Bailey Hanks, who begins her run as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde on July 23, has cracked the iTunes top 100 chart with "So Much Better," which debuted in an exclusive Broadway.com video on July 21. Hanks' version of the song entered the chart at #81 and had jumped to #76 by 10AM on July 23, according to an official list from iTunes. The single has also spiked downloads of the musical's original cast recording featuring Laura Bell Bundy as Elle, helping it climb the top 10 chart for soundtracks. Both the single and the Legally Blonde CD were recorded and released by Ghostlight Records.
Hanks was revealed as the winner of MTV's reality show The Search for Elle Woods on July 21, and her version of Elle's first-act anthem made it onto the iTunes chart the day after it was released. Broadway fans can now follow the progress of the single to see if it can achieve the unusual feat of cracking the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Hanks and runner-up Autumn Hurlbert begin their Broadway stints on the same night, with Hanks as Elle and Hurlbert as sorority girl Leilani and Elle cover. The third and fourth place finishers in the reality competition, Rhiannon Hansen and Lauren Zakrin, will be a part of the first national tour of the musical. Zakrin will understudy Becky Gulsvig, who stars as Elle Woods on tour, and will be a member of the ensemble. Hansen will play the role of Margot, Elle's best friend, on the tour, which launches in Providence, Rhode Island on September 23.
