A megamix is a medley

Medley (music)

In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...

 remix

Remix

A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....

 containing multiple songs in rapid succession. There may be only one verse or even just a brief chorus

Refrain

A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...

 of each song used, sometimes in addition to samples of the same or other songs. There may also be some elements of bastard pop in some, though not as much as a mashup

Mashup (music)

A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...

. To unify the songs together smoothly, a single backing beat

Backing track

A backing track is an audio or MIDI recording that musicians play or sing along to in order to add parts to their music which would be impractical to perform live.-Uses:...

 may be added as background throughout the megamix -although this is not a must-. This backing beat

Backing track

A backing track is an audio or MIDI recording that musicians play or sing along to in order to add parts to their music which would be impractical to perform live.-Uses:...

 is kept basic so as to simplify mixing

Audio mixing (recorded music)

In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...

 and to not compete with the music. These mixes are usually several minutes long at minimum, going up to a half-hour or even more sometimes.

Ultimix is known for "flashback medleys" producing at least one or two every year based on popular songs of the year. Each is about 15 minutes long, usually with at least that many songs if not more.

"Album megamixes" feature all tracks from a particular album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 edited and compiled into one continuous medley. The "artist megamix" is also popular, including songs spanning a musician's career, with prolific artists such as Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 having more than one, usually from different remixers. Duran Duran

Duran Duran

Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...

 created a megamix single from their own hits for the 1990 greatest-hits album Decade: Greatest Hits

Decade: Greatest Hits

Decade – Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by Duran Duran, released on November 15, 1989 .The remix single "Burning the Ground" was released to radio to promote this album; it was created by producer John Jones mixing snippets of the band's biggest hits from the previous decade into a new...

. Subsequently artists such as Madonna, Britney Spears, and Janet Jackson

Janet Megamix 04

"Janet Megamix 04" is a megamix produced by DJ Chris Cox, released on December 11, 2003 to promote Jackson's album Damita Jo.-Song information:...

 have also released megamixes as singles in order to promote their greatest hits

Greatest hits

A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...

 albums or in the latter's case studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

. Many megamixes are bootleg

Bootleg recording

A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...

s.

Official releases (legal)

• Grandmix series, by Ben Liebrand
  Ben Liebrand
  Ben Liebrand is a dance music DJ. He has produced artists such as Forrest and MC Miker G & DJ Sven and remixed tracks by artists such as Salt N Pepa, Sting, TLC, Fun Fun, Tavares, Bill Withers, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Rick Astley, SWV and Phil Collins...
  
  
• Max Mix (volume 1 and 2) by Mike Platinas & Javier Ussía
• Max Mix (volume 3 to 12) & Maquina Total series (volume 1 to 9), by Toni Peret & Jose Mª Castells
• Dance Computer (1 and 2) & Unity Mix series (volume 1 to 6), by The Unity Mixers (Luc Rigaux & Patrick Samoy)
• Dance Computer 3 by the Mastermixers Unity
• Dance Computer 4-9 by Stefano Paganelli
• Tribal-Rave (1 and 2), by Bob Snoeijer
• Ultimate NRG by Alex K
• Direct Disco Series Volume 1 - 12 Mixed by Samus Jay

Bootleg releases (not legal)

• Deep Dance series (volume 0,5 to 66), by DJ Deep/Deep Records
• Deep Dance series (67 and up) are produced by DJ O. and Breakfreak32 and unknown and probably different DJ's for each release
• MONO und 220V series, by Ve'nik
• Studio 33 the XX^th Story series, by DJ Studio 33
• The Ultimate 90s Megamix Series Mixed by Samus Jay
• The Millennium Megamix Series Mixed by Samus Jay
• Poolmix series, by DJ Pool
• Uncle Slims Yearmixes Mixed by Slimjay
• Mallmix UK Charts Megamix Mixed by Peter Mallard

Other notable releases/series

• The Mission Impossible Mix, by Pieters Joosten (600 songs mixed in an hour)
• Jinx Mix Series 1 - 6 , House Pacific Series 1 -3, Direct Disco Series 1 - 12, History of House 1 - 10 The Ultimate 90's Mix & The Ultimate Millennium Megamix by Samus Jay
• Legendary Megamix, by The Legendary Mastermind
• Magic Dance Xplosion and Magic Mix, by DJ Magic
• Beat 66 and Big Mix by DJ Adamski
• Your Mix-Weekend, by Martin Pieters
• Deep Dance and Studio 33 the XX^th Story series, originally started by DJ Deep and Studio 33 but done later by DJ O. and Breakfreak32
• Beat-Mix, by The King of Mix
• Dance Beat Explosion, by DJ Karsten

Musical acts that have produced official megamixes

• Ace of Base
  Ace of Base
  Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...
  
  
• Alexander O'Neal
  Alexander O'Neal
  Alexander O'Neal is an American R&B singer. He is best-known for the songs "If You Were Here Tonight" and "Fake", and the duets with Cherrelle, "Saturday Love" and "Never Knew Love Like This".-Biography:...
  
  
• Alex K
• Anastacia
  Anastacia
  Anastacia is an American singer-songwriter. Anastacia has been highly successful in Europe, Asia, South Africa and South America, but has had only minor success in her native United States...
  
  
• Angerfist
  Angerfist
  Danny Masseling , best known as Angerfist, is a hardcore techno/gabber musician and DJ. He is one of the most popular and widely recognized performers in the genre.-Career:...
  
  
• Aqua
  Aqua (band)
  Aqua is a Danish dance-pop group, best known for their 1997 breakthrough single "Barbie Girl". The group formed in 1989 and achieved huge success across the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The group managed to top the UK Singles Chart with their first three singles. The group released two...
  
  
• Ayumi Hamasaki
  Ayumi Hamasaki
  is a Japanese singer-songwriter, record producer, model, lyricist, and actress. Also called "Ayu" by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" because of her popularity and widespread influence in Japan and throughout Asia. Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen to...
  
  
• Bananarama
  Bananarama
  Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
  
  
• Basshunter
  Basshunter
  Jonas Erik Altberg , better known by his stage name Basshunter, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, record producer and DJ. He is best known for his number one hits "Boten Anna", "Dota", "Now You're Gone" and "All I Ever Wanted". Basshunter has so far released a total of six albums, two of which have...
  
  
• Black Box
  Black Box (band)
  Black Box was an Italian house music group popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The members of the group included a trio made up of a club DJ , a classically trained clarinet teacher , and a keyboard and electronic music "wiz"...
  
  
• Bobby Brown
  Bobby Brown
  Robert Barisford "Bobby" Brown is an American R&B singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, and dancer. After success in pop group New Edition, Brown began his solo career in 1987 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, culminating in a Grammy Award. He was a pioneer of New Jack Swing music, a...
  
  
• Bomb the Bass
  Bomb the Bass
  Bomb the Bass is the umbrella title for the output of British musician and producer, Tim Simenon. The band, which has evolved its style over the years, has been classed as electronic or dance....
  
  
• Boney M
  Boney M
  Boney M. is a Eurodisco group created by German record producer Frank Farian. Originally based in Germany, the four original members of the group's official line-up were Jamaicans Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett, Maizie Williams from Montserrat and Bobby Farrell from Aruba...
  
  
• Booty Luv
  Booty Luv
  Booty Luv also known as Cherise & Nadia are an English dance group formed in June 2006 via the Hed Kandi label. It is fronted by two R&B vocalists Cherise Roberts and Nadia Shepherd, both of whom were in the original line-up of the successful hip hop band Big Brovaz...
  
  
• Britney Spears
  Britney Spears
  Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
  
  
• Caramell
  Caramell
  Caramell is a Swedish musical group, formed by singers Katia Löfgren and Malin Sundström and producers Jorge "Vasco" Vasconcelo and Juha "Millboy" Myllylä. All except Vasconcelo and Myllylä come from Sweden...
  
  
• Christina Aguilera
  Christina Aguilera
  Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
  
  
• Daft Punk
  Daft Punk
  Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
  
  
• Debbie Gibson
  Deborah Gibson
  Deborah Ann "Debbie" Gibson is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. In 1987 she was pronounced the youngest artist to write, produce, and perform a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, with her song "Foolish Beat" and she remains the youngest female to write, record, and...
  
   (1 in 1988, Atlantic
  Atlantic Records
  Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
  
   DM 86556, Track 4)
• Depeche Mode
  Depeche Mode
  Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
  
  
• DJ Bobo
  DJ Bobo
  Peter René Cipiriano Baumann , better known as DJ BoBo, is a Swiss singer, songwriter, dancer and music producer. He has sold 14 million records worldwide and has released 10 studio albums as well as a few compilation albums which have included his previous hits in a reworked format...
  
  
• Duran Duran
  Duran Duran
  Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
  
  
• Earth, Wind & Fire
  Earth, Wind & Fire
  Earth, Wind & Fire is an American soul and R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Verdine and Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of...
  
  
• Erasure
  Erasure
  Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
  
  
• E-Rotic
  E-Rotic
  E-Rotic is a German Eurodance project. They are mostly known for their use of sexual topics and innuendo in their music. Some of the female vocalists who fronted E-Rotic over the years also fronted Missing Heart vocals.-History:...
  
  
• E-Type
  E-type (musician)
  Bo Martin Erik Eriksson , better known by his stage name E-Type, is a Swedish Eurodance musician.-Early years:...
  
  
• Girls Aloud
  Girls Aloud
  Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
  
  
• Gloria Estefan
  Gloria Estefan
  Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
  
  
• Gloria Gaynor
  Gloria Gaynor
  Gloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits; "I Will Survive" , "Never Can Say Goodbye" , "Let Me Know " and "I Am What I Am" .-Early career:Gaynor was a singer with the Soul...
  
  
• Grace Jones
  Grace Jones
  Grace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
  
  
• Grandmaster Melle Mel
• Heaven 17
  Heaven 17
  Heaven 17 are an English synthpop band originating from Sheffield in the early 1980s. The trio comprises Martyn Ware , Ian Craig Marsh and Glenn Gregory...
  
  
• Insane Clown Posse
  Insane Clown Posse
  Insane Clown Posse is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan. The group is composed of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, who perform under the respective personas of the "wicked clowns" Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Insane Clown Posse performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore...
  
  
• Janet Jackson
  Janet Jackson
  Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
  
  
• Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers
• Justin Timberlake
  Justin Timberlake
  Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
  
   has released one in Japan
• Kim Wilde
  Kim Wilde
  Kim Wilde is an English pop singer, author and television presenter who burst onto the music scene in 1981 with the number 2 UK Singles Chart new wave classic "Kids in America". In 1987 she had a major hit in the United States when her version of The Supremes' classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On"...
  
  
• La Bouche
  La Bouche
  La Bouche was a Eurodance/Dance-pop duo formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1994, originally consisting of Melanie Thornton and Lane McCray, scoring two major worldwide hits in the mid-1990s with "Be My Lover" and "Sweet Dreams"....
  
  
• Luv'
  Luv'
  Luv is a Dutch pop girl group that scored a string of hit records in Continental Europe as well as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1979, Luv' was "Holland's best export act" and thus received the "Conamus Export Prize"...
  
  
• Madness
  Madness (band)
  In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
  
  
• Madonna
  Madonna (entertainer)
  Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
  
  
• Michael Jackson
  Michael Jackson
  Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
  
  
• Newsboys
  Newsboys
  Newsboys are a Christian pop rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Australia. They have released 15 studio albums, six of which have been certified gold...
  
  
• Oomph!
  Oomph!
  Oomph! is a German rock band that was formed in Wolfsburg, Germany in 1989. The band is considered to be the original Neue Deutsche Härte musical group. In the 22-year history of the band, there have been no line-up changes.-Early years :...
  
  
• Paula Abdul
  Paula Abdul
  Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
  
  
• Pet Shop Boys
  Pet Shop Boys
  Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
  
  , notably Disco 2
  Disco 2
  Disco 2 is the eighth album by UK electronic music duo Pet Shop Boys. Released in September 1994 by Parlophone Records, it consists of remixes of songs from their 1993 Very and recent B-sides....
  
  
• Pussycat Dolls
  Pussycat Dolls
  The Pussycat Dolls are an American pop girl group and dance ensemble based in Los Angeles; currently consisting of Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Kristal "Lyndriette" Smith, Tiffany "Taz" Zavala, Kia Hampton and Paula Van Oppen. The Pussycat Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995...
  
  , for all their singles tracks on their first album PCD
  PCD (album)
  PCD is the debut album by American girl group the Pussycat Dolls, released on September 13, 2005 in the United States, by A&M Records. After recruiting Melody Thornton and Nicole Scherzinger and releasing two singles, they released this album...
  
  
• Roxette
  Roxette
  Roxette are a Swedish pop music duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle . Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act from the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough album Look Sharp!...
  
  
• Samantha Fox
  Samantha Fox
  Samantha Karen "Sam" Fox is an English dance-pop singer, actress, and former glamour model. In 1983, at the age of 16, she began her topless modeling career on Page Three of The Sun, and went on to become a popular pin-up girl...
  
  
• Samus Jay
• Sash
  Sash
  A sash is a cloth belt used to hold a robe together, and is usually tied about the waist. The Japanese equivalent of a sash, obi, serves to hold a kimono or yukata together. Decorative sashes may pass from the shoulder to the hip rather than around the waist...
  
  
• Scooter (band)
  Scooter (band)
  Scooter are a German hard dance band founded in Hamburg, who have sold over 25 million records and earned over 80 gold and platinum awards. Scooter are considered the most successful single-record German act with 23 top ten hits. The band is currently composed of members H.P. Baxxter, Rick J....
  
  
• Shakira
  Shakira
  Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...
  
  
• Snap!
  Snap!
  Snap! is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Frankfurt-based producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has been through a number of line-up changes over the years, but was most successful when fronted by rapper Turbo B, who performed on the UK number 1 singles "The Power" and...
  
  
• Spice Girls
  Spice Girls
  The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
  
  
• Status Quo
• Tiësto
  Tiësto
  Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...
  
  
• 2 Unlimited
  2 Unlimited
  2 Unlimited is a Dutch Eurodance/Hi-NRG act formed in 1991. The project was the brainchild of Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde, and was fronted by a Dutch duo, rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth. During five years of enormous worldwide popularity, the act scored 16 chart...
  
  
• Technotronic
  Technotronic
  Technotronic is a Belgian studio-based music project formed in 1988 by Jo Bogaert , who had already made his musical mark in the beginning of the 1980s as a part of a cover band and as a solo artist under various New Beat projects, including The Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo...
  
  
• Tenacious D
  Tenacious D
  Tenacious D is an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. Composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jack Black and lead guitarist and vocalist Kyle Gass, the band has released two albums – Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny...
  
  
• Tina Turner
  Tina Turner
  Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
  
  
• Ultrabeat
  Ultrabeat (English band)
  Ultrabeat are an English electronic music group from Liverpool, England consisting of producer and vocalist Mike Di Scala and producers Ian Redman and Chris Henry. Formed in 2002, Ultrabeat first emerged with their single "Pretty Green Eyes" which reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart...
  
  
• Venetian Snares
  Venetian Snares
  Venetian Snares is the main performing alias of Canadian electronic musician Aaron Funk .From Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Funk is known for making electronic music often in odd numbered time signatures...
  
  
• The Village People