Fifty Shades of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
ReleasedFebruary 10, 2015 (2015-02-10)
Length61:41
LabelRepublic
Producer
Various
Fifty Shades soundtrack chronology
Fifty Shades of Grey
(2015) 		Fifty Shades Darker
(2017)
Singles from Fifty Shades of Grey
  1. "Earned It"
    Released: December 23, 2014
  2. "Love Me like You Do"
    Released: January 7, 2015
  3. "Crazy in Love (2014 Remix)"
    Released: September 4, 2015

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]

Background

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]

Singles

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 Billboard Hot 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 singles

"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]

Reception

Commercial performance

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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Billboard[16]
Los Angeles Times[17]
NewsdayB−[18]
New York Daily News[19]
New York Post[20]
Rolling Stone[21]
USA Today[22]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2015)

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]

Track listing

Fifty Shades of Grey — Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."I Put a Spell on You" (Fifty Shades of Grey) (performed by Annie Lennox)Screamin' Jay Hawkins
  • Mike Stevens
  • Annie Lennox
3:30
2."Undiscovered" (performed by Laura Welsh)
Haynie2:53
3."Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)" (performed by the Weeknd)
  • Moccio
  • Quenneville
4:10
4."Meet Me in the Middle" (performed by Jessie Ware)
Okumu5:08
5."Love Me like You Do" (performed by Ellie Goulding)
  • Martin
  • Payami
4:10
6."Haunted" (performed by Beyoncé) (Michael Diamond Remix)
  • Boots
  • Knowles[a]
  • Michael Diamond[b]
5:08
7."Salted Wound" (performed by Sia)
Kraus4:30
8."Beast of Burden" (performed by the Rolling Stones)
The Glimmer Twins3:29
9."I'm on Fire" (performed by Awolnation)Bruce SpringsteenAaron Bruno2:34
10."Crazy in Love (2014 Remix)" (performed by Beyoncé)
Boots[c]3:46
11."Witchcraft" (performed by Frank Sinatra)
Dave Cavanaugh2:51
12."One Last Night" (performed by Vaults)
  • Barnabas Freeman
  • Benjamin Vella
  • Blythe Pepino
  • Barney Freeman
  • Ben Vella
  • Pepino
3:19
13."Where You Belong" (performed by the Weeknd)
Dean4:57
14."I Know You" (performed by Skylar Grey)
  • Moccio
  • Skylar Grey
  • Dan Heath
  • Moccio[d]
4:58
15."Ana and Christian" (performed by Danny Elfman)Danny ElfmanDanny Elfman3:24
16."Did That Hurt?" (performed by Danny Elfman)ElfmanElfman2:54
Total length:61:41
Fifty Shades of Grey — Target deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[27]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
17."Rude" (performed by Terence Coles and Leon "RoccStar" Youngblood)Leon YoungbloodLeon "RoccStar" Youngblood3:30
18."Call Me" (performed by St. Paul and the Broken Bones)
Ben Tanner2:51
Total length:68:02

Notes

Credits

Credits for the soundtrack adapted from AllMusic.[28]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[76] Platinum 70,000‡
Austria (IFPI Austria)[77] Platinum 15,000*
Belgium (BEA)[78] Gold 15,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[79] Gold 20,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[80] Platinum 89,000[13]
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[81] Platinum 20,000‡
France (SNEP)[82] Platinum 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[83] Platinum 200,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[84] Platinum 60,000^
Poland (ZPAV)[85] 3× Platinum 60,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[86] Platinum 40,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[87] Gold 10,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[88] Platinum 300,000‡
United States (RIAA)[89] Platinum 1,000,000[11]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

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