Music biopics such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, and Baz Lurhmann’s upcoming Elvis film show that good music makes an even better movie. With iconic soundtracks from the legendary Queen, Elton John, and Elvis Presley - these movies tell the stories of their real-life musicians. While it’s undeniable audiences will stomp and clap along to Queen’s “We Will Rock You” in Bohemian Rhapsody, or dance along to Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock” in Rocketman, creating original songs for movies are even harder to achieve, let alone creating a whole fictional band.
Sometimes the story needs to be created before the band - and that’s where fictional bands come in. Music groups created especially for their movies, their songs peppered throughout the film just make you wish you could attend one of these fictional band's concerts in real life.
4*TOWN - Turning Red
Echoing the style of classic 90s and 2000s boy bands such as NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys, Domee Shi’s 2022 film Turning Red pays homage to the music culture of the early 2000s with 4*TOWN.
Featuring original songs written by real-life musician Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell who also voices 4*TOWN member Jesse in the film, the boy band’s hit songs such as “Nobody Like U,” “U Know What’s Up,” and “1 True Love,” are perfect examples of catchy pop songs that are impossible to get out of your head - all with that typical manufactured boy band charm.
Josie and the Pussycats - Josie and the Pussycats
Before Riverdale saw classic characters from the Archie Comics adapted into a broody teen drama, the 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats adapted the beloved characters Josie McCoy (Rachael Leigh Cook), Melody Valentine (Tara Reid), and Valerie Brown (Rosario Dawson) in this campy cult classic.
With real-life alt-indie band Letters to Cleo’s lead singer Kay Hanley lending her voice to Josie, the Pussycats’ catchy pop-punk single “3 Small Words” finds its footing as a relatable punk anthem. The film itself acts as a satire of bands manufactured by their record companies and the commercialization of the music industry, and the entire soundtrack is filled with power-pop anthems for tween girls searching for their inner punk.
The Hex Girls - Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost
Another band from a classic cartoon, Scooby-Doo! And the Witch’s Ghost introduces one of the most prominent bands in the Scooby-Doo universe - The Hex Girls. Consisting of Thorn (Jennifer Hale), Dusk (Jane Wiedlin), and Luna (Kimberly Brooks), The Hex Girls are an all-female gothic rock band performing songs tied to their Wicaan ancestry.
While The Hex Girls perform only two songs in The Witch’s Ghost, “Hex Girl,” and “Earth, Wind, Fire and Air,” the band’s cult success saw them return in subsequent Scooby-Doo movies and TV shows.
The Oneders - That Thing You Do!
Sometimes one hit is all you need, as shown in Tom Hanks’ film directorial debut That Thing You Do! The movie charts the rise and fall of a fictional 1960s one-hit wonder pop band known as The Oneders (pronounced “The Wonders”).
While their band name initially causes much confusion in its pronunciation, the song responsible for their fame, “That Thing You Do” is as catchy as ever. The song plays 11 times throughout the movie, and it’s impossible to get out of your head after watching the movie.
Loded Diper - Diary of a Wimpy Kid
It’s not unusual for bands to get creative with their spelling as seen in real-life bands like The Beatles, The Monkees, and Split Enz among many others. But not all misspellings are intentional.
In the film adaptation of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series, Greg Heffley’s older brother Rodrick (David Broderick) and his friends form the punk band Löded Diper (a misspelling of “Loaded Diaper”) and they’re everything you can expect of a high school band. Although the only original song heard in the film series is “Explöded Diper,” their hilarious punk-cover of Justin Bieber’s “Baby” in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days really steals the show.
Sing Street - Sing Street
A small-town story of a band trying to find their own voice in 1985 Ireland, Sing Street follows Cosmo (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) and his high school band Sing Street, named after their strict Catholic school Synge Street.
Charting the band during a formative time in their lives, their style changes from being inspired by Duran Duran to The Cure, The Clash and more. Covering every 80s aesthetic possible, from pop to punk, Sing Street is a band of many talents with no two of their songs sounding alike.
The Nick Rivers Band - Top Secret!
From the directing trio behind classic comedy films Airplane! and The Naked Gun, Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker 1984 film Top Secret! is a slapstick comedy parodying Elvis Presley’s musical movies as well as spy films of the Cold War era. Nick Rivers (Val Kilmer), is an American rock star in East Germany who finds himself caught between a government scheme and military regime.
Top Secret! parodies not just musical movies of the era, but also the music. The Nick Rivers band’s hit song “Skeet Surfin’” is a parody remix of all the classic hits of The Beach Boys’ such as “Surfin’ U.S.A,” “California Girls,” among many more similar songs. The band’s parodied music coupled with the outlandish plot make The Nick Rivers Band a hilarious blend of comedy and music.
The Clash at Demonhead - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
There are several fictional bands appearing in Edgar Wright’s 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World including Sex Bob-Omb, Crash and the Boys, and the Katayanagi Twins. But none have the same hit-success as The Clash at Demonhead.
With the band’s lead singer Envy Adams (Brie Larson) constantly haunts her ex-boyfriend Scott (Michael Cera) in the form of cardboard standees, magazine spreads, and album covers, The Clash at Demonhead is without a doubt the biggest band in Toronto. It’s just a shame we’ll never be able to see this band in concert after Scott headbutted the band’s bass player into oblivion.
Low Shoulder - Jennifer’s Body
The indie band Low Shoulder in cult classic horror film Jennifer’s Body offers a more disturbing take on the power boy bands have over their fans. Fronted by Nikolai Wolf (Adam Brody), Low Shoulder is an up-and-coming indie band seeking success whatever it takes, and Satan is their only hope.
After unsuccessfully sacrificing Jennifer (Megan Fox) to Satan, the band’s popularity sky-rockets, with their hit song “Through the Trees” constantly haunting Needy (Amanda Seyfried) to commemorate the town’s murder victims. An indie band with edge, Low Shoulder shows the highs and lows of trying to make it as an indie band in America.