Join Trolls World Tour executive music producers Justin Timberlake & Ludwig Göransson as they break down every step of producing a song for a movie.
Learn about everything that went into creating 'Just Sing,' including the pre-production and collaboration processes, finding the story for the song, mixing musical genres and creating the hook.
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- That was me, watching the picture.And I remember I play this.[guitar sound]- Let's be clear though like, literally.That was Ludwig's moment.Where he was just living out his old,like metal fantasies.Hey I'm Justin Timberlake.- Hi, I'm Ludwig Goransson- And today we're gonnabreakdown how we producedthe sound track for Trolls World Tour.From miles and miles away from each other.♪ They're gonna listen,listen, forget everything ♪♪ You think you've gotta hide it ♪- I remember, I got a call at.And you called me.And you told me about this project.And,I think I mean like 10 seconds in.Where you said like basically we haveto incorporate alldifferent genres of music.And this whole movie isbasically about music.- [Narrator] Our ancestorscreated six strings.Each for a different types of music.- I was going out on aworld tour, but we were.While I was on that tour.The stage that we were at on this movie.Was sort of just trying to getthe songs together.Which scenes in the movie?Would we want to do an original song?What we were gonna cover.- And then,I think just likethe day after you got back from tour.You would call me upand was like, hey let's get in the studio,and write these songs.And so we booked like I think three weeks.At three different studios.With different song writers and producers.Just like a mishmash of peoplethat we just wanted to be creative with.And especially for, just saying.For the last song.For kind of the climax of the movie.We, me and Justin,went in the studio withSarah Aarons and Max Martin.Who's one of my big idols.If else we,I think we recordedthis song in like 10 different studios.Seven different engineers.18 gospel singers.In three continents.In four different countries.We have on lead vocalsJustin Timberlake, AnnaKendrick, Mary J.
Blige,Kelly Clarkson, AndersonPaak, Anthony Ramos,Sam Rockwell, Red Velvet, George Clinton.To make this wholearrangement in the song.It took a lot of time,and a lot of effortto kind to bring all these peopleand all these musicians together.♪ Start moving ♪♪ Watch the way, I do it ♪- It's important to know.When were breaking this scene down.Is that, right before this happens.This world goes silence.- I'm gonna unite the six strings.And destroy all music.[scream]- But your able to hearsomeones heartbeat.we sort of started fromthat place and I said, you know.When you think about, like.How is music really createdbefore we even had instruments.You know, and it was probablypeople just banging on.The same way a gospelchoir can just stomp,and clap, and sing, andit sounds like just so.It's almost orchestral.So we kind of just started.We all were in the studioand were just stomping and clapping.Like that.♪ Louder than ever, ever ♪And then, you know Ludwigstarted coming up withthe ideas on the guitar.It was just like.
It wasjust a three kind of.- Yeah♪ Don't keep it on the shelf ♪- So it was just those cords overand over on that beat.That's how we started.That's how the song started.♪ Lift your waist ♪♪ Watch the way I do it ♪♪ See me do it like nobody else ♪♪ We sing it all together ♪- And the instrumentation changes here.Because were now in the funk grind.Instead of having like,all these percussion.♪ Don't keep it on the shelve ♪- Like table percussion would changethat to a real drum kit.- Kinda going for likea drum trigger sound.Where you hear a lot of likethe early Prince recordings.And like, very tight snare sound.That sly that you usedto hear in all the songs in the 80's.And Mary J takes over, and you know.- She saved meand say no more.Mrs. Mary J.
Blige man.♪ We sing it all together,if we sing it all as one ♪♪ It's louder than yourself ♪- We had everyone sing the versus.Thanks to doing that we gave our producersand director Dina, Walt, and David.We gave them the options of hearingthe different versions.And hearing who would sound best thereand who was on best there.♪ I've been right herewhere your standing ♪♪ I've been standing on the ground ♪♪ The walls are cavingin, all the walls are ♪- And so they can kind of pick and choose.And we also were also working very closewith them on this song, and every song.But especially on this one.- I think that's whyanimated movies are alwaysso well done.Is because the animationactually comes in the ad.And a storyline plot.You know, humor.All of that gets tested and trackedbefore they go into finalstages of animation.- Obviously we're very lucky to be ableto write the song first,and then they wouldstart animating the song.- So you have my characterand Anderson's characterwho have start singingbackgrounds for Mary J.
Blige.So our characters arestarting to come together.And before you know it.The pop and the funk trolls have startedto melt styles.And now, the techno comes in and that.And everybody's kinda singing together.♪ Don't you stop it, don't you fight ♪♪ Let me hear you say sing ♪- Not to requote the lyrics of the song,but everyone's actually singing together.♪ If you got it, can't dent it ♪♪ Let me hear you ♪♪ It's waiting for you ♪♪ Already know, that youdo it like nobody else ♪- It's interesting because youwould think going through allthese genres you would justlike get lost musically.Which is like, what's going on?But I think the structureof the song makesso much sense.So it's kinda easy to follow.And then you go into the hook of the song.Like the big chorus.♪ Nobody else, just sing ♪♪ Sing it together, louder than ever ♪- I do believe Sara was the first oneto kind of crack the melody on the hook.Sara kinda started doing the.♪ Just sing, sing it together ♪♪ Forget everything ♪- So now we figured outa way to just melt sortof three styles and nowtheir all singing together.But everything breaks down again.Right when you get to the partwhere your actually telling people.Just sing, sing together.There really is barely anyaccompaniment with them.So some acoustic guitar.People clapping, andsnapping, and singing.♪ Like it's what we've been missing ♪♪ And there gonna listen, listen ♪- I was saying to Ludwig, I was like.You know, the one genre of musicthat so many populargenres of music borrow fromis gospel.And when we got the choir on this song.That's when it startedto really feel, like.Whoa, like this really makes scenes.It gave it a through line.♪ Forget everything, just sing ♪- And it's interesting how you know.You can take all the instruments outwith just a handclap.And if you have a reallysimple easy melody,and 20 voices singing it.It's gonna sound bigger than anything.- Then go into the K-pop.- K-pop and the Reggae tone, right?- K-pop and the Reggae tone,and we actually recorded them.They were in Korea.We recorded over 800.- Yeah it's not this similarto what were doing right now.♪ 리듬 타봐 멈추지마 노래불러줘 ♪♪ si lo tienes, no lo niegues ♪♪ Te quiero oír cantar ♪- And then also I added the.The last thing was editBarb's guitar solo in the end.♪ Just sing ♪- It was just me watching the picture,and I remember I played this.- Let's be clear though Ludwig.That was Lugwig's moment.What he was just living out his whole,like metal fantasy.♪ Louder than ever ♪- I mean listen.Every song had like 20iterations of itself.There were times when Ludwigand I would say, okay.Let's just take a breakfrom this for a day,and we'll come back tomorrow.And see if we hear something different.And then of course I would go home,and Ludwig would sit athis laptop all night.And then come up with all these ideas.And then I would come backand I would be like, oh yeah like that.But yeah, those lyrics.The first lyrics.You think you gotta hide it.Don't keep it on the shelf.Let your waist start movingand watch the way I do it.Cause I do it like nobody else.If we just start from that place.Where it's sort of encapsulating the ideathat, like.You're different from me,and I'm different from him.That's what makes us great.And we should embracethat about each other.And this felt like an opportunityto create a song for youngpeople to say, you know.You may sing it differentlyfrom this person,but that doesn't mean you.That doesn't mean you shouldn'tbe singing it together.So, that's really where it came from.- So there you go.That's how we produced Just Sing inthe soundtrack of Trolls World Tour.- Thank you so much for having us.Ludwig, I'll call you later today.- Okay, I'll see you on the other side.- Alright brother.Bye you guys.- Bye.