‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Soundtrack Soars To No.1 At The Billboard Charts
Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey’s whirlwind romance romp continues with Fifty Shades Darker, and along with the much-awaited sequel is an equally spectacular Original Soundtrack. The OST was recently reported to have debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
The soundtrack for Fifty Shades Darker was released by Universal Studios and Republic Records on February 10. According to Nielsen Music, it earned the equivalent of 123,000 units sold within the first week of its release. Of these, an estimated 72,000 units count as traditional album sales.
The achievement is massive, but it certainly is unsurprising. Some of the biggest names in the music industry today lent their talents to complete the jaw-dropping collection of tracks.
Pop icon Taylor Swift and former One Direction member Zayn were featured in the lead single, with a New Wave-y R&B track called “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.”
The bluesy guitar lines of Nicki Minaj and Nick Jonas’ “Bom Bidi Bom” lends an appropriate vibe, too, reminiscent of the sexier parts of the film.
Electropop newcomer Halsey also contributed with a downtempo-inspired number in “Not Afraid Anymore,” while Corrine Bailey Rae impressed with a haunting, cello-laden rendition of Coldplay’s “The Scientist.”
It is undoubtedly an all-star effort, and the tracks mentioned above are just barely scratching the surface of the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack’s brilliance. John Legend, Sia, Tove Lo, and others, all contributed songs worthy of such a franchise that is sure to please the Fifty Shades fan base.
Notably absent in the sequel’s soundtrack, however, is Ellie Goulding. Many may remember how big “Love Me Like You Do” hit it on the charts when it came out as the promotional song for the first film, Fifty Shades of Grey.
In any case, the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack is already doing better than its predecessor, as the first film’s OST only peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard charts. Furthermore, its debuting at No. 1 certainly appears more impressive considering that the last OST to hit the coveted top spot is the soundtrack for 2016’s Suicide Squad.
Fifty Shades Darker Showcases Taylor Swift’s “Sexy Side”
In a review by Entertainment Weekly, they gave the single “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” a B+ rating. They said that the track is “a surprising step” from Swift, who “generally prefers to keep her image on the squeakier side of clean.”
In contrast, they mentioned that his co-singer Zayn Malik and his falsetto is comfortably at home at the Fifty Shades saga, saying that the carrier single could be at home in Zayn’s debut album Mind of Mine.
While initial hearing of “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” may come as a shock to people who thought Taylor Swift can only do country songs and “conventional” pop music, EW stated that the singer-songwriter is “hardly out of her element.” Taylor and Zayn may be nowhere near a portrayal of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey in the music video, but she did show her vocal flexibility in this song, as with several songs that came before. In conclusion, EW only had praise for the star.
“You don’t go from country darling to globe-conquering pop superstar without having a versatile skill set.”
The chart that shows Fifty Shades Darker’s OST being No. 1 will be published on Billboard websites on February 22. Of course, the soundtrack is in good company. Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic already spent three consecutive weeks at No. 2, while Big Sean’s I Decided concedes its No. 1 spot, falling to No. 3 after its second week in the charts.
The Weeknd’s Starboy and Adele’s 25 finish at spots five and six, respectively. Interestingly, there is another movie soundtrack included in the Top 10— that being the OST for Trolls. The album climbed to the No. 7 spot after finishing at 14 the week prior.
[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]
