Music is an essential part of every movie and TV series. Everything on screen is enhanced when it’s accompanied by an exceptional song, but it takes on greater depth when the characters who play these melodies expand their stories with the lyrics.
This year two soundtracks joined our playlist: Daisy Jones & The Six wouldn’t stop playing and now Netflix’s A Beautiful Life brought out some of the best catchy songs of all time.
Here is a list of the tunes to fall in love with, from those two productions and more, featuring your favorite artists singing them.
“Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)” by Daisy, Billy and The Six, from “Daisy Jones & The Six”
Daisy Jones & The Six is a fictional band that became a worldwide phenomenon for a short period. In every episode, the band performs songs that all fans passionately sing along to, such as “Aurora”.
But the song that gave the introduction to the band – and that everyone remembers – is “Look At Us Now (Honeycomb),” performed by Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin), Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) and The Six.
The song started out as Billy’s promise to Camila to be better, but the ballad that slowly builds up the tempo, somehow capturing the lust and tension between Daisy and Billy, especially onstage when they shared a microphone.
“We can make a good thing bad” is the perfect lyric to represent that passion between the protagonists.
“Hope This Song Is for You” By Elliott Winther, from “A Beautiful Life”
This movie from Denmark, released on Netflix in 2023, has one of the best soundtracks you’ll ever hear.
Each song is composed for a specific moment in the film, mostly performed and written by actor and singer Christopher (Elliot in A Beautiful Life).
It’s hard to pick just one song from the album, but one that you’ll replay over and over in your playlist is “Hope This Song Is for You,” a soulful lyric that you’ll loudly sing along to as if you are at a concert.
It has two versions, a remix, perfect for a nightclub, and a ballad. I choose the ballad.
“Husavik (My Hometown)” by Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdóttir, from “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga”
“Husavik (My Hometown)” is the song performed for the film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga by two fictional Eurovision contenders, Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdóttir, hailing from a small town in Iceland.
The film is a funny comedy that features many references to memorable moments from the contest and has numerous cameos from Eurovision winners. The song has become an unprecedented hit, even receiving Academy and Critics’ Choice Award nominations. The lyrics, which are presented in English and Icelandic, are heartwarming and speak to the importance of having a place to call home.
The song has also helped increase interest in Husavik, a small fishing town in Iceland, and has prompted the town’s mayor to declare it the town’s anthem.
“Lost Stars” by Adam Levine and Keira Knightley, from “Begin Again”
Begin Again is a film that features a realistic look at the music industry, showing how a producer and an aspiring singer work together to achieve their dream.
“Lost Stars,” performed by both Adam Levine and Keira Knightley, is heard at different points in the film, is poignant and its lyrics speak about an artist’s struggle to find their place in the world. It’s a song that I quickly added to my playlist when the movie was released in 2014.
A bonus: seeing Mark Ruffalo as a disillusioned producer who brought these songs to life all over New York City.
“Audition” by Mia Dolan, from “La La Land”
With the song “City of Stars” in La La Land, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling made us fall in love with them as the leads.
A great moment comes with “Audition,” performed by Stone, when the song follows her childhood, her aunt’s teachings and everything that brought her to where she was as an actress, at the most important moment in her career taking off.
“Falling Slowly” by Guy and Girl, from “Once”
Once features some of the best musical performances in film. The independent production follows an Irish street singer (Glen Hansard) and a Czech immigrant (Marketa Irglova).
The song “Falling Slowly” was exclusively composed by Hansard for the film and won an academy award for best original song.
It is simply brilliant and moving.
In her acceptance speech at the 2008 Oscars, Irglova said, “This song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are.”
More unmissable songs from fiction
Other iconic songs by fictional bands and soloists that have captivated us for their good melodies, funny moments, originality, power, depth or even light-hearted fun are:
- “That Thing You Do!” by The Wonders, from “That Thing You Do!”
- “Fever Dog” by Stillwater, from “Almost Famous”
- “Pop! Goes My Heart” by Pop!, from “Music and Lyrics”
- “Let’s Go to the Mall” by Robin Sparkles, from “How I Met Your Mother”
- “Shallow” by Jackson Maine and Ally, from “A Star Is Born”
- “Stand up” by Steel Dragon, from “Rock Star”
- “Smelly Cat” by Phoebe Buffay, from “Friends”
- “A Little Bit Alexis” by Alexis Rose, from “Schitt’s Creek”