"Don't Look Up" Soundtrack Lyrics

"Don't Look Up (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)" Soundtrack Description

Overview

Can end-times satire swing like a big band and still cut like a news alert? Nicholas Britell’s score does both. The album drops from manic brass into glassy electronics, then back into orchestral warmth — a deliberate tonal whiplash that mirrors Adam McKay’s jump-cuts from dread to absurdity. Source: LA Times.

The release bundles Britell’s eclectic score with two original songs placed diegetically: Ariana Grande & Kid Cudi’s TV-event anthem “Just Look Up” and Bon Iver’s elegiac end-credit “Second Nature.” Issued December 10, 2021 (℗ Maisie Music Publishing under exclusive license to Republic Records), the album runs ~57 minutes and sits widely on major platforms. Source: Apple Music.

Questions & Answers

Is there an official soundtrack album?

Yes. Released Dec 10, 2021; credited to Nicholas Britell; digital release via Republic Records with 31 tracks.

Who composed the score?

Nicholas Britell — his fourth project with Adam McKay after The Big Short and Vice.

What song do Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi perform on-screen?

“Just Look Up” — performed at a televised rally/benefit within the film; produced and co-written by Britell.

Which song closes the film over the end credits?

“Second Nature” by Bon Iver — it resumes after the mid-credits scene.

Who supervised the source music?

Gabe Hilfer — music supervisor credited alongside Britell’s score department.

What’s that patriotic ringtone gag?

John Ashcroft’s “Let the Eagle Soar” briefly appears as a ringtone early in the film.

Notes & Trivia

• Britell wrote an “Overture to Logic and Knowledge” for the on-set telescope sequence; the cue later reappears near the finale in altered context. Source: Vanity Fair.
• Ariana Grande improvised additional lines during the “Just Look Up” performance on set.
• Mills Brothers standards (“Till Then,” “I’ll Be Around,” “Across the Alley from the Alamo”) score the dinner sequence before impact.
• Matt Dunkley conducted the score sessions; end credits include a full “Main Title Suite.”
• Music supervision by Gabe Hilfer; music executive Steven Gizicki credited.

Genres & Themes

Absurdist big-band jazz — brass, bass sax, toy piano, and rhythm-section punch convey “high-anxiety swagger,” parodying victory music while hinting at doom.

Electronics & psych-jingle textures — celesta, Farfisa organ, and synths tag BASH and infotainment spaces with chirpy, unsettling polish.

Warm orchestral/choral writing — string chorales and choir humanize the scientists and the dinner-table grace notes at the end.

Tracks & Scenes

“Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit” — Wu-Tang Clan
Where it plays: Opening moments as Kate works in the observatory (≈ 00:00:00); she hums along as the comet is discovered. Diegetic (headphones/room).
Why it matters: Plants the film’s culture clash — memeable bravado vs. quiet scientific process.

“Right Thurr” — Chingy
Where it plays: Lab celebration after the orbital math checks out (≈ 00:03:00). Source music in the workspace.
Why it matters: Early sugar-rush before the bureaucracy wall.

“Let the Eagle Soar” — John Ashcroft
Where it plays: Briefly as a general’s ringtone (≈ 00:14:00). Diegetic gag.
Why it matters: Ironizes patriot-pageantry in a film about ignored warnings.

“Statesboro Blues” — The Allman Brothers Band
Where it plays: Seafood joint strategy scene after the mission is canceled (≈ 01:11:00). Background source.
Why it matters: Blues standard under institutional failure.

“Doorman” — slowthai & Mura Masa
Where it plays: Kate hangs with Yule and friends; pre-kiss beat (≈ 01:27:00). Diegetic on a speaker/phone.
Why it matters: Gen-Z chaos energy for Kate’s detour.

“Troubadour” — George Strait
Where it plays: Randall drives, snacks, and glimpses the comet (≈ 01:35:00). In-car radio (diegetic).
Why it matters: A modest, human counterpoint before the media blast.

“House of Bricks” — Despot
Where it plays: Disinformation montage as the “Don’t Look Up” slogan spreads (≈ 01:39:00). Non-diegetic needle-drop.
Why it matters: Hard-edged momentum for the propaganda wave.

“Just Look Up” — Ariana Grande & Kid Cudi
Where it plays: Televised rally performance (≈ 01:41:00). Fully diegetic with crowd and cameras.
Why it matters: A pop plea that satirizes attention economies even as it soars like a proper power ballad.

“Just Like Paradise” — David Lee Roth
Where it plays: Continues under the rally chaos (≈ 01:47:00). Source over loudspeakers.
Why it matters: Glam-era uplift turns into cosmic irony.

“Till Then” / “I’ll Be Around” / “Across the Alley from the Alamo” — The Mills Brothers
Where it plays: The last-supper dinner (≈ 01:48:00–01:57:00). Soft source in the home.
Why it matters: Pre-war harmonies hold a fragile, communal calm.

“Bernadette” — Four Tops
Where it plays: Family arrives; conversation hums (≈ 01:55:00). Background source.
Why it matters: Classic Motown warmth before the lights go out.

“Second Nature” — Bon Iver
Where it plays: Post-impact cosmic drift and end credits (≈ 02:06:00 and mid-credits ≈ 02:08:00). Non-diegetic.
Why it matters: A requiem-like coda that lets the dust settle and the irony fade.

Music–Story Links

• Science vs. spectacle: Big-band “Main Title” frames discovery as breathless showbiz — on purpose — before reality intrudes.
• Pop as plea: “Just Look Up” uses the machinery of a benefit single to mock and still move; its diegesis is the joke and the point.
• Old songs, last rites: Mills Brothers standards turn dinner into collective memory, softening the most honest scene in the film.
• Tech jingle = tentacles: chirpy corporate cues track BASH’s reach and the hollowness of its “solutions.”

How It Was Made

Concept: Britell targeted a split personality — reverence for science vs. “roller-coaster off a cliff.” That led to the so-called “Absurdist Big Band,” with bass sax, banjo, mandolin, toy piano, and swaggering brass. Source: Vanity Fair; IndieWire.

On-set music: McKay asked for a piece to play during the telescope scene (“Overture to Logic and Knowledge”); it seeded the score’s DNA. Ariana Grande improvised additional lyrics for the filmed “Just Look Up” performance.

Supervision & release: Music supervisor Gabe Hilfer handled clearances/placements; Republic Records issued the album; conductor Matt Dunkley led sessions; Bon Iver’s “Second Nature” features yMusic players and Jenn Wasner. Source: Pitchfork; Film Music Reporter.

Reception & Quotes

“A careening mix of absurdity and melancholy.” LA Times

“Britell’s big-band idea makes panic feel propulsive.” IndieWire

“‘Second Nature’ is a wicked anthem for the end of the world.” Rolling Stone

Score and songs earned major-season attention (including an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score). Source: Wikipedia (awards summary).

Additional Info

• Album date: Dec 10, 2021; 31 tracks; ~57:00 total. Digital only on release.
• Award track: “Just Look Up” campaigned in Original Song categories; Bon Iver’s single dropped day-and-date with the album.
• “Let the Eagle Soar” cameo is a ringtone needle-drop; it also appears in McKay’s The Big Short.
• Jennifer Lawrence raps along to Wu-Tang in the opening; she later called the day mortifying. Source: Netflix Tudum.
• Streaming platforms credit: ℗ Maisie Music Publishing; under exclusive license to Republic Records (UMG).

Technical Info

• Title: Don’t Look Up (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)
• Year: 2021
• Type: Original score + songs
• Composer: Nicholas Britell
• Music Supervisor: Gabe Hilfer
• Original songs: “Just Look Up” (Ariana Grande & Kid Cudi); “Second Nature” (Bon Iver)
• Label: Republic Records (licensee); Maisie Music Publishing (℗)
• Length: ~57:00 (31 tracks on digital editions)
• Notable placements: Wu-Tang (opening lab); “Just Look Up” (rally); Mills Brothers set (final dinner); Bon Iver (end credits)
• Release context: Theatrical (Dec 10, 2021) / Netflix (Dec 24, 2021)

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: Apple Music; LA Times; Vanity Fair; IndieWire; Pitchfork; Rolling Stone; Film Music Reporter; Vague Visages; What’s on Netflix; IMDb Soundtracks; Metacritic Credits; Wikipedia.

November, 08th 2025