Last Christmas (soundtrack)

Last updated

Last Christmas: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Last Christmas (soundtrack).jpg
Soundtrack album by
Released8 November 2019 (2019-11-08)
Length71:59
Label Legacy
George Michael chronology
Listen Without Prejudice / MTV Unplugged
(2017)
Last Christmas: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(2019)
Wham! chronology
The Best of Wham!: If You Were There...
(1997)
Last Christmas: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(2019)
The Singles: Echoes from the Edge of Heaven
(2023)

Last Christmas: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album consisting of songs performed solely by George Michael and with Andrew Ridgeley through the eponymous pop duo Wham!. Serving as the soundtrack to the 2019 film Last Christmas directed by Paul Feig, it was released on 8 November 2019 by Legacy Recordings, on the date of the film's release, and consisted 14 existing songs, as well as a previously unreleased song originally completed in 2015 titled "This Is How (We Want You to Get High)". [1] It additionally featured a bonus track, released in the Japanese edition. The album featured at multiple chart positions since 2019 and received positive reviews. [2]

Contents

Background

"I was a casual fan; I knew the hits; I didn't know the deep tracks. When I discovered songs like 'Heal the Pain', which I hadn't heard before, suddenly I was like, 'This is the movie.' And I kept having that experience with these songs and then the movie almost started to want these songs, as weird as it sounds. We'd be in the editing room and [think] 'We need a song here.' And you look at the song and you think, 'Wait, this matches perfectly, tonally and with the lyrics and all.' So we went from maybe we were going to have five songs to having 15 songs."

Paul Feig on using George Michael's songs in the film [3]

Last Christmas is based on Michael and Ridgeley's eponymous song released in 1984, and also inspired from their music. [3] Feig told in an interview to BBC News, that Michael was about to compile his new album before his death in 2016. Hence, he discovered the unreleased song "This Is How (We Want You to Get High)" that was recorded in 2015, and included it as a part of the soundtrack, which Feig had ultimately said "It's a very celebratory song, I would dare say. And we were able to play the entire song, which is almost six minutes long, in the film. Because when you get a song that has never been heard, you don't want to just use, like, 15 seconds of it. The song starts at the end of the film, and then goes into the credits." [4] Livingstone, the film's producer who had consulted Michael in the past and considered his involvement before his death, referred to the song as "the last sanctioned project he signed off on" and its intended inclusion in an album, also meant that "it wasn't like we dredged up an old song". [3] [5]

Feig felt that Michael's music affects the story, further adding: "There are a couple of sections where the actors are actually interacting with the music and other sections where George's music is driving, or underscoring the story. So it's a nice mix of being neither a jukebox movie nor straight up musical." [4]

Release

The album released on digital, CD and two-disc vinyl formats on 8 November 2019, by Legacy Recordings. [6] The album consisted remastered and edited versions of the songs produced by George Michael and Wham! and an additional track in the Japanese edition. [2] [1] [7] [8]

Reception

Pip-Eliwood Hughes of Entertainment Focus wrote "Whether or not audiences are loving Last Christmas in cinemas, this soundtrack should get plenty of attention. It's a whistlestop tour of George Michael's remarkable career and there's no doubt he had a lasting impact on music. Had his life not been cut short, he would have made plenty more music to add to his legacy. At least we'll always have these songs and Last Christmas is a concise history of the iconic star's long-lasting legacy." [9]

Track listing

Last Christmas: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack track listing [2]
No.TitleLength
1."Last Christmas"4:24
2."Too Funky" (single edit)3:46
3."Fantasy"5:01
4."Praying for Time" (remastered)4:41
5."Faith" (remastered)3:16
6."Waiting for That Day" (remastered)4:51
7."Heal the Pain" (remastered)4:45
8."One More Try" (remastered)5:50
9."Fastlove" (part 1)5:29
10."Everything She Wants" (edit)5:29
11."Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (edit)3:52
12."Move On"4:47
13."Freedom! '90" (remastered)6:30
14."Praying for Time" (MTV Unplugged version)5:15
15."This Is How (We Want You to Get High)"4:01
Total length:71:59
Japanese version (bonus track) [2]
No.TitleLength
16."Last Christmas" (Pudding mix)6:49
Total length:78:48

Charts

Score album

Last Christmas score track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Secret Garden"2:24
2."Upward-Looking Stranger"0:52
3."The Dane"1:21
4."You Again"1:43
5."Stupid Stupid Girl"1:43
6."Homeless Again"1:14
7."Self-Pity Party"3:26
8."Walk This Way"1:37
9."Santa and the Dane"1:17
10."Looking for Tom"0:47
11."The Scar"6:38
12."Busking"0:45
13."Riches"0:44
14."Back from County Brexit"1:55
15."Take Care"2:39
Total length:29:05

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Michael</span> English singer-songwriter, record producer and philanthropist (1963–2016)

George Michael was an English singer-songwriter, record producer and philanthropist. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with his sales estimated at between 100 million to 125 million records worldwide. Michael was known as a creative force in songwriting, vocal performance, and visual presentation. He achieved 10 number-one songs on the US Billboard Hot 100 and 13 number-one songs on the UK Singles Chart. Michael won numerous music awards, including two Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, and four MTV Video Music Awards. He was listed among Billboard's the "Greatest Hot 100 Artists of All Time" and Rolling Stone's the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time". The Radio Academy named him the most played artist on British radio during the period 1984–2004. Michael was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Last Christmas</span> 1984 song by Wham!

"Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham! Written and produced by George Michael, it was released on 3 December 1984 via CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side via Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in several European countries. The song has been covered by many artists since its original release, most notably by Whigfield, Crazy Frog, Billie Piper, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Ridgeley</span> English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer (born 1963)

Andrew John Ridgeley is an English musician, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham!.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wham!</span> English pop duo

Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to 1986.

<i>Faith</i> (George Michael album) 1987 studio album by George Michael

Faith is the debut solo studio album by the English singer George Michael, released on 30 October 1987 by Columbia Records and Epic Records. In addition to playing various instruments on the album, Michael wrote and produced every track on the recording except for one, "Look at Your Hands", which he co-wrote with David Austin. A pop album with influences of R&B, funk and soul music, Faith's songs include introspective lyrics, which generated controversies about Michael's personal relationships at that time.

<i>Make It Big</i> 1984 studio album by Wham!

Make It Big is the second studio album by English pop duo Wham!, released in 1984. In comparison to their earlier work, Wham! had more control over the album's production and Michael would also be credited as a producer. The album was a commercial success, hitting number one in both the US and the UK and spawning four singles, all reaching the top three in the US and the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Club Tropicana</span> 1983 single by Wham!

"Club Tropicana" is a single by English pop duo Wham!, released on 22 July 1983 on Innervision Records. It was written by members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.

<i>Fantastic</i> (Wham! album) 1983 studio album by Wham!

Fantastic is the debut studio album by English pop duo Wham!, released on 1 July 1983. It reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. It included the previously released singles "Young Guns", "Wham Rap!" and "Bad Boys". "Club Tropicana" was released as a single to coincide with the album's release. Although not on the album, "Club Fantastic Megamix" was released against the band's wishes by Innervision soon after Fantastic, and whilst they were in proceedings to leave the label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go</span> 1984 single by Wham!

"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, first released as a single in the UK on 14 May 1984. It became their first UK and US number one hit. It was written and produced by George Michael. The single was certified platinum in the US, which at the time commemorated sales of over two million copies. The music video features Michael and bandmate Andrew Ridgeley wearing oversized message T-shirts created by Katharine Hamnett, starting a craze covered in the 2002 VH1 series I Love the 80s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everything She Wants</span> 1984 single by Wham!

"Everything She Wants" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released as a single in 1984 on Epic Records on a double A-side with "Last Christmas". It was written and produced by George Michael, a member of the duo, becoming their third consecutive million-selling number-one hit in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Edge of Heaven</span> 1986 single by Wham!

"The Edge of Heaven" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in 1986. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo, and was promoted in advance as Wham!'s farewell single.

<i>The Final</i> (album) 1986 greatest hits album by Wham!

The Final is a greatest hits album released in 1986 to summarise the career of English pop duo Wham!. The album was not initially released in North America, where the album Music from the Edge of Heaven was released instead. Six songs from that album appear on this compilation. The compilation album coincided with the farewell concert of the same name on 28 June 1986, at Wembley Stadium.

<i>Twenty Five</i> (album) 2006 greatest hits album by George Michael

Twenty Five is the second compilation album by English singer-songwriter George Michael released in the UK on 13 November 2006, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his music career. It was released on 13 November 2006 by Sony BMG. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and number 23 on the Billboard 200, and it reached the top 20 on most other album charts. After Michael's death in December 2016, the album re-entered the Billboard 200 at a new peak position of number 12.

<i>The Best of Wham!: If You Were There...</i> 1997 greatest hits album by Wham!

The Best of Wham!: If You Were There... is the second UK-released compilation to summarise the career of English pop duo Wham!. It was released in 1997, and peaked at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart. The end of the album features a hidden track that was first heard on their debut album, Fantastic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wham! discography</span>

English musical duo Wham! released three studio albums, four compilation albums, four video albums, 12 music videos, 14 singles, two remix albums and two documentary films.

<i>Glee</i> albums discography

The Glee cast has released sixteen soundtrack albums, six compilation albums and eleven extended plays (EPs), containing 754 different performances of an individual song or a mashup of two or more songs in a single performance. Of the performances on the various albums and EPs, 460 were also released as singles. Glee features on-screen performance-based musical numbers, most of which are cover versions of popular songs, with genres ranging from R&B and pop to country and show tunes. The cast consists of fifteen main characters; some actors were cast following Broadway theatre experience while others were required to audition to prove singing and dancing capabilities. Recordings of performances on the show are sold as singles the week of broadcast, available for download.

<i>Tron: Legacy</i> (soundtrack) 2010 soundtrack album by Daft Punk

Tron: Legacy is the soundtrack album to the 2010 film of the same name, released by Walt Disney Records on December 3, 2010. It is the only film score by French music duo Daft Punk.

<i>Last Christmas</i> (film) 2019 film by Paul Feig

Last Christmas is a 2019 romantic comedy film directed by Paul Feig and written by Bryony Kimmings and Emma Thompson, who co-wrote the story with her husband, Greg Wise. Named after the 1984 song of the same name and inspired by the music of George Michael and Wham!, the film stars Emilia Clarke as a disillusioned Christmas store worker who forms a relationship with a mysterious man and begins to fall for him; Emma Thompson and Michelle Yeoh also star.

The soundtrack for the 2018 American animated superhero film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, based on the Miles Morales incarnation of the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man and produced by Sony Pictures Animation, consists of a soundtrack featuring original songs written for and inspired by the film and an original score composed by Daniel Pemberton. The soundtrack was released under the title Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse under the Republic Records label on December 14, 2018, while Pemberton's score was released as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse under the Sony Classical label three days later.

References

  1. 1 2 Raymond, Charles Nicholas (11 November 2019). "Every Song On The Last Christmas Soundtrack". ScreenRant. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kaufman, Gil (4 October 2019). "'Last Christmas' Soundtrack Track List: See It Here". Billboard . Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Lewis, Hilary (14 November 2019). "How 'Last Christmas' Turned George Michael's Music Into a Movie". Billboard. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Last Christmas: Paul Feig on the George Michael-inspired film". BBC News. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  5. Chichizola, Corey (6 November 2019). "How Last Christmas Director Paul Feig Incorporated So Many George Michael Songs". CinemaBlend. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  6. Delgreco, Lisa (4 October 2019). "Sony Music Presents The Soundtrack To Accompany The Highly-Anticipated Film, Last Christmas, Inspired By The Music of George Michael & Wham!". Legacy Recordings. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  7. Reilly, Nick (5 November 2019). "George Michael's first posthumous single will be released tomorrow". NME. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  8. Savage, Mark (6 November 2019). "George Michael: Upbeat new song premieres on Radio 2". BBC . Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  9. Ellwood-Hughes, Pip (December 2019). "Last Christmas – The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack vinyl review". Entertainment Focus. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  10. "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack / George Michael & Wham! – Last Christmas". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  11. "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack / George Michael & Wham! – Last Christmas" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / George Michael & Wham! – Last Christmas" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  13. "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / George Michael & Wham! – Last Christmas" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  14. "George Michael Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / George Michael & Wham! – Last Christmas" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  16. "Lescharts.com – Soundtrack / George Michael & Wham! – Last Christmas". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack / George Michael & Wham! – Last Christmas" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  18. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  19. "Italiancharts.com – Soundtrack / George Michael & Wham! – Last Christmas". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  20. "Portuguesecharts.com – Soundtrack / George Michael & Wham! – Last Christmas". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  21. "Spanishcharts.com – Soundtrack / George Michael & Wham! – Last Christmas". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  23. "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  24. "George Michael Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  25. "George Michael Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  26. "Soundtracks – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  27. "Soundtracks – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  28. "Soundtracks – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2022.