Beat Bugs soundtrack ft. P!nk, Rod Stewart, Sia, released today
PRESS RELEASE:
Universal Music Australia, Grace: A Storytelling Company (Grace), Thunderbird, and Beyond Screen Production (Beyond) today release the soundtrack to Beat Bugs, the new series for kids that will bring families together over the music of The Beatles, currently airing on 7TWO/PLUS7.
BEAT BUGS incorporates songs from the Lennon/McCartney ‘Northern Songs’ catalogue to tell uplifting and life-affirming stories filled with hope and melody. World-leading artists, animators and writers have come together to work on this extraordinary show. The Beat Bugs are charming, funny, adventurous, and have a knack for getting themselves into mischief and mayhem. Each of the five friends (Jay, Kumi, Crick, Buzz, and Walter) has a distinctive personality and they display the charm and energy of five knockabout, lovable kids. They are best friends who band together to explore and learn in an overgrown suburban backyard, which to them is their entire universe.
Australian Josh Wakely is the creator of the Beat Bugs and secured the rights to The Beatles songs to bring his vision for the series to life. “It’s about friendship and ambition. Courage can take you places — but also, you can get by with a little help from your friends,” Wakely said.
The show will feature some of the most well-known Beatles songs woven into the narrative of each episode, with Eddie Vedder, P!nk, James Bay, Sia, The Shins, Of Monsters and Men, Chris Cornell, Regina Spektor and James Corden each recording their rendition of an iconic song. Among the songs featured include ’Help!’, ’All You Need Is Love’, ’Come Together’, ’Penny Lane’, ’Yellow Submarine’, ’Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds’, ’Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, and’Magical Mystery Tour’.
Musician/Producer Daniel Johns collaborated with Wakely on Beat Bugs as Musical Director and produced more than 30 songs from The Beatles catalogue for the series, contributed various character vocals and composed some of the show’s original music
It has been confirmed that the animated show has been renewed for a second season, premiering worldwide November 18. Australian audiences can enjoy both seasons on the Seven Network/PLUS7 and Netflix in 2017.
Netflix initially released its first full-length trailer for Beat Bugs, revealing the Season 1 artist and song pairings and unveiling a new rendition of “All You Need is Love,” the show’s theme song.
Universal Music Australia/Republic Records will release the official soundtrack for Season 1 of Beat Bugs exclusively on Apple Music today. Split into two volumes, Season 1 will include a total of 27 tracks with the music from the series and special guest artists.
On November 4,the Season 1 soundtrack will be made available to all retailers as well as a compilation album with the “Best of” Seasons 1 and 2.
The Season 2 soundtrack will be released in November 2016 featuring 26 tracks from the show, along with the second group of outstanding guest musicians including Rod Stewart, Chris Cornell, Jennifer Hudson, Of Monsters and Men, James Bay and Tori Kelly.
More information on the Season 2 soundtrack will be available soon.
Full list of participating contemporary artists (in order of show appearance):
Beat Bugs Season 1
● P!nk: “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”
● James Corden: “I’m A Loser”
● Aloe Blacc: “Rain”
● Robbie Williams: “Good Day Sunshine”
● Eddie Vedder: “Magical Mystery Tour”
● Frances: “In My Life”
● The Shins: “The Word”
● The Lumineers: “Honey Pie”
● Sia: “Blackbird”
Beat Bugs Season 2
● Rod Stewart: “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
● Chris Cornell: “Drive My Car”
● Regina Spektor: “And Your Bird Can Sing”
● Jennifer Hudson: “I’ll Follow The Sun”
● Of Monsters and Men: “Eleanor Rigby”
● James Bay: “Hey Bulldog”
● Tori Kelly: “I’m Happy Just To Dance With You”
Other hit songs to be featured in the series and the soundtracks will include Beat Bugs cast renditions of Beatles classics including “We Can Work it Out,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Hello Goodbye” and “Across the Universe,” among others.
Featured artist James Corden on bringing The Beatles music to a new generation:
“My son is 4 years old and I can’t wait for him to watch this because he loves music so much. But it’s quite hard to sit him in the back of the car and put on A Hard Day’s Night and for him to just take it in and listen to it. But for it to be matched with an animation, that is very much geared and aimed at him and geared for him, I would be amazed if he doesn’t just start to fall in love with these songs and then you’re in the car, you can put those songs on because he’s recognized it with something that he has seen and associates with. I think it’s a wonderful thing and very exciting.”
Wakely’s production company, Grace: A Storytelling Company, produced the Netflix original series Beat Bugs in conjunction with Beyond Screen Production and Thunderbird.
Volumes 1&2 available here:
https://itun.es/au/sTl9db
https://itun.es/au/DOl9db