Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Album

Background

The soundtrack was first announced by MTV on August 27, 1998, with its track list revealed on September 15, 1998, though the sequencing was slightly modified before release. Geffen Records A&R executive Craig Coburn led the project, which primarily features pop and alternative rock artists. Several songs were previously unreleased, including Sugar Ray's cover of 'Abracadabra', a remix of 'Hey, Mr. DJ (Keep Playin' This Song)' by the Backstreet Boys, and Britney Spears' 'Soda Pop'.

The opening track, 'Walk of Life' by the Spice Girls, had previously only been available in Europe as the b-side to their 1997 single 'Too Much'; Coburn said the label was 'thrilled' to include it. Aqua's 'Doctor Jones (Metro's 7" Edit)' also had prior European-only availability. Melissa Joan Hart's cover of 'One Way or Another', used in the Season 2 episode 'The Band Episode', features background vocals from series cast members Nate Richert and Lindsay Sloane.

The promotional single 'So I Fall Again' by Phantom Planet was released in September 1998; the band performed the song on the show in the Season 3 episode 'And the Sabrina Goes to...' that November. Promotions included radio giveaways, a trip to see Phantom Planet perform at Universal Studios Hollywood hosted by Hart, and the 'Sabrina Sing-A-Long Sweepstakes' with a grand prize of a professional recording session in Hollywood, advertised in Sabrina book series, Archie comic books, and Sabrina CD-ROM games.

The album tied into the show's third season, with the eighth clue for Sabrina's 'family secret' included as an audio interlude.

Critical reception

Critical response to Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Album was mostly positive. AllMusic described it as a 'sugar-coated collection' with well-represented europop, calling the Spice Girls' 'Walk of Life' 'some serious dub' and noting interesting cover songs. Richard Harrington of The Washington Post praised Sugar Ray's cover of 'Abracadabra' as the 'obvious cover of the year' and characterized the album as a mix of 'bright chirpy dance-pop and pop-rock'. In a mixed review, Rob Brunner of Entertainment Weekly called it 'bubbly ephemera' and criticized Matthew Sweet's cover of 'Magnet & Steel' as 'less than enchanting'. Retrospectively, Chuck Eddy of Spin included the album on a list of essential teen-pop soundtracks, describing Britney Spears' 'Soda Pop' as 'possibly her most preadolescent ditty ever'.

Commercial reception

The album peaked at number 71 on the Billboard 200 chart on December 12, 1998, spending 16 weeks on the chart. In Canada, it reached number 7 on the RPM Top 100 Albums chart on February 1, 1999, remaining there for two weeks and totaling 36 weeks on the chart, appearing at number 50 on the RPM year-end chart for 1999. It was certified Gold by the RIAA in the United States on December 7, 1998, and in Canada achieved Platinum on January 21, 1999, followed by double Platinum on March 12, 1999.