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)
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]
Singlesedit
The soundtrack was preceded by the release of two singles. "Earned It" by Canadian singer the Weeknd was released as the album's lead single on December 23, 2014,[5] peaked at number three on the US BillboardHot 100 and was included on his second album Beauty Behind the Madness.[6] "Love Me like You Do" by English singer Ellie Goulding was released as the second single on January 7, 2015;[7] it reached number one on the national charts of 16 countries including the UK Singles Chart, and peaked at number three on the Hot 100 and was included on her third album Delirium.
Promotional singlesedit
"Salted Wound" by Sia was released as the first promotional single on January 27, 2015.[8] Two further promotional singles, "One Last Night" by Vaults and "I Know You" by Skylar Grey, were released on February 3, 2015. "I'm on Fire", a Bruce Springsteen cover performed by Awolnation, was released as the fourth promotional single on February 9, 2015.[9]
Receptionedit
Commercial performanceedit
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]
In contrast to the near-universal panning of the film, its soundtrack has received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the soundtrack received an average score of 65, based on 7 reviews. Kenneth Partridge of Billboard rated the soundtrack three-and-a-half out of five stars, writing that the soundtrack "wisely skews mainstream".[16] Chuck Arnold of Rolling Stone compared the soundtrack to those of The Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games while noting that the Weeknd's "Earned It" brings "Bond-theme drama" to the soundtrack.[21] However, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the soundtrack as "suitable for any romantic evening" and a seduction.[23] Jim Farber of the New York Daily News claimed that the lyrics speak of "romanticized sex", while highlighting the album's "soft-edged production".[24] Writing for ABC News, Allan Raible described the soundtrack as a collection of "sultry electro blues pop", but criticized the inclusions of older publications.[25] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times called the soundtrack a "slog" and criticized the album's midtempo tracks, while comparing the album's commercial performance to that of Taylor Swift's 1989.[26]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^ abUgwu, Reggie (February 26, 2015). "Why The "Fifty Shades Of Grey" Soundtrack Is Better Than It Has Any Right To Be". BuzzFeed. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
^James, E L (January 12, 2015). "Movie Tie-in Edition Now Available & Soundtrack Coming Soon!". Retrieved January 12, 2015.
^Kozak, Oktay Ege (January 12, 2015). "'Fifty Shades Of Grey' Soundtrack Features Beyoncé, The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Sia, And More". Indie Wire. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
^Zuckerman, Esther (December 24, 2014). "Hear The Weeknd's 'Earned It' from 'Fifty Shades of Grey'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
^Strecker, Erin (January 7, 2015). "Listen To Ellie Goulding's Sexy New Song From 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Soundtrack". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
^"Fifty Shades of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple. January 27, 2015. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
^"iTunes - Music - Fifty Shades of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Various Artists". iTunes. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015.
^Caulfield, Keith (18 February 2015). "Drake's Surprise Album Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
^ ab"Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
^Cross, Alan (February 18, 2015). "Weekly Music Sales Report and Analysis: 18 February 2015". Retrieved February 20, 2015.
^ ab"2015 Nielsen Mid-Year Music Canada Report" (PDF). Nielsen. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
^"Reviews for Fifty Shades of Grey [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] by Various Artists". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
^"Fifty Shades of Grey [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
^ abKenneth Partridge (February 11, 2015). "Album Review: The 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Soundtrack Hits Hard Enough to Leave a Lasting Mark". Billboard. Retrieved February 11, 2015.[permanent dead link]
^Wood, Mikael (February 13, 2015). "'Fifty Shades of Grey': Soundtrack has one thing on its mind". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
^Gamboa, Glenn (February 9, 2015). "'Fifty Shades of Grey' soundtrack review: Unimpressive". Newsday. Cablevision. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
^Farber, Jim (February 3, 2015). "Album review: 'Fifty Shades of Grey' features Beyonce, Sia, Ellie Goulding and Jesse Ware singing of S&M and bondage". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
^Phull, Hardeep (February 9, 2015). "'Fifty Shades' soundtrack more snoozy than sexy". New York Post. News Corp. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
^ abChuck Arnold (February 10, 2015). "ALBUM REVIEW: Fifty Shades of Grey: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
^Gardner, Elysa (February 9, 2015). "Album of Week: 'Fifty Shades' offers pleasure (really)". USA Today. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
^"Fifty Shades of Grey [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
^"Review: 'Fifty Shades' soundtrack is not racy enough". New York Daily News. February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
^Raible, Allan (February 14, 2015). "Music Reviews: The Latest From 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Soundtrack, Ricky Martin, and More". ABC News. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
^"'Fifty Shades of Grey': Soundtrack album has a job to do". Los Angeles Times. February 13, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
^"Fifty Shades of Grey (Deluxe Edition) - Target Exclusive". Target. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
^"Fifty Shades of Grey [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
^"Ranking Mensual" (in Spanish). CAPIF. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2015. To view the chart position Select '2015' and 'Febrero'.
^"Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Fifty Shades Of Grey". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
^"Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack – Fifty Shades Of Grey" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
^"Ultratop.be – Soundtrack – Fifty Shades Of Grey" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
^"Ultratop.be – Soundtrack – Fifty Shades Of Grey" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
^"Ranking ABPD "CD" (30/03/2015 a 05/04/2015)" (in Portuguese). Portal Sucesso. 8 June 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
^"Soundtrack Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 09.Týden 2015 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
^"Danishcharts.dk – Soundtrack – Fifty Shades Of Grey". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
^"Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack – Fifty Shades Of Grey" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
^"Lescharts.com – Soundtrack – Fifty Shades Of Grey". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
^"Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack – Fifty Shades Of Grey" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
^"Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 6/2015)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
^"Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2015. 10. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
^"Top 30 Multi-Artist Compilation Album, Week Ending 12 February 2015". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
^"Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
^"Soundtrack Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
^"ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
^"Jahreshitparade Alben 2015" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
^"Jaaroverzichten 2015 – Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
^"Rapports Annuels 2015 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
^"Top Canadian Albums: Year End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2 January 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
^"Album Top-100 2015" (in Danish). Hitlisten.NU. IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
^"Jaaroverzichten – Album 2015" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
^"Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 2015" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
^"Összesített album- és válogatáslemez-lista – eladási darabszám alapján – 2015" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
^"Classifiche "Top of the Music" 2015 FIMI-GfK: La musica italiana in vetta negli album e nei singoli digitali" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016. Click on "Scarica allegato" to download the zipped file containing the year-end chart PDF documents.
^"The Official NZ Music Charts - End of Year Charts 2015".
^"Lista OLiS – podsumowanie 2015 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
^"Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (O.S.T. - Various; 'Fifty Shades of Grey')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
^"Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 16 November 2021. Type Soundtrack in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Fifty Shades of Grey in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.