Classic, all-star soundtracks to accompany all-star movies are one of the most timeless tickets to success, including classics such as Flashdance, Forrest Gump, and Pulp Fiction. While the mentioned films are a few decades out, that doesn’t mean the success of film soundtracks has slowed down. In honor of the buzz behind the Twisters soundtrack, let’s take a look through the last decade to see some great examples of film soundtracks that shaped culture.
The most obvious recent example is Barbie(2023), a film that uses music from the world’s biggest stars to accompany the most pivotal moments of the film. Fans will remember the iconic dance sequence to Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night Away” or the tear-jerking climax to Billie Eilish‘s heartbreaking “What Was I Made For.”
A callback to one of the ’80s most iconic soundtracks was Top Gun: Maverick(2022), aiming for the same heights as the 1986 original. By recruiting the likes of Lady Gaga and One Republic, the soundtrack helped build hype for one of the most anticipated sequels in recent memory.
Disney and other studios are famous for iconic tracks, recently with films like Encanto (2021), which generated a #1 single “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”. None of these films, however, quite met the pop world halfway like The Greatest Showman (2017). Some of the biggest artists in the world even re-recorded the film’s original tracks, like P!nk, Kesha, Panic! At The Disco, and Kelly Clarkson. This allowed the originals from the musical to gain even more exposure, only helping to snowball the film’s momentum and expose these songs to audiences who may not have seen the film.
One of the biggest cinematic juggernauts of the last 15 years, Marvel, has also not been a stranger to creating buzz-worthy soundtracks for some of the biggest releases. Though not featuring any original music, the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy’s “awesome mix” soundtracks have given new life and exposure to classic 70’s and 80’s hits with a new and younger generation. Marvel seems to want to follow this approach with Deadpool & Wolverine, with a focus on the 90s, featuring Avril Lavigne, *NSYNC, Green Day, and The Goo Goo Dolls.
Speaking of Marvel films, 2018 gave us the one-two punch of Black Panther and Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. As two Black-led superhero films, both films assembled some of the biggest Black artists, who delivered the top singles of the year. “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee; and “Scared of the Dark” by Lil Wayne, XXXTentacion, and Ty Dolla Sign remain some of the most quintessential songs of that year. The same goes for Black Panther, helmed by Kendrick Lamar, featuring “All of the Stars” (Kendrick Lamar & SZA) and “King’s Dead” (Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future & James Blake). Both films’ sequels, Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse (2023) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)also followed this path. Spider-Man had a Metro Boomin’-led soundtrack, and Black Panther included two songs from Rhianna, an artist who has notoriously avoided releasing new music since 2016’s ANTI.
The art of the movie soundtrack is still one worth refining and pursuing. While both industries have changed dramatically, the pairing of hit songs with hit music is one thing that’s thankfully here to stay.
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