SOUNDTRACK OF NBC HIT "SMASH" SET FOR RELEASE ON MAY 1

Fan-Favorite Original Tunes and Covers to Be Included

Universal City, Calif. - April 2, 2012 - NBC and Columbia Records announced that the soundtrack from the first season of NBC's musical hit "Smash" (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET) will be released on May 1.

The highly anticipated album will feature stars Katharine McPhee (Karen), Megan Hilty (Ivy Lynn) and other cast members performing the original music created for the show's narrative and for the musical-within-a-musical. The freshman series already has been renewed for a second season.

Highlighted on the album will be the Broadway-caliber songs written for the series by Tony and Grammy winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. The "Smash" album will also include some of the pop tunes that have been adapted for the show, such as Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful," the show-stopping song that Karen sings so effectively for her audition that she is plucked, literally, from obscurity to audition for the musical's starring role.

Among the songs included on the soundtrack are the charming "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," sung by Hilty as the character of Marilyn and Will Chase performs as the actor playing her new husband, Joe DiMaggio. McPhee got pulses pounding when she was featured in a Super Bowl promo spot singing the sultry "Touch Me." And one of the season's most attention-getting songs has been the stunning "Let Me Be Your Star," seen in the pilot and sung simultaneously by Hilty and McPhee. In addition, Hilty's show-stopping performance of "Crazy Dreams" will also be included on the soundtrack.

Critics have heaped praise on the show, which The Hollywood Reporter calls "...excellent, a bar-raiser for broadcast networks..." and TV Guide calls "...the most faaabulous show."

Through March 26, "Smash" is averaging a 3.2 rating in adults 18-49 and 9.1 viewers overall on NBC, nearly tripling what the network was averaging in 18-49 in the Monday 10-11 p.m. ET slot prior to "Smash" in 18-49 (with a 3.2 rating vs. a 1.1) and generating an increase of 4.9 million persons in total viewers (9.1 million vs. 4.2 million). "Smash" has delivered NBC's eight highest in-season adult 18-49 ratings in the time period since January 2011.

NBC's "Smash" celebrates the beauty and heartbreak of the Broadway theater as it follows a cross-section of dreamers and schemers who all have one common desire - to be a "Smash." Evolving from an idea of executive producer and multiple Emmy and Oscar winner Steven Spielberg ("ER," "Schindler's List"), the series unites the hit-making Broadway writing team of Julia Houston (Debra Messing, Emmy winner, "Will & Grace") and Tom Levitt (Christian Borle, "Legally Blonde: The Musical") with producer Eileen Rand (Anjelica Huston, Oscar winner, "Prizzi's Honor") to create a new musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, and seasoned chorus girl Ivy Lynn (Hilty, "9 to 5: The Musical") vies with newcomer Karen Cartwright (McPhee, "American Idol") for the role of a lifetime.

The cast also features Jack Davenport ("Pirates of the Caribbean" films), Raza Jaffrey ("MI-5," "Sex and the City 2"), Brian d'Arcy James ("Shrek the Musical") and Jaime Cepero ("Porgy & Bess"). In addition to Spielberg, the executive producers include Theresa Rebeck ("Mauritius"), David Marshall Grant ("Brothers & Sisters"), Craig Zadan and Neil Meron ("Chicago," "Hairspray"), Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey ("United States of Tara," "The Borgias") and Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman ("Hairspray," "Catch Me If You Can").

"Smash" is a production of Universal Television in association with DreamWorks Television and Madwoman in the Attic.

The "Smash" Soundtrack includes the following songs:

1) "Touch Me" featuring Katharine McPhee

2) "Stand" featuring Katharine McPhee and Leslie Odom

3) "Who You Are" featuring Megan Hilty

4) "Crazy Dreams" featuring Megan Hilty

5) "Beautiful" featuring Katharine McPhee

6) "Haven't Met You Yet" featuring Nick Jonas

7) "Shake It Out" featuring Katharine McPhee

8) "Brighter Than the Sun" featuring Katharine McPhee

9) "Let Me Be Your Star" featuring Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty

10) "20th Century Fox Mambo" featuring Katharine McPhee

11) "Mr & Mrs Smith" featuring Megan Hilty and Will Chase

12) "Let's Be Bad" featuring Megan Hilty

13) "History Is Made At Night" featuring Megan Hilty & Will Chase

The soundtrack is available for pre-order at Amazon (http://amzn.to/H5hxhc) and Barnes & Noble (http://music.barnesandnoble.com/The-Music-of-SMASH/e/886919662429) and will be on sale wherever music is sold.

The "Smash" soundtrack deal was brokered by NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group.

For embeddable clips and full episodes from "Smash," please visit NBC.com's official show site: http://www.nbc.com/smash/.

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