The sounds of "Bridgerton" are nearly as famous as the sights: for every sumptuous, ballgown-swinging dance scene, there's one of the show's signature pop covers playing, violin-heavy instrumentals that transform familiar tunes from contemporary hitmakers into something fit for the Regency era. And it seems like "Bridgerton" season 3 — which will debut with its first four episodes on Netflix on May 16, with four more to follow on June 13 — will be no exception, with big-name singers like Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift appearing on the tracklist.
Per Netflix's Tudum website, the season's orchestral covers kick off with Gayle's hit “abcdefu," which plays in the premiere episode as Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) begins her "glow up" transformation from timid wallflower to talk of the Ton.
Joining Gayle's song on the season 3 soundtrack are covers of BTS's "Dynamite," Nick Jonas's "Jealous," Sia's "Cheap Thrills," Eilish's "Happier Than Ever," Pitbull's "Give Me Everything," and "Snow on the Beach" by Taylor Swift and Lana del Rey. The third season will also feature the first-ever original song for the series, "All I Want," sung by Tori Kelly, though fans won't get to hear that one until the second batch of episodes is released. (Hint: it'll be playing during a very pivotal scene in the season's back half.)
“It’s a much more lighthearted feeling, I think, overall,” "Bridgerton" composer Kris Bowers told Tudum about season 3's sound. “There’s obviously the ups and downs that we always have in this show. But with Colin and Pen being friends, with a lot of their interactions having a bit of awkwardness to them — and within this season there are so many stories that we dip into — there’s a lot of fun and lightness that we experience with the music and comedic moments.”
Bowers detailed how the characters' musical themes, both separately and together, mimic the movements of Penelope and Colin's ever-changing relationship and infuse "a new feeling into the sound and score for this season." He added: “My thinking behind Colin and Pen was how much of it was this timidity and this two-steps-forward, one-step-back kind of thing. The theme that I wrote melodically has this shape to it that’s meant to evoke this feeling.”
Marrying music to scenes
Music supervisor Justin Kamps also gave insight into how they select and place the songs and character themes throughout each episode. “Sometimes initially it’s about what matches the choreography, and then later it’s about what matches the scene and the emotion,” Kamps said to Tudum. “We have a lot of covers that aren’t necessarily part of ball sequences this year, and it’s because we found some cute places to insert something that can play as a fun cover [but] doesn’t necessarily have to be attached to a dance sequence."
You'll be able to hear all of the new songs when "Bridgerton" season 3 premieres on Netflix on Thursday, May 16. In the meantime, you can revisit all of the great tracks that have soundtracked "Bridgerton" thus far by rewatching the first two seasons of the show on Netflix.
