The soundtrack for the 2023 historical drama limited series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, a prequel spin-off of the Netflix series Bridgerton created by Shonda Rhimes, are two projects produced by Sony Music.
The first, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series), consists of an original score composed and produced by Kris Bowers, while the latter Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Covers from the Netflix Series) is an reinterpretation in a classical music key of pop songs from Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, SZA, Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston discography by Bowers with brothers Brian and Caleb Chan.[1][2]
Production
editKris Bowers, who scored both the first and second seasons of Bridgerton, also worked on two original soundtrack projects for the series through Sony Music.[3] The first one, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series), was supervised by Bowers, with co-production by Max Wrightson and co-writing of some tracks by Alec Sievern and Michael Dean Parsons.[4]
The idea of the second project, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Covers from the Netflix Series), arose following the filming of the "King's Ball scene", when after a series of songs from the classical repertoire, the director Shonda Rhimes decided to play Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You".[5][6] The song is the only one with two versions: the first one is instrumental, while the second one is sung by Keys with a 70-piece orchestra of women of colour. Keys explained the creative process and the concept of the project in an interview with Rolling Stone UK:[7]
I spoke to India [Amarteifio] and she was telling me how they'd filmed the King's ball in one particular episode and they had done 30 takes with a very traditional classic song being played. [...] The director announced he wanted to change it up with a modern song and he played "If I Ain't Got You". [...] The director just ended up using that take, even though they did 30 others, and I think that was the beginning of the seed that got planted. I'd never done the song with an orchestra before, so we wanted it to be really meaningful and purposeful. [...] Getting a 70-piece orchestra of women of colour to play is a beautiful extension of that and an opportunity to really just uplift all the incredible musicians who are part of the orchestra. [...] I really wanted to bring a beautiful diversity to the perspective of this idea of royalty, which is already happening naturally in the show
— Alicia Keys on If I Ain't Got You's reinterpretation[7]
The orchestral version of "If I Ain't Got You" arranged by Bobbie-Jane Gardner was correlated with a music video directed by Keys and Shonda Rhimes which featured cameos by Ofentse, Rimon, Cherrie, Amel Bent, Delara, and Alicia-Awa Beissert.[8] The video earned a nomination at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards in Video for Good category.[9]
Albums
editQueen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Covers from the Netflix Series)
edit| Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Covers from the Netflix Series) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by various artists | ||||
| Released | May 4, 2023 | |||
| Recorded | 2022–2023 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 29:29 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| Bridgerton soundtracks chronology | ||||
| ||||
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Covers from the Netflix Series), a compilation soundtrack album for the series was announced in late-February and was released by Netflix Music and Sony Masterworks on May 4, 2023.[10] It provided for the reinterpretation in a classical music key of pop songs from Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, SZA, Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston discography.[11] Keys' 2004 single "If I Ain't Got You" was interpreted into an orchestral version by composer Bobbie-Jane Gardner, that was released by Legacy Recordings on April 28, 2023.[8]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Feeling I've Never Been" (performed by Kris Bowers) |
| Kris Bowers | 3:44 |
| 2. | "Halo" (performed by Caleb Chan and Brian Chan) |
| 2:53 | |
| 3. | "If I Ain't Got You" (performed by Vitamin String Quartet) | Bowers | 3:34 | |
| 4. | "Déjà Vu" (performed by Mike Froudarakis and Alexander Leeming Froudakis) | Bowers | 2:20 | |
| 5. | "Run the World" (performed by Caleb Chan and Brian Chan) |
| 3:11 | |
| 6. | "Nobody Gets Me" (performed by Caleb Chan and Brian Chan) |
|
| 4:05 |
| 7. | "I Will Always Love You" (performed by Vitamin String Quartet) | Bowers | 4:45 | |
| 8. | "If I Ain't Got You – Orchestral" (performed by Alicia Keys and Queen Charlotte's Global Orchestra) |
| Bowers | 4:54 |
| Total length: | 29:29 | |||
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series)
edit| Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Covers from the Netflix Series) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | May 4, 2023 | |||
| Recorded | 2022–2023 | |||
| Genre | Classical | |||
| Length | 29:29 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer | Kris Bowers | |||
| Bridgerton soundtracks chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Kris Bowers chronology | ||||
| ||||
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) is the second soundtrack album containing the orchestral score composed by Kris Bowers for the series. It was released by Netflix Music and Sony Masterworks on May 4, 2023.[3]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Main Title" | 1:05 |
| 2. | "Arranging Marriage" | 2:22 |
| 3. | "Princess Royal Is Dead" | 2:56 |
| 4. | "I'm Just George" | 2:03 |
| 5. | "Rest of Our Lives Together" | 1:17 |
| 6. | "Kiss and Tell" | 1:35 |
| 7. | "Observatory Kiss" | 1:53 |
| 8. | "Who You Are" | 3:38 |
| 9. | "I Am Venus" | 3:48 |
| 10. | "Meet Dr. Monro" | 3:26 |
| 11. | "George Charlotte Montage" | 2:31 |
| 12. | "Almost Kiss" | 1:23 |
| 13. | "Almost Break Down" | 1:37 |
| 14. | "Come Back to Me" | 3:41 |
| 15. | "I Love You Charlotte" | 2:09 |
| 16. | "He's Not Fine" | 3:21 |
| 17. | "Together We Are Whole" | 2:44 |
| 18. | "Thank You" | 2:32 |
| Total length: | 44:01 | |
Charts
edit| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Album Downloads (OCC)[12] | 35 |
| UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[13] | 8 |
References
edit- ^ Pope, Cervanté (May 8, 2023). "Alicia Keys reimagines "If I Ain't Got You" with an all-women of color orchestra: Watch". Consequence. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ Starkey, Adam (May 19, 2023). "Here's every song on the 'Queen Charlotte' soundtrack". NME. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ a b Geraci, Samantha (May 4, 2023). "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Soundtrack & Covers Albums Out Now". Legacy Recordings. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ Cormack, Morgan (May 4, 2023). "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story soundtrack: All the songs in the Netflix drama". Radio Times. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ Witter, Brad (May 4, 2023). "Bridgerton's 'Queen Charlotte' Soundtrack Puts A Spin On Beyoncé, SZA, & Alicia Keys Hits". Bustle. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ Dixon, Louise (April 12, 2023). "Alicia Keys reimagines iconic hit for 'Bridgerton' prequel". Associated Press. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Reilly, Nick (May 4, 2023). "Alicia Keys on revamping 'If I Ain't Got You' for 'Queen Charlotte' soundtrack". Rolling Stone UK. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Aniftos, Rania (May 8, 2023). "Alicia Keys Talks Bringing 'Magic' to 'If I Ain't Got You' With All-Female Orchestral Cover: 'This Is What Our Ancestors Never Experienced'". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ Corcoran, Nina (August 8, 2023). "MTV VMAs 2023 Nominees Announced: See the Full List Here". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
- ^ Inman, DeMicia (May 9, 2023). "Alicia Keys Enlists Multicultural, All-Women Orchestra For "If I Ain't Got You" Performance". VIBE. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ^ Gomez, Dessi (May 4, 2023). "Here Are All the Cover Songs in Queen Charlotte". TheWrap. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ 27, 2023/140/ "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.