Film Daily’s jammin’ picks for best movie soundtracks of 2019
The end of 2019 is upon us, and with it brought us a bounty of fantastic movies. People will spend the next few weeks arguing over what movie deserves to be called the best of 2019, but we don’t care about that. We’re here to talk about the music to your ears, literally.
2019 has brought us several musicals and movies with great compilation soundtracks that deserve some recognition. And now that Spotify’s Wrapped playlists are out, you can jam out to these with no fear of your friends judging you for listening to Elton John for 20,000 hours. Here’s some of the best soundtracks in film in 2019.
Booksmart
Truly a love letter to your youth, Booksmart really nails the individuality of each one of us. Even when we form bonds with other people, we hold ourselves and our self worth above it all. So that’s exactly what the Booksmart soundtrack does too.
Who knew Perfume Genius, Lizzo, and Death Grips could all flow so nicely on a playlist together? By focusing on the moments themselves where each song appears, rather than just trying to stick with a coherent theme, the music in Booksmart ties nicely together. It gives you a little bit of everything, appealing to fans of any genre, just like Booksmart itself.
Frozen 2
We wouldn’t hear the end of it if this didn’t end up on the list. For Kristoff’s 80s inspired power ballad alone it deserves a spot. While the verdict is still out on the movie itself, people all agree that the music in Frozen 2 fits much better and overall is stronger.
While you’re here, let’s also have a discussion about how “Into the Unknown” is definitely the new “Let it Go” and not “Show Yourself”. While “Show Yourself” thematically matches “Let it Go” better, “Into the Unknown” is a stronger song when out of context from the movie. If nothing else, the Panic! At The Disco version of “Into the Unknown” deserves airplay over “Show Yourself”.
Guava Island
Childish Gambino soundtrack? Automatically it needs a spot on this list. Donald Glover stars in this Amazon original as a man playing an all-night music festival for a small island, giving them an escape from their problems for just a day. While Rihanna stars in the film, she doesn’t appear on the soundtrack.
While disappointing, it’s okay when Glover kills it on the soundtrack. The island flavor within every song fits Childish Gambino’s sound and brings Guava Island to life. You automatically feel more upbeat and happy every time you listen to the soundtrack, which was Deni Maroon (Donald Glover)’s whole reason for performing.
Rocketman
Anyone who says they don’t like Elton John is a cold hard liar. Everyone has at least one Elton John song they like, and everyone probably heard the one song they like in Rocketman. The biopic about the legendary singer was also a greatest hits collection of his music, with a few underrated classics mixed in a new duet between John and his on-screen actor, Taron Egerton.
Egerton covers all of John’s songs in Rocketman, aside from those sung by young Elton, Kit Connor. This isn’t Egerton’s first time performing Elton John; in the 2016 animated movie Sing, Egerton plays Johnny, a gorilla that performs “I’m Still Standing” for a talent competition.
Aladdin
By obligation, we have to put either The Lion King or Aladdin on here. We choose Aladdin because while The Lion King has a star-studded voice cast, the charm of the original music isn’t there. Aladdin brings to life the classic songs plus a few new additions that fit in nicely.
Mena Massoud’s musical performance as Aladdin is spectacular, and Naomi Scott’s vocals as Jasmine were beautiful. Yet the real star was Will Smith, who not only paid tribute to the Genie before him, Robin Williams, but made the character his own. Smith’s version of “Friend Like Me” shows this perfectly.
