Girls just want to dance, and never has that been more evident than in the weeks since Prime Video’s “Off Campus” premiered.
Based on Elle Kennedy’s novel of the same name, Season 1 follows a group of friends at the fictional Brier College and tells the story of Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli), a young up-and-coming hockey player, and Hannah Wells (Ella Bright), a bubbly music major. For anyone whose life revolves around music, it’s no surprise that they have a vibrant soundtrack playing on their screens.
“Hannah in this book has very eclectic tastes and is also a music lover, so that was a big reason why it was important for her to feel current,” says Amanda Krieg Thomas, one half of Off Campus’ music director team. “The idea of feeling in the moment was also to make her feel like she could be trusted with the question, ‘What would a cool, music-savvy college girl be listening to right now?'” “
From Elton John to the beach, the soundtrack captures the different moods of the various characters, and co-music supervisor Anna Romanoff said she specifically chose the needle drop, which enhances the show’s storytelling.
The soundtrack also went viral online, prompting a TikTok with Jennifer Lopez and concert invitations from Kid LaRoi. For Romanoff and Krieg Thomas, it was surreal, saying that what they most wanted was probably one viral moment, not to mention several moments recognized by the artists themselves.
Below, Romanoff and Krieg Thomas break down the key points of “Off Campus.”
Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself” and Remi Wolfe’s cover
“It was always a song that was meant to bring Hannah and Garrett together. We felt this song suited Hannah and her eclectic taste, Garrett and his old classic rock vibe. We’ve worked with the Billy Idol estate a lot over the years, and they’re very supportive. The Remi cover at the end was a little more convincing. We had to be like, ‘It’s going to be a cool artist, trust us!’ I made a reservation with Remi a little before the shoot, and she sang this song live that day and it was a great success. ”
“Girls” by The Kid LaRoi
“It’s very funny that a small part of the show – among other things – went viral online. It’s because of Belmont’s charisma. He danced to that on set, and we didn’t really know if it was going to stick or not.”
Hannah watches this striptease and wonders what she wants to do because she’s mentally reinforced to see what kind of a piece of shit Garrett is. There was a lot of conversation about what the song should be. But in the end, Belmont wanted it and really gave it their all. ”
G Flip’s “Bed on Fire”
“It’s a very long montage with a lot of different things in it. Lyrically, ‘Bed on Fire’ is great and hits the sweet and sexy side very well. If we chose something too sexy and vulgar, it wouldn’t go well with the lasagna scene or the ice rink scene. I’ve been a long-time fan of G-Flip, and I sent the whole album to Luisa (Levy, showrunner), and everyone was jumping up and down when they heard it. And now people are going back to that album that came out in the fall and really rediscovering it, and that’s something very special.”
Audrey Hobart’s “Sue Me”
“Very early on, we were very similar. Allie and Audrey, it feels like a very good pairing. Our editor approached us with an idea for an end title, and we were there late one night. We said, ‘Oh, we’re about to end our contract, but you can send us a song right now that you think would be really perfect for this. We’ll follow up with more tomorrow. And we did, but ‘Sue Me’ stuck around.” (It fits the story and the end title very well) In the song, I concentrate on the lyrics. Because nothing else is happening in the picture. ”
Jennifer Lopez’s “On the Floor”
“It was in the script. We can’t take any credit for it. Seeing how it all played out, it was pretty amazing. But you never know how someone would react if you dressed like them. But we knew we had to get a yes.” We didn’t want anything derogatory about them. So our first thought was, any part of this could be seen as making fun of this person or this song. We looked at what was going on in the scene with her team and said to them: “Everyone will love them, and they are a couple that everyone will love.”
