." Actually, a lot of the tunes from Sonic Heroes have really stuck with me all these years!

Then there's "Supporting Me." I wasn't sure how to feel about this song originally. It came off kind of sad to me, but it makes sense. The recent remix in Sonic Forces rekindled my love for this song, and thus here it is on this list.

[ClassicKnuckles]

2 hours ago, Tikikata said:

No matter how much people make fun of me for this, I LOVE Sonic vocal tracks!

My all-time favorite Sonic themes have to be...

- Dreams of an Absolution
- Infinite
- This Machine & Team Chaotix
- Supporting Me

"Dreams of an Absolution" became an instant favorite for me since I'm a big fan of the style (and of the singer himself). It's something I find myself listening to a lot if I'm having a bad day. Plus, Silver is my favorite Sonic character, so I guess it just makes sense?

"Infinite" is just... really good? I'm not sure how to describe my love for this piece. Not usually into this style of music, but I liked the melody and the lyrics enough to become attached.

"This Machine" and "Team Chaotix" are fantastic and fun themes that really represent their characters. I love the dark tones (um... no pun intended?) in "This Machine" and the silliness of "Team Chaotix." Actually, a lot of the tunes from Sonic Heroes have really stuck with me all these years!

Then there's "Supporting Me." I wasn't sure how to feel about this song originally. It came off kind of sad to me, but it makes sense. The recent remix in Sonic Forces rekindled my love for this song, and thus here it is on this list.

I love Supporting Me. I also like Rhythm and Balance and Aqua Road. Is it weird that I don't like Infinite? It just sounds bad to me.

[BlossomHaze]

15 hours ago, ClassicKnuckles said:

I love Supporting Me. I also like Rhythm and Balance and Aqua Road. Is it weird that I don't like Infinite? It just sounds bad to me.

I love Aqua Road! My favorite level from the game for sure, and the music is kinda to blame for that, haha. And not at all, we all have different musical tastes!

[ClassicKnuckles]

43 minutes ago, Tikikata said:

I love Aqua Road! My favorite level from the game for sure, and the music is kinda to blame for that, haha. And not at all, we all have different musical tastes!

It sounds almost like an anime opening.  

[Chaos Incarnate]

I'd go with 06 for having the best assortment of vocal tracks. It has the most variety and diverse sound. His World, Dreams of an Absolution, All Hail Shadow, My Destiny.... they're all really good songs! 

From SA1, It Doesn't Matter and Open Your Heart are amazing. SA2 has Live and Learn and Supporting Me, Heroes What I'm Made of, Shadow Never Turn Back, Unleashed's 2 tracks... they all have something to offer! I hope Crush 40 comes back to Sonic someday, their tracks are perfect for every game they appear in. Black Knight was a great game to end on their involvement, though, that game's vocal songs are phenomenal. 

[AzureLakeSanic]

Infinite, also.

[A person, that exists]

To be fair, I do like the vocal stuff. It's pandering 2000-s cringe, yes, but, hey, isn't that the main reason I like Sonic to begin with? They have this drive and anime feel to them, and I just love'em. 

Although, Forces seems to do it a little worse than the rest, imo. Edgelord #990's theme and "Deep Moral Thoughts During Chemical Plant" especially. 

Not to mention, at least it's not stock boring Mario wannabe music like in SLW. 

[AzureLakeSanic]

THROW IT ALL AWAY