Smallville’s Top Ten Music Moments of All Time (Part 1: 10 – 6) 

Now that Smallville is coming to an end it’s time to look back and reflect upon the ten- year journey we’ve been on watching Clark Kent transform into Superman. There have been a lot of epic moments in the series…moments of triumph, of tragedy, of love, of lust, of loyalty, of betrayal…but imagine now watching those moments with the mute button on. Takes a lot away from it right? Sometimes the right song or piece of music can drastically alter a moment and take it from being pretty good to legendary. We’ve gone back and picked the top ten music cues from the entire Smallville series and how they impacted the show.
Quick note: you might want to open up YouTube on your browser or have iTunes open and type in the artist and song to help jog your memory. Most, if not all, of these songs can be found through both of these sources.

#10
Artist: Avril Lavigne
Song: “My Happy Ending”
Episode: Season 4, Episode 3 “Façade”

I know, I know…it would appear I’ve lost all my credibility right off the bat by putting an Avril Lavigne song on this countdown, but hear me out. At the end of the episode Chloe and Lois head out to a carnival where Clark is in a dunk tank for some high school charity thing (who knows, who cares). As the song plays swelling to a crescendo it cuts back and forth between a somewhat flirty Lois and Clark and a somewhat devastated Chloe. This is the first time in the series that we get some foreshadowing of the romance to come between Lois and Clark and for that reason alone, this moment makes the list. But it’s a bittersweet victory for Clois fans as the lyrics of the chorus signify the heartbreak that Chloe is going through and this seems like the moment where she finally starts to give up on her dream of being with Clark. Yep…I extrapolated all of that analysis from an Avril Lavigne song…

#9
Artist: Remy Zero
Song: “Save Me”
Episode: Season 1, Episode 21 “Tempest”

So it’s the high school prom and how appropriate that Remy Zero not only be playing during the big night, but playing the Smallville theme song no less! Yes it’s cheesy, and yes it takes you out of the moment, but you know what, it doesn’t matter. Smallville has one of the best TV theme songs of all time and hearing all of the characters stop and say “whoa, this a cool song, these guys are good” is just plain fun and well deserved. Smallville has had other gratuitous plugs for bands and their songs before (We’re all trying to forget the One Republic/Pete Ross/Stride chewing gum episode), but this was back when the show was still innocent and instead of making us groan, it made us grin.

#8
Artist: Train
Song: “Calling All Angels”
Episode: Season 3, Episode 1 “Exile”

We all know that when Clark is accidentally exposed to red kryptonite he becomes Kal, his inner douche bag. But at the end of Season 2, Clark willing put on his red kryptonite ring to escape the emotional pain he was in as he hopped on a motorcycle and headed towards the big city. When Season 3 started he was still in Metropolis and Lana was determined to bring him back. She finally finds him in Metropolis but realizes that Kal is indeed no Clark but still refuses to let him ride out of her life. This scene has “Calling All Angels” playing over it and to my knowledge is one of the few times the ENTIRE song is played from start to finish without interruption and it fits the mood so well. You just feel for Lana so much and can sense the desperation inside of her to help Clark who is obviously hurting to find himself again.

Fun fact, if you listen to the commentary for this episode on the DVD the producer mentions that they weren’t sure if they could get the rights cleared and the song barely made it into the episode with just a day or so to spare.

#7
Artist: Travis
Song: “My Eyes”
&
Artist: Marie Digby
Song: “Spell”
Episode: Season 7, Episode 7 “Wrath”

Whoa Billy…slow down…two songs in one episode?! This episode had two musical moments that really stood out to me and I feel within one 45-minute episode they were able to bring Lana and Clark’s relationship full circle. At the beginning of the episode we hear “My Eyes” as Clark and Lana are happily riding around the farm on horseback. In a relationship that has been steeped in turmoil for so long, we finally got to see them happy for a bit and the music and the mood was just blissful. Of course, Lana’s dark nature and her lust for vengeance towards Lex reveals itself during the episode and Clark realizes that the Lana he once knew is long gone while the haunting and heartbreaking “Spell” plays over the moment. Even though Clark held in there with Lana for the rest of the season, you can tell that this was the moment that marked the beginning of the end of their relationship. All of us Smallville fans already knew that Lana wasn’t his destiny, but in that final moment you get the feeling that Clark is starting to acknowledge that truth. Just listen to the two songs back to back and you can instantly feel the contrast in the mood.

#6
Artist: Coldplay
Song: “A Message”
Episode: Season 5, Episode 2 “Mortal”

Well…this is the CW. You had to know the two main characters were going to lose their virginity to candles and Coldplay. Losing one’s virginity is a big moment and stepping stone in growing up, and given everything these two characters had been through together it seemed only natural and appropriate. It was a risky move on the CW’s part. Watching a teenage Superman bone his high school girlfriend sounds a little out of character on paper for the big blue boy scout, but that’s one of the reasons Smallville is so great: it truly humanizes Clark/Superman and makes his normal black and white demeanor a little more gray. Besides, thanks to Smallville I now know more about how Superman’s krypton reproductive organs work than I ever would have. Thanks Smallville!–Billy Patterson

The Top 5 Music Moments in Smallville history is here.