User:Iboughttoomanygames/Super Sonic

Super Sonic is a song by The Sonic the Hedgehog Band (Dreams Come True ft. Nancy Cartwright.) It was released worldwide on July 6, 1991 to promote the then-new Sonic the Hedgehog video game.

Background and writing
Masato Nakamura, who composed the soundtrack, decided to write a song describing the game to promote its release. He decided to write it in English to hopefully make it in America. Sonic was going to be in a rock band in the first Sonic the Hedgehog game, and even though this idea was scrapped during development, it still made it into a Japanese promotional comic. It was decided to use Sonic's band as the moniker for the song.

Sega of America loved the material they were given, and sought out a voice that would embody Sonic. They ended up hiring The Simpsons alumni Nancy Cartwright, as her character's personality was the same as Sonic's. Sega of America also hired Canadian songwriter and producer Leslie Howe, who was fresh off the success of Alanis Morissette's debut album, to flesh out Nakamura's initial draft of the song and produce the final result.

Composition
"Super Sonic" is a dance-rock and new jack swing song with a tempo of 105 bpm and a key of D major. Against a background of synths and electric guitars, Sonic the Hedgehog (Nancy Cartwright) sings and raps about his adventures in the game, listing and describing the zones he travels through, and encouraging the listener to "check it out on the Genesis!" near the end of the song. The chorus of the song consists of a choir of voices shouting "SUPER SONIC!" in a call and response manner.

Critical reception
"Super Sonic" received positive reviews from critics, commenting on the "innovative approach to advertising a game" and predicting "Sonic the Hedgehog will become a worldwide fad." However, it also received some negative reviews, with some music magazines putting it on their "Worst Songs of the 90s" list at the end of the decade.

In popular culture
The song was featured in Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie and Sisters.

Track listings

 * US CD single
 * 1) "Super Sonic" – 4:15
 * 2) "Let's Go" – 3:50


 * US 12" single
 * 1) "Super Sonic (Shep Pettibone's Extended Mix)" – 7:02
 * 2) "Super Sonic (Ultrasonic Dub)" – 6:36
 * 3) "Super Sonic (Album Version)" – 4:15
 * 4) "Let's Go" – 3:50