After months of revving audiences’ engines, F1 The Movie is roaring into theaters at last this weekend, along with a suitably pulse-pounding soundtrack. The album covers a wide range of genres, from Afrobeats and EDM to hip-hop and pop. The diversity of the album reflects the growing global appeal of the sport — and a commensurate growing global connection of the genres represented on it.
In case you’ve missed out on all the promotion for the movie, it follows Brad Pitt’s Sonny Hayes, a semi-washed Formula One driver who is asked to come back to the circuit to help train rookie driver Joshua Pearce (played by Damson Idris). The film not only stars a laundry list of current and former F1 drivers and personnel, but was also shot at real tracks all over the world.
So, it makes sense that the music used throughout would reflect that international appeal. As F1 gains popularity in more markets, genres like Afrobeats have become ubiquitous worldwide as well; Burna Boy is probably just as likely to be recognized walking the streets of New York or Paris as he is in his hometown, Port Harcourt in Nigeria. The same could be said of South Korean singer Rosé or Dutch producer Tiësto.
Even the rollout for the album has highlighted its attempt to tap into a broad range of markets. Launching the rollout with American rappers Don Toliver and Doja Cat and their song “Lose My Mind,” the minds behind promoting F1 The Album followed up with Rosé and “Messy,” then “Baja California” by Puerto Rican rapper Myke Towers. Each song released as a single showed off another facet of the multilingual, universal appeal of the project.
Afrobeats
There are four songs by African artists on F1 The Album: Burna Boy, who you may know from his hit songs like “Last Last” and “Sittin On Top Of The World”; Darkoo, whose single “Gangsta” peaked at No. 1 on the UK Afrobeats Chart; Mr Eazi, who pioneered Banku music, combining Nigerian chord progressions with Ghanaian highlife music; and Obongjayar, who in May released his second album, Paradise Now. While F1 does not currently have a base in Africa, BBC notes “F1 is still keen to have a grand prix in Africa, to make it a truly global world championship.”
- Burna Boy — “Don’t Let Me Drown”
- Darkoo — “Give Me Love”
- Mr Eazi — “Attention”
- Obongjayar — “Gasoline”
Country/Rock
While these two genres only get one major look each (and both could arguably fall under the “pop” category), they are represented by two of the biggest artists in each. Their presence here arguably represents America’s nascent but growing interest in Formula One, and brings that swaggering cowboy energy to the soundtrack that we are so known for worldwide. This also reflects Brad Pitt’s character’s position as both focal point and underdog in the film’s narrative; Guitar genres ask for a lot of “fake it ’til you make it” energy, which Mr. Hayes will certainly need to execute his vision of a comeback in the film. Also, these genres are pretty closely tied to US motorsports, so there’s that.
- Chris Stapleton — “Bad As I Used To Be“
- Ed Sheeran — “Drive“
Dance
Of course, EDM has to be heavily represented here. F1 is still, by and large, a European sport, and regardless of the roots of electronic dance music (which have been endlessly rehashed online in the past couple of years), EDM is still mostly dominated by European figures. Interestingly, though, the names here come from even further reaches, with South Korea’s Peggy Gou, Australia’s Dom Dolla, and Tiësto. It’s also telling that Sexyy Red’s feature lands in this category, highlighting the increasing crossover between hip-hop and EDM.
- Dom Dolla — “No Room For A Saint” Feat. Nathan Nicholson
- Pawsa — “Double C”
- Peggy Gou — “D.A.N.C.E“
- Tiësto & Sexyy Red — “OMG!“
Hip-Hop
It’s funny: big soundtracks had been leaning heavily on hip-hop since the ’90s, and while that tradition continues here, it also expands to reflect how global that genre has become since its inception in 1970s Bronx, New York. Yes, you have Houston and Compton (Don Toliver and Roddy Ricch) represented, but you also see Puerto Rico (Myke Towers) and the aforementioned crossover with EDM. Meanwhile, Myke Towers’ Spanish contribution samples from Golden Era hip-hop, bridging generations as well as languages and regions.
- Don Toliver — “Lose My Mind” Feat. Doja Cat
- Myke Towers — “Baja California”
- Roddy Ricch — “Underdog“
Pop
The pop contributions to the soundtrack parallel the popularity of F1, yes, but also the growing diversity within the genre itself. After all, “pop” is probably the most loosely defined of the musical styles here; It can range from the 1960s pop-soul of British artist Raye to the omnivorous maximalism of K-pop via Blackpink’s Rosé. Beer and McRae are dancey and upbeat, which matches the high-speed visuals throughout the film.
- Madison Beer — “All At Once”
- Raye — “Grandma Calls The Boy Bad News”
- Rosé — “Messy”
- Tate McRae — “Just Keep Watching“
