Music of Bridgerton
Soundtracks for the Netflix television series
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The music for the historical fiction-romance streaming television series Bridgerton, based on the novel series of the same name by Julia Quinn, features an orchestral and classical score composed and produced by Kris Bowers and orchestral covers of contemporary popular music,[1][2] performed by Vitamin String Quartet, Dunno, and Bowers himself.[3] Both the soundtrack and covers were released in the course of the series' premiere, with the first season's album being distributed by Lakeshore Records and the subsequent albums distributed by Capitol Records. The music has received critical acclaim and award nominations, and the albums have debuted high on several Billboard charts.[4]
Background
Director and executive producer Julie Anne Robinson said she was inspired by the use of classic rock songs in A Knight's Tale (2001).[5] Showrunner Chris Van Dusen described the musical selection by saying, "It really goes to the idea of making this feel different than your other period shows. Whether it's music or the world of the show, the scripts, the sets, the costumes; it all comes back to infusing things through our own unique modern lens and making things feel relatable to whoever's watching."[3] Van Dusen brought in the Vitamin String Quartet from Los Angeles to cover the tracks because he wanted the music to feel modern, especially for the ball sequences.[6]
Bowers started working on the score right after Mrs. America (2020), with the musicians performing and recording the score remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][1] He used a "trial and error" approach, as he originally planned on making the orchestral elements sound like they had been sampled by producing in a hip hop or pop style. He felt it did not work and instead tried a traditional classical approach, while trying to keep the music feeling modern.[7]
While zeroing in on Simon and Daphne's theme, he used a ravel piano to capture the this classical but modern feeling, which he felt made sense as the story followed the younger generation of that period.[8] The theme showed an array of emotions, which Bowers had described as:[7]
"In the beginning, it has this mysterious, somewhat longing feeling to it. It’s very dramatic, romantic and a bit darker. By the middle of the season, it starts to feel ambivalent when she discovers the truth behind what the Duke has told her. It feels ambiguous or unsettled. Towards the end, it’s triumphant, warm and much more optimistic, especially in the very last scene. That last scene mirrors one of the only times where we heard it optimistic when they make that pact. It’s the only time we hear the theme bright and happy, aside from episode one."[7]
The theme for Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews) was described as "harder to crack" as every time writing, it felt too proper and did not "have the bite and sass and edge". He tried over six iterations for the theme until finalising the seventh one.[9] In the original score he had a cue from A Clockwork Orange (1972), which could not used in the show, so it was replaced with the song "What Women Do Best.".[7][8]
Score albums
The score for the first season was released by Lakeshore Records on December 25, 2020, on the show's premiere. The second season's score was released by Capitol Records on March 25, 2022.[10]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Flawless My Dear" | 1:43 |
| 2. | "The Latest Whistledown" | 1:34 |
| 3. | "We Could Form an Attachment" | 3:07 |
| 4. | "Shock and Delight" | 4:02 |
| 5. | "Simon and Lady Danbury" | 4:42 |
| 6. | "What Women Do Best" | 2:47 |
| 7. | "Call Me Simon" | 0:58 |
| 8. | "Sommerset House" | 1:05 |
| 9. | "When You Are Alone" | 2:46 |
| 10. | "Feeling Exceptional" | 3:10 |
| 11. | "What You Saw Was a Lie" | 5:15 |
| 12. | "The Duel" | 7:13 |
| 13. | "A Love Based on Friendship" | 4:19 |
| 14. | "All is Fair in Love and War" | 2:20 |
| 15. | "Miserable Together, Happy Apart" | 3:34 |
| 16. | "Come With Me" | 2:27 |
| 17. | "One Last Dance" | 2:44 |
| 18. | "Love is a Choice" | 2:20 |
| 19. | "A Grand Finish" | 3:33 |
| Total length: | 59:39 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sharpening My Knives" | 2:24 |
| 2. | "Accidental Eavesdropping" | 2:18 |
| 3. | "The Real Work Begins" | 1:39 |
| 4. | "A Gift For Edwina" | 1:01 |
| 5. | "Lord Bridgerton Stung" | 1:30 |
| 6. | "Game Over" | 1:14 |
| 7. | "A Country Visit" | 1:19 |
| 8. | "Hearts and Flowers Ball" | 1:22 |
| 9. | "Nothing Could Keep Me Away" | 1:18 |
| 10. | "They Are Betrothed" | 1:10 |
| 11. | "Eloise & Theo" | 0:47 |
| 12. | "Not Far Enough" | 2:12 |
| 13. | "To Wait" | 1:08 |
| 14. | "Happy Endings Don't Exist" | 1:38 |
| 15. | "Choices" | 2:41 |
| 16. | "It's My Fault" | 3:51 |
| 17. | "I Love You" | 2:07 |
| 18. | "It Has Been Said" | 2:31 |
| 19. | "Newlyweds" | 2:03 |
| Total length: | 34:13 | |
Chart performance
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Soundtrack albums
Bridgerton: Season 1 (Covers from the Netflix Series) featured selections of songs from Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Shawn Mendes, Taylor Swift, Celeste, and Maroon 5, picked by the music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas.[25][26] The first four songs were covered by the Vitamin String Quartet. Celeste's "Strange" was covered by Bowers, the show's composer, along with his friend Hillary Smith, and Swift's "Wildest Dreams" was performed by Axel Tenner (known by his stage name Duomo).[27] The soundtrack was released by Lakeshore Records in a six-track extended play on December 25, 2020, alongside the show's premiere.[28]
The covers for the second season were released in conjunction with the premiere on March 25, 2022, alongside the score album.[29][30] Capitol Records distributed the score and soundtrack.[10] Some of the covers featured songs from Nirvana, Madonna, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Harry Styles, Pink, Robyn, Alanis Morissette and Lata Mangeshkar.[31] The tracks were covered by Hannah V, Joe Rodwell, Steve Horner, Kiris Houston, Tomas Peire-Serrte and Midnite String Quartet, along with return appearances from Vitamin String Quartet, Bowers and Duomo, who covered the contemporary songs for the first season's soundtrack.[31] The soundtrack was released in two-disc 180 gram LP record on December 9, 2022, which contained Bower's score in one of the discs.[32][33]
The third season's soundtrack was released in June 2024.[34] On January 28, 2026, ahead of the first episode of season four, the track listing for the first part of the season was released.[35]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thank U, Next" (Vitamin String Quartet) | Ariana Grande | 3:26 |
| 2. | "Girls Like You" (Vitamin String Quartet) | Maroon 5 | 3:23 |
| 3. | "In My Blood" (Vitamin String Quartet) | Shawn Mendes | 3:30 |
| 4. | "Bad Guy" (Vitamin String Quartet) | Billie Eilish | 3:13 |
| 5. | "Strange" (Kris Bowers feat. Hillary Smith) | Celeste | 3:18 |
| 6. | "Wildest Dreams" (Duomo) | Taylor Swift | 3:23 |
| Total length: | 20:13 | ||
| No. | Title | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stay Away" (Vitamin String Quartet) | Nirvana | 3:07 |
| 2. | "Material Girl" (Kris Bowers) | Madonna | 4:04 |
| 3. | "Diamonds" (Hannah V and Joe Rodwell) | Rihanna | 1:56 |
| 4. | "Dancing On My Own" (Vitamin String Quartet) | Robyn | 4:39 |
| 5. | "You Oughta Know" (Duomo and Tomas Peire-Serrate) | Alanis Morissette | 2:47 |
| 6. | "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" (Kris Bowers) | Lata Mangeshkar | 3:28 |
| 7. | "Sign of the Times (Stripped)" (Steve Horner) | Harry Styles | 2:39 |
| 8. | "What About Us" (Duomo) | Pink | 4:51 |
| 9. | "How Deep Is Your Love" (Kiris Houston) | Calvin Harris | 3:46 |
| 10. | "Wrecking Ball" (Midnite String Quartet) | Miley Cyrus | 3:53 |
| Total length: | 35:10 | ||
| No. | Title | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "abcdefu" (Vitula) | Gayle | 2:53 |
| 2. | "Dynamite" (Vitamin String Quartet) | BTS | 3:18 |
| 3. | "Jealous" (Shimmer) | Nick Jonas | 3:33 |
| 4. | "Cheap Thrills" (Vitamin String Quartet) | Sia | 3:28 |
| 5. | "Happier Than Ever" (Vitamin String Quartet) | Billie Eilish | 4:45 |
| 6. | "Snow on the Beach" (Atwood Quartet) | Taylor Swift | 4:12 |
| 7. | "Give Me Everything" (Archer Marsh) | Pitbull | 2:12 |
| 8. | "pov" (Strings From Paris) | Ariana Grande | 3:27 |
| 9. | "Thunder" (Thomas Mercier, Théo Croix) | Imagine Dragons | 3:07 |
| 10. | "Confident" (Archer Marsh) | Demi Lovato | 3:00 |
| 11. | "Yellow" (Vitamin String Quartet) | Coldplay | 3:38 |
| 12. | "You Belong with Me" (Duomo) | Taylor Swift | 4:01 |
| 13. | "Lights" (Archer Marsh) | Ellie Goulding | 2:08 |
| 14. | "All I Want" (Kris Bowers) | Tori Kelly | 3:07 |
| Total length: | 46:53 | ||
Chart performance
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Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Nominees | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Golden Reel Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Music Score and Musical for Episodic Long Form Broadcast Media | Brittany DuBay (for "Shock and Delight") | Nominated | [55] |
| Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Score in a TV Show/Limited Series | Kris Bowers | Nominated | [56] | |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) | Kris Bowers (for "Diamond Of The First Water") | Nominated | [57] | |
| Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music | Kris Bowers and Michael Dean Parsons | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Music Supervision | Alexandra Patsavas (for "Diamond Of The First Water") | Nominated | |||
| 2022 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Music Supervision | Alexandra Pastvas | Nominated | [58] |
| Outstanding Musical Score | Kris Bowers | Nominated | |||
| Grammy Awards | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | Kris Bowers | Nominated | [59] | |
| MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Musical Moment | Anthony and Kate dancing to Midnight String Quartet's cover of "Wrecking Ball" | Nominated | [60] | |
| 2023 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album | Bridgerton Season Two (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) (by Kris Bowers) | Nominated | [61] |