LOS ANGELES — An instrumental version of Billie Eilish's hit song “What Was I Made For” will be woven throughout the billion-dollar movie “Barbie,” exploring the famous doll's existential crisis? It has a soundtrack. There are no spoilers for the final scene. — Eilish's crackling, saccharine falsetto is finally heard over the familiar piano. Water signal.
This is a re-imagining of the 1997 European pop hit “Barbie Girl,” from Dua Lipa's disco-pop “Dance the Night,” with lyrics that synchronize perfectly with Margot Robbie's bespoke choreography. It is one of many outstanding musical moments in the film. ”, courtesy of Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice.
“Barbie”'s music was a huge hit in its own right, selling 126,000 copies in its first week and debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums chart.
Barbie's music has also been nominated for three Grammy Awards, one Golden Globe Award and two Academy Awards for Original Song, more awards than any other film. I am.
It's hard to pinpoint how long it's been since a soundtrack dominated the conversation, especially at the Oscars, the way Barbie did. With the success of “Shallow,” Lady Gaga's performance of “A Star Is Born” comes to mind. And then there's “La La Land” and “Dreamgirls,” which won her three of the five original song nominations in 2007. But overwhelmingly, zeitgeist-defining movie soundtracks are in a drought.
So, is “Barbie” an exception? Or will the soundtrack return?
soundtrack official
Each decade has produced iconic soundtracks. The all-time bestseller is 1992's “The Bodyguard,” featuring Whitney Houston and her iconic “Always Love You,” with 45 million copies sold.
There are many ways to create a soundtrack. Two-thirds of all music streaming is old music, so studios license well-known existing music. Billboard's chart is probably “a safer way”, as his director, Gary Trust, puts it.
In the current era, most “successful” soundtracks have opted for it – “Guardians of the Galaxy” and 2014's “Awesome,” the Jackson 5 song that hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200.・Mix Vol.1” Soundtrack, David Bowie and Marvin Gaye. Musicals like “La La Land'' and Disney hits like “Moana'' and “Frozen'' also do well, but the genre typically doesn't get pop radio airplay. (Exception: “Encanto” and its smash hit “We Don't Talk About Bruno”)
Another option is to use original material like “Barbie.” Trust sees it as a throwback to movies like “Dirty Dancing,” which were released in an era when a single soundtrack generated multiple radio hits by different artists. For Barbie, it's Lipa, Eilish, Minaj, and Ice Spice.
Spring Aspers, president of Sony Pictures Music Group, says a successful soundtrack is one that works with the film's narrative and becomes an important part of the story.
“It's not just about finding out who's the most popular, it's about finding incredibly talented artists who know how to create something that really is an extension of the storytelling,” she said. Ta.
If it does well, it will be a movie-related song, like Seal's “Kiss from a Rose” in “Batman Forever” or Celine Dion's “My Heart Will Go On” in “Titanic.” You get songs that permeate pop culture with real staying power.
“They just become timeless songs… It's like a great band with chemistry. If you have the right songs, the right visuals, the right scenes, it's something much bigger than itself. '' Aspers explained. “I know it's because of the greatness of the song and the movie. It's because of the two of them together.”
Soundtrack: Career Advancement
The right soundtrack sync has the power to break an artist. For example, Aspe, director of Post Malone's “Sunflower” and Swae Lee's “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” soundtrack (the first ever double diamond single).
Soundtracks can also introduce artists to new audiences. Take Sophie Ellis-Bextor's 2001 indie dance hit “Murder on the Dancefloor,” for example. Recently, the song went viral after it was used in the very memorable (and very nude) final scene of the controversial film Saltburn.
In January, “Murder” became Ellis-Bextor's first career hit on the Billboard Hot 100, 23 years after the song's release. By the end of the month, the track had been featured in over 550,000 of her videos on TikTok alone, and her #MurderOnTheDancefloor hashtag had nearly 170 million views. In February, her viral song earned her her US television debut on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.”
“I was lucky!” she told The Associated Press. “What a great thing to be a part of.” She thinks her songs have connected with new audiences (and nostalgic ones listening to her for the first time) because of her association with the film. I'm theorizing. This is the last song on “Saltburn,” and it appears in a key scene, playing loud in the mix so that you hear the entire song, not just the most common snippets.
In her view, “Murder on the Dance Floor'' became one of cinema's key moments – think “Tiny Dancer'' from Elton John's Almost Famous – because: That's because the right placement “unlocks the next level of emotion in the movie,” she says.
Do successful soundtracks create successful movies?
There is a synergy between fans of both movies and music. According to Luminate's 2023 year-end report, people who go to movie theaters in the U.S. are 70% more likely to have attended a live concert in the past six months than those who don't go to the movies.
Additionally, the industry data and analytics firm found that 42% of Gen Z female consumers are more likely to discover new music through movie soundtracks, which is 20% more likely than the general population. This may explain part of the film's success. Like “Barbie”.
“This movie is not a musical, but music was always going to be at the heart of it,” says Mark Ronson, executive producer of the “Barbie” soundtrack.
Kevin Weaver, president of Atlantic Records West Coast, which released “Barbie the Album,” said it was always the label's ambition for the soundtrack to function symbiotically, rather than just independently, outside of the film. talk. This is said to reflect the nature of movies and their music. Colleagues can work together.
“We tried to have the best music and artists,” Weaver says. “And when we make a[soundtrack]album, it's a collection of works, and we really try to do it in a way that accepts it as a collection of works.”
For artists like Ellis-Bextor, it emphasizes the connection between the two. “Music is a really useful tool. Nothing sets the mood of a scene like music,” she says of the relationship.
“Music takes you by the hand and guides you to what you want to feel. That's the only intention of the music. So the soundtrack is like an additional character. ..And with a soundtrack, you get a shared, emotional, visual memory.”
Ronson agrees. “When you finish a movie and you feel like reliving it, you think, 'What can I do?' And you go get the soundtrack,” he says. . “I used to do that too. I'd walk out of the theater and walk to the Megastore on the corner and buy it. So when you're in that mood after watching a movie, it's really helpful. I think.”