Fifty Shades of Grey (soundtrack)
Fifty Shades of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the film of the same name adapted from E. L. James's eponymous novel that was released through Republic Records on February 10, 2015. It was the seventh best-selling album of 2015 with 2.2 million copies sold worldwide.[1]
Fifty Shades of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
February 10, 2015
61:41
- Mike Stevens
- Annie Lennox
- Emile Haynie
- Stephan Moccio
- Jason "DaHeala" Quenneville
- Dave Okumu
- Max Martin
- Ali Payami
- Boots
- Beyoncé Knowles
- Michael Diamond
- Oliver Kraus
- The Glimmer Twins
- Aaron Bruno
- Dave Cavanaugh
- Barney Freeman
- Ben Vella
- Blythe Pepino
- Mike Dean
- Dan Heath
- Danny Elfman
- Leon "RoccStar" Youngblood
- Ben Tanner
Background[edit]
Meetings about the album took place nearly two years prior the album's release when plans of a film were announced. Mike Knobloch, president of film music and publishing at Universal said: "We really wanted the songs to be part of the fiber of the film — nothing crowbarred in or just auxiliary to the experience. There was a very deliberate effort to create as much original material as possible, to tailor the production, the lyrics, and the performance."
Beyoncé was one of the first singers approached for the film. Knobloch said: "She thought it was an opportunity to do something that aligned nicely with her brand and agenda." Sia was approached by Knobloch and music supervisor Dana Sano with a scene they had in mind: "It's a pivotal moment, when the two protagonists have an ecstatic and intimate first sexual encounter. [Sia] played us songs and we would say, 'That's good, but could it be more of this, or less of that?'. By the end we left her spinning her wheels about what she had to do to deliver just the right song to us for the film."[2] The Weeknd was involved in the project very early. Tom Mackay, a manager at Republic Records, explained: "He worked on a number of songs for a number of scenes. Some were working and some weren't, but he just kept at it, and kept at it, and kept at it. In the end, he wrote 'Earned It' and it's the biggest song of his career to date. It's the only song that's in the movie twice."[2]
On January 12, 2015, E. L. James announced the soundtrack would be released on February 10, 2015.[3][4]
Reception[edit]
Commercial performance[edit]
The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with sales of 258,000 units (210,000 copies of traditional albums) in its first week behind Drake's If You're Reading This It's Too Late.[10] As of January 2017, it had sold 913,000 copies in the United States.[11]
The album debuted at number two on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 18,000 copies.[12] As of July 2015, it had sold 89,000 copies in the country.[13]
Notes