Jump Up, Super Star!

"Jump Up, Super Star!" (referred to as "NDC Festival" in-game) is the theme song of Super Mario Odyssey. It is sung by Pauline during the mission "A Traditional Festival!". The song was also used in gameplay footage of Super Mario Odyssey during E3 2017, and is heard in the 100th episode of The Cat Mario Show.

The song uses an upbeat, big-band jazz style, and is most notable for being the first song from the Super Mario series to feature lyrics, something almost never heard in songs from Mario games. The song has Pauline detailing an adventure across the worlds of Super Mario Odyssey, referring to herself as Mario's "1UP girl". The lyrics are also printed on the inside of the game case for all regions. A Japanese version of the song has its own lyrics, unique to the international version. It can be played from a boombox in the Metro Kingdom and Mushroom Kingdom.

This song was performed by The Super Mario Players and was sung by Kate Higgins (credited as Kate Davis ) in English and songwriter Aimi Mukohara in Japanese. It was composed by Naoto Kubo, the original lyrics were written by Nobuyoshi Suzuki and the English lyrics were written by Rob Tunstall. The full version was released worldwide on October 20, 2017, on the, while the short version was downloadable for free until January 31, 2018.

The song also plays in Mario's character trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In addition, passing by her or other members of the Super Mario Players band will recruit them to perform the song in the New Donk City Hall stage.

Development
Nobuyoshi Suzuki, the sound designer of Super Mario Odyssey, wrote the first draft of the lyrics in Japanese. According to Yoshiaki Koizumi, they had a discussion on whether using words such as "1UP" would be good. They sent all of the documents they had to the localization members to create the final lyrics, due to English being a more global language, as Koizumi stated. This resulted in a back-and-forth between localization members and the Japanese developers as they struggled to keep the Mario references as subtle as possible. He also indicated in an AMA on reddit that the song had been created as a direct result of their developing the character of Pauline.

The English version was the first to be recorded with voice actress Kate Higgins providing the vocals. According to herself, Cup of Tea Productions, Inc. was in charge of the voice acting. When asked if she was interested in doing the voice, she agreed and auditioned for the role by sending samples of her voice to Nintendo of Japan, and was ultimately selected for the role. Weeks before the recording session, Nintendo of Japan sent her a demo sung by an unknown Japanese singer and a lead sheet, with the music already recorded. Several people from Japan and America were present in the final recording.

For the Japanese version, the Nintendo Sound Team had already some candidates, but after listening to her YouTube videos, songwriter Aimi Mukohara was chosen to do the vocals. All the Nintendo Sound Team was present at the moment of recording. This was the first time Aimi was involved with the music of any video game.

English
Here we go, off the rails Don't you know it's time to raise our sails It's freedom like you never knew

Don't need bags, or a pass Say the word I'll be there in a flash You could say my hat is off to you

Oh we can zoom All the way to the moon From this great wide wacky world Jump with me, grab coins with me Oh yeah!

It's time to jump up in the air (Jump up in the air) Jump up, don't be scared (Jump up, don't be scared) Jump up and your cares will soar away And if the dark clouds start to swirl (Dark clouds start to swirl) Don't fear, don't shed a tear, 'cause I'll be your 1UP girl

So let's all jump up super high (Jump up super high) High up in the sky (High up in the sky) There's no power-up like dancing You know that you're my superstar (You're my superstar) No one else can take me this far I'm flipping the switch Get ready for this Oh, let's do the odyssey

Odyssey, ya see! (x7) Odyssey, odyssey!

Spin the wheel, take a chance Every journey starts a new romance A new world's calling out to you

Take a turn, off the path Find a new addition to the cast You know that any captain needs a crew

Take it in stride As you move side to side They're just different points of view Jump with me, grab coins with me Oh yeah!

Come on and jump up in the air (Jump up in the air) Jump without a care (Jump without a care) Jump up 'cause you know that I'll be there And if you find you're short on joy (Find you're short on joy) Don't fret, just don't forget that You're still our 1UP boy

So go on straighten up your cap (Straighten up your cap) Let your toes begin to tap (Toes begin to tap) This rhythm is a power 'shroom Don't forget you're the superstar (You're the superstar) No one else can make it this far Put a comb through that 'stache Now you've got panache Oh, let's do the odyssey

It's time to jump up in the air (Jump up in the air) Jump up, don't be scared (Jump up, don't be scared) Jump up and your cares will soar away And if the dark clouds start to swirl (Dark clouds start to swirl) Don't fear, don't shed a tear, 'cause I'll be your 1UP girl

Now listen all you boys and girls (All you boys and girls) All around the world (All around the world) Don't be afraid to get up and move You know that we're all superstars (We're all superstars) We're the ones who made it this far Put a smile on that face There's no time to waste So, let's do the odyssey

Trivia

 * The theme of 25m from Donkey Kong can be heard during the part where Pauline repeats the lyrics "Odyssey, ya see". In addition, the sound effect played when Mario jumps over a barrel in the game can be heard at the end of the aforementioned riff.
 * Also, when Pauline sings "Odyssey, ya see" in the objective "A Traditional Festival!" in the game, she mimics her main sprite animations from her first game, Donkey Kong.
 * "Jump Up, Super Star!" will make an appearance as one of the songs in the Nintendo Switch installment of Bandai Namco's, , which was announced for release in Japan.