Soul (soundtrack)

Soul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2020 Disney-Pixar film Soul. The soundtrack is a compilation of all 23 score pieces by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from the Soul: Original Motion Picture Score vinyl album as well as 16 original songs by Jon Batiste from the Music from and Inspired by Soul vinyl album. All three albums were released through Walt Disney Records on December 18, 2020.

Soul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by various artists
Released	December 18, 2020
Genre	Jazz (Music from and Inspired by Soul) new-age space (Soul: Original Motion Picture Score)
Length	60:04
Label	Walt Disney
Producer	Cody Chesnutt Daveed Diggs Jonathan Snipes Jon Batiste Tom MacDougall William Hutson
Pixar soundtrack chronology
Onward (2020) Soul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2020) Luca (2021)
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross chronology
Mank (2020) Soul (2020) Bones and All (2022)
Jon Batiste chronology
Music from and Inspired by Soul (2020)

Reznor and Ross composed a new-age score for the metaphysical segments of the film, while Batiste composed a number of original jazz songs for the New York City-based segments of the film. The Japanese version used a jazz rendition of JUJU’s "Kiseki Wo Nozomu Nara" for the ending theme.^[1][2][3]

The soundtrack received critical acclaim as an integral part of the film and won both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Original Score.

Writing and recording

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (left) handled the score, while Jon Batiste (right) composed a number of original jazz songs.

During the 2019 D23 Expo, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were revealed to be composing the film's score, while Jon Batiste was set to be writing jazz songs for the film.^[4] Reznor and Ross had been brought in on the recommendation of sound designer Ren Klyce, who had worked extensively with the duo on David Fincher films.^[5] Batiste composed jazz music for the film's New York City sequences while Reznor and Ross wrote an instrumental score for the scenes taking place in the Great Before.^[6] Batiste said that he wanted to create jazz music that felt "authentic", but also "accessible to all ages".^[4] He also wanted the themes to tie into the "ethereal nature" of the Great Before while still being on Earth.^[4] Batiste also sometimes worked with Reznor and Ross to "blend the two worlds, musically".^[4] Cody Chesnutt also wrote, produced, and performed an original folk-soul ballad for the film, titled "Parting Ways".^[7][8] It also features a hip hop interlude performed by Daveed Diggs titled "Rappin Ced".^[7] Other musicians who were consulted during the creative process include Herbie Hancock, Terri Lyne Carrington and Questlove, the latter of whom also does voice work in the film.^[9] Batiste drew inspiration from and wanted to pay homage to jazz legends such as Roy Haynes, Harvey Mason, Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, Charlie Parker and The Headhunters.^[5] Batiste also arranged a new version of the song "It's All Right", originally performed by The Impressions, for the film.^[10] This solo version debuted during a performance by Nelly on the 29th season of American competition TV series Dancing with the Stars^[10] and is featured in the end credits of the film while a duet version with British soul singer Celeste is not included in the soundtrack.^[11] In January 2021, Trent Reznor revealed to Consequence of Sound that he and Atticus Ross had composed six films' worth of music for Soul and also further explained his creative process, stating:^[12]

As we started early on, it's like, "I can't wait to see this character"… that doesn't exist because he’s not even in the film anymore. Or this expansive moment where you're watching a beautiful scene for a minute and a half, which is now three seconds, because a joke popped up, and now it's a different thing. So, I think we started a lot earlier last time than we would in the future. But it was fascinating to see the process. And I remember as we were getting into it, they could say, "Let’s see. Trust the process. We’ve come up with a way to do this." And I don’t mean a factory assembly line, but a strategy of openness and collaboration between not just two or three or four or five people but possibly lots of people.

Release and promotion

Soul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released digitally on December 18, 2020, a week before that of the film. The two vinyl albums, namely Soul: Original Motion Picture Score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and Music from and Inspired by Soul by Jon Batiste, were also made available for purchase on December 18, 2020.^{[13][14][15][16][17]} Despite not featuring on any of the three albums, the duet version of "It's All Right" with Celeste that features during the end credits was also released digitally as a standalone single on December 18.^[18][19]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Exclaim!	7/10[7]

Critical response

The soundtrack received a positive response from both music critics and film critics alike.^{[9][20][21][22]} Many film reviews praised the score as a major highlight of the film.^[23] Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Featuring possibly the best soundtrack in a Pixar film since the first Toy Story, Soul sports a jazz score that is not just an adornment to the story or an emotional enhancement, but an utterly integral part of the narrative."^[22] Reznor and Ross's compositions during the metaphysical segments of the film was described musically as new-age and space age, while Batiste's work was described musically as jazz.^[24][7][25] In a film review for The A.V. Club, A.A. Dowd described the score as "uncharacteristically soothing",^[26] while Matt Goldberg of Collider described it as "spellbinding",^[27] and A .O. Scott of The New York Times described it as "cerebral".^[28]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards	December 20, 2020	Best Music	Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross	Won	[29]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	December 21, 2020	Best Original Score	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won	[30]
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards	December 22, 2020	Best Score	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won	[31]
Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Awards	December 31, 2020	Best Score	Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross	Won	[32]
Chicago Indie Critics Awards	January 2, 2021	Best Musical Score	Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross	Won	[33]
North Carolina Film Critics Association Awards	January 4, 2021	Best Music	Soul	Won	[34]
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards	January 6, 2021	Best Score	Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross	Won	[35]
		Best Body of Work	Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross[a]	Won
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards	January 17, 2021	Best Music Score	Soul	Won	[36]
Denver Film Critics Society Awards	January 18, 2021	Best Original Score	Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross	Won	[37]
Houston Film Critics Society Awards	January 18, 2021	Best Original Score	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won	[38]
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards	January 18, 2021	Best Original Score	Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross	Won	[39]
Online Film Critics Society Awards	January 25, 2021	Best Original Score	Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross	Won	[40]
Hollywood Music in Media Awards	January 27, 2021	Best Original Score – Animated Film	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won	[41]
		Outstanding Music Supervision – Film	Tom MacDougall	Nominated
		Best Soundtrack Album	Soul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards	February 8, 2021	Best Score	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won	[42]
International Film Music Critics Association Awards	February 18, 2021	Best Original Score for an Animated Film	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Nominated	[43]
Golden Globe Awards	February 28, 2021	Best Original Score	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won	[44]
Hollywood Critics Association Awards	March 5, 2021	Artisans Achievement Award	Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross[a]	Won	[31]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards	March 7, 2021	Best Score	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won	[45]
Austin Film Critics Association Awards	March 19, 2021	Best Score	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won	[46]
NAACP Image Awards	March 27, 2021	Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album	Soul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Won	[47]
		Outstanding Jazz Album – Instrumental	Music from and Inspired by Soul	Won
Black Reel Awards	April 11, 2021	Outstanding Score	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won	[48]
British Academy Film Awards	April 11, 2021	Best Original Music	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won	[49]
Annie Awards	April 16, 2021	Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won	[50]
Academy Awards	April 25, 2021	Best Original Score	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won	[51]
Grammy Awards	April 3, 2022	Best Improvised Jazz Solo	"Bigger Than Us"	Nominated	[52]
		Best Jazz Instrumental Album	Jazz Selections: Music from and Inspired by Soul	Nominated
		Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste	Won[b]

Commercial performance

A week before the release of the film, the soundtrack album debuted on the UK Soundtrack Albums chart at number 35.^[53] After the film was released on December 25, the soundtrack rose to number 12 on this chart and also was credited as two separated entries, one for score and one for soundtrack, on both Billboard's Soundtrack Albums chart and Current Album Sales chart.

Track listing

All songs are written and performed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, except where noted.

Soul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack track listing^[54]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Born to Play"	Jon Batiste	Jon Batiste	2:00
2.	"Born to Play Reprise"	Batiste	Batiste	0:50
3.	"Bigger Than Us"	Batiste	Batiste	1:51
4.	"Collard Greens and Cornbread Strut"	Batiste	Batiste	0:36
5.	"The Great Beyond"			2:45
6.	"Falling"			0:41
7.	"The Great Before / U Seminar"			3:19
8.	"Jump to Earth"			0:52
9.	"Rappin Ced"	Daveed Diggs	Diggs	0:37
10.	"Joe's Lowdown Blues"	Batiste	Batiste	0:36
11.	"Terry Time"			1:14
12.	"Joe's Life"			0:40
13.	"Portal / The Hall of Everything"			2:18
14.	"Run / Astral Plane"			1:44
15.	"Lost Soul"			0:29
16.	"Meditation / Return to Earth"			1:40
17.	"22's Getaway"	Batiste	Batiste	0:58
18.	"Apex Wedge"	Batiste	Batiste	0:49
19.	"Let Your Soul Glow"	Batiste	Batiste	0:20
20.	"Terry Time Too"			3:00
21.	"Feel Soul Good"	Batiste	Batiste	0:27
22.	"Parting Ways"	Cody Chesnutt	Chesnutt	2:20
23.	"Looking at Life"	Batiste	Batiste	1:31
24.	"Fruit of the Vine"	Batiste	Batiste	0:43
25.	"22 Is Ready"			1:25
26.	"Pursuit / Terry's World"			1:42
27.	"Betrayal"			2:28
28.	"Space Maker"	Walter Norris	Batiste	1:17
29.	"Cristo Redentor"	Duke Pearson	Batiste	2:21
30.	"The Epic Conversationalist / Born to Play"	Batiste	Batiste	1:26
31.	"Celestial Spaces in Blue"	Batiste	Batiste	0:52
32.	"Spiritual Connection"	Batiste	Batiste	1:13
33.	"Lost"			1:09
34.	"Epiphany"			3:48
35.	"Ship Chase"			1:40
36.	"Escape / Inside 22"			2:32
37.	"Flashback"			1:33
38.	"Earthbound"			1:27
39.	"Thank You"			0:42
40.	"Enjoy Every Minute"			0:48
41.	"It's All Right"	Curtis Mayfield	Batiste	2:50
42.	"Just Us"			2:42
Total length:				64:15

Japanese edition bonus tracks^[55]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performer(s)	Length
43.	"Kiseki Wo Nozomunara..." (Soul version)	E-3 DJ HIROnyc Tabatha M	Juju	3:33
44.	"Rappin Ced"	Diggs	Subaru Kimura	0:38
45.	"Parting Ways"	Chesnutt	Eito	2:23
Total length:				70:49

Soul: Original Motion Picture Score track listing^[56]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Great Beyond"	2:45
2.	"Falling"	0:41
3.	"The Great Before / U Seminar"	3:19
4.	"Jump to Earth"	0:52
5.	"Terry Time"	1:14
6.	"Joe's Life"	0:40
7.	"Portal / The Hall of Everything"	2:18
8.	"Run / Astral Plane"	1:44
9.	"Lost Soul"	0:29
10.	"Meditation / Return to Earth"	1:40
11.	"Terry Time Too"	3:00
12.	"22 Is Ready"	1:25
13.	"Pursuit / Terry's World"	1:42
14.	"Betrayal"	2:28
15.	"Lost"	1:09
16.	"Epiphany"	3:48
17.	"Ship Chase"	1:40
18.	"Escape / Inside 22"	2:32
19.	"Flashback"	1:33
20.	"Earthbound"	1:27
21.	"Thank You"	0:42
22.	"Enjoy Every Minute"	0:48
23.	"Just Us"	2:42

Jon Batiste – Music from and Inspired by Soul track listing^[57]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Born to Play"	Batiste	2:00
2.	"Born to Play Reprise"	Batiste	0:50
3.	"Bigger Than Us"	Batiste	1:51
4.	"Collard Greens and Cornbread Strut"	Batiste	0:36
5.	"Joe's Lowdown Blues"	Batiste	0:36
6.	"22's Getaway"	Batiste	0:58
7.	"Apex Wedge"	Batiste	0:49
8.	"Let Your Soul Glow"	Batiste	0:20
9.	"Feel Soul Good"	Batiste	0:27
10.	"Looking at Life"	Batiste	1:31
11.	"Fruit of the Vine"	Batiste	0:43
12.	"The Epic Conversationalist / Born to Play"	Batiste	1:26
13.	"Celestial Spaces in Blue"	Batiste	0:52
14.	"Spiritual Connection"	Batiste	1:13
15.	"The Initial Pursuit"	Batiste	1:20
16.	"It's All Right" (featuring Celeste)	Curtis Mayfield	2:50
17.	"Space Maker"	Walter Norris	1:17
18.	"Cristo Redentor"	Duke Pearson	2:21
19.	"Danceland"	Bud Powell	3:31
20.	"Epistrophy"	Thelonious Monk	3:39
21.	"I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart"	Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Henry Nemo, John Redmond	2:52
22.	"Blue Rondo à la Turk"	Dave Brubeck	1:03

Charts

Chart (2020)	Peak position
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[53]	12
US Current Album Sales (Billboard)[58] Soundtrack version	69
US Current Album Sales (Billboard)[59] Score version	47
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)[60] Soundtrack version	24
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)[61] Score version	17

Notes

1. Credited to their scoring work on both Soul and Mank (2020).
2. Tied with Carlos Rafael Rivera for The Queen's Gambit.