"Focus" Soundtrack Lyrics

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"Focus (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" Soundtrack Description

Overview

Con movies need rhythm: the glide of a lift, the snap of a reveal. Focus scores that rhythm with crate-dug soul, New Orleans brass, Argentine cues, and a velvet, late-night score by Nick Urata. The soundtrack sells the film’s two modes — confidence and doubt — sometimes in the same cue. That contrast makes the album distinct among glossy heist romances of the 2010s.

The selections push scene mechanics, not just vibe. A second-line pulse energizes pickpocket drills; garage-punk grit turns the Super Bowl gamble into a rush; vintage psych folk cools the film down when emotions get real. The official album is lean (14 cuts), while the film uses far more songs; together they map Nicky and Jess’s slide from playful larceny to dangerous intimacy. Source: WaterTower Music.

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score and the love theme?

Nick Urata composed the score, including “Focus (Love Theme).” Source: WaterTower Music.

What song plays over the climactic hospital drive and into credits?

“Love Makes the World Go ’Round” by Barbara Lewis (end sequence into credits).

Which songs score the escalating NFL betting set-piece?

“Kernkraft 400 (Sport Chant Stadium Remix)” (diegetic stadium), “Do It Again,” “It Takes Two,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” and “Gimme Danger” as the stakes peak.

What’s the standout 1960s psych-folk cut late in the film?

“White Bird” by It’s a Beautiful Day — used to undercut the glamor with reflective melancholy.

Are all film needle-drops on the official album?

No. The album is 14 tracks; several on-screen songs (e.g., “It Takes Two,” “Sympathy for the Devil”) are not on the OST. Source: Apple Music / Spotify listings.

Who handled music supervision?

Jason Ruder served as music supervisor / supervising music editor.

Trailer music — what shows up there that’s not in the OST?

Trailer cuts include Jeff Beck feat. Joss Stone’s “I Put a Spell on You,” James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” and “White Bird.”

Notes & Trivia

• The film uses ~35–40 songs; the commercial album condenses this to 14 tracks.
• New Orleans brass cues ground the training montage in street-level, diegetic energy.
• Argentine selections (“Chorra,” “La Espada de Cadorna,” local hip-hop) localize the Buenos Aires act.
• “White Bird” (1969) recontextualizes the lovers’ peril with wistful counterpoint.
• Urata is also frontman of DeVotchKa, which hints at his taste for romantic, cinematic melodies.

Genres & Themes

Second-line brass & funk → competence, flow, team choreography (street-diegetic = training “feels real”).

’60s/’70s soul & psych → nostalgia vs. con-artist fantasy; tenderness under surface polish.

Garage proto-punk / Stones → risk and compulsion; musical “tilt” during the betting spree.

Rioplatense tango & local urban cuts → territorial stakes in Buenos Aires; culture as camouflage.

Urata’s score motifs → sleek strings and muted rhythm for attraction; spare chords for doubt.

Tracks & Scenes

(Timestamps approximate; diegetic = heard within the scene world.)

“I’m a Manchild” — Uptown Funk Empire (Bruno Hovart)
Scene: Opening aerials of the city (≈0:00). Non-diegetic, sets a nimble, urbane groove.
Why it matters: Signals a heist film that favors finesse over brute force.

“Small Time” — Orgone
Scene: Early bar seduction beat, as the fake jealous-husband scam ignites (≈3:00). Non-diegetic.
Why it matters: Greases the first “teach me” pivot between Nicky and Jess.

“Sofa Rockers (Richard Dorfmeister Remix)” — Sofa Surfers
Scene: Coffee invite & pickpocket micro-lessons (≈6:00). Non-diegetic.
Why it matters: Downtempo cool matches the hand-work choreography.

“Please!” — Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Scene: New Orleans drive (≈9:00). Non-diegetic sunshine cuts through the con’s cynicism.

“Let Me Do My Thing” — Hot 8 Brass Band
Scene: Carnival-side lifting drills (≈13:00). Diegetic street brass.
Why it matters: The “in-world” band makes the training feel tactile and public.

“Wind It Up” — Stooges Brass Band
Scene: Crew camaraderie before the day’s haul (≈14:00). Diegetic energy.

“The Windmills of Your Mind” — Ray Conniff & The Singers
Scene: Car talk about romance (≈17:00). Non-diegetic classicism foreshadows circular temptations.

“You Don’t Have to Worry (Guts Remix)” — Doris & Kelley
Scene: Nicky shows Jess the stash (≈19:00). Non-diegetic; silky confidence underscoring trust tests.

“Anything You Want (Not That) [Aldo Vannucci Presents The Cinnamon Kings Remix]” — Belleruche
Scene: Crew celebrates a $1.2M take (≈24:00). Non-diegetic.
Why it matters: A champagne-bubble groove for the first “high.”

“Baby, Please Don’t Go” — Them (Van Morrison)
Scene: Arriving at the NFL game (≈29:00). Diegetic-adjacent stadium cut bridging into crowd sound.

“Kernkraft 400 (Sport Chant Stadium Remix)” — Zombie Nation
Scene: Betting skirmish heats up (≈31:00). Diegetic stadium chant.
Why it matters: Functional hype music that legitimizes the scene’s spiraling stakes.

“Do It Again” — Rebirth Brass Band
Scene: The Japanese whale joins; stakes escalate (≈33:00). Diegetic band-to-PA blend.

“It Takes Two” — Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock
Scene: The wager war goes breathless (≈34:00). Diegetic stadium pop hit.

“Sympathy for the Devil” — The Rolling Stones
Scene: Nicky shoves a $100k bet on the pile (≈35:00). Non-diegetic swagger to signal peril.

“Gimme Danger” — The Stooges
Scene: Nicky loses big, then dares the impossible final bet (≈38:00). Non-diegetic; feral edge matches tunnel vision.

“Rumbero” / “Lisboa Mulata” — Dead Combo
Scene: Raceway atmospherics (≈49:00). Non-diegetic, guitar noir for the Buenos Aires milieu.

“Chorra” — Los Mareados
Scene: Post-time-skip driving around the circuit (≈50:00). Non-diegetic tango to mark the new terrain.

“Body Speaking” — Luomo
Scene: Club maneuver where Nicky starts playing drunk (≈54:00). Diegetic floor pulse; masks intent.

“La Espada de Cadorna” — Mauro Alberelli et al.
Scene: Nicky spots Jess at the bar (≈55:00). Diegetic lounge cue; the past walks in.

“Gerli Hood” — Ivan Diaz Mathe et al. feat. Camilo Costaldi Lira & Alberto Manuel Rodriguez
Scene: Nicky confronts Garriga, intoxication ruse peaking (≈58:00). Diegetic club heat.

“Corazón de Piedra (Te Amo)” — Alejandro Medina
Scene: Jess helps an older woman, then finds Nicky (≈1:03:00). Non-diegetic old-school sentiment with irony.

“White Bird” — It’s a Beautiful Day
Scene: Garriga’s man lines up the crash (≈1:21:00). Non-diegetic; floating melancholy before impact.

“Love Makes the World Go ’Round” — Barbara Lewis
Scene: Hospital drive & end credits (≈1:38:00). Non-diegetic; bittersweet grace note.

Trailer music (not from album): Jeff Beck feat. Joss Stone — “I Put a Spell on You”; James Brown — “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”; Emilíana Torrini — “Gun”. Trusted source: Variety.

Music–Story Links

Confidence to compulsion: the stadium run starts with diegetic hype (“Kernkraft 400”), then pivots to non-diegetic rock swagger (“Sympathy for the Devil,” “Gimme Danger”). That crossfade mirrors Nicky’s slide from performance to addiction — the moment the con stops being controlled theater and becomes a gamble he needs to feel alive.

Romance as illusion: Urata’s “Focus (Love Theme)” plays like a promise, but “White Bird” later reframes that promise as memory — lovely, distant, maybe false. When Jess drives to the hospital under Barbara Lewis, the vintage soul makes their reunion feel earned while reminding us this world pays in IOUs.

How It Was Made

Composer Nick Urata shapes a sleek, romantic throughline that can sit beside crate-dug needle-drops without clashing. Music supervision by Jason Ruder threads period soul, New Orleans brass, Argentine selections, and proto-punk together so cues feel inevitable rather than clever for clever’s sake. Trusted source: WaterTower Music.

Editorially, the big game sequence stacks diegetic stadium anthems with non-diegetic rock cues to pace bets and breath — a music-driven escalation that teaches the audience how the con is “supposed” to feel before snapping it shut.

Reception & Quotes

“A suave but slight outing.” Variety (Peter Debruge)

“A romantic caper… good looks but little sizzle.” The Hollywood Reporter

“Slick, engaging nonetheless.” Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Consensus

Album availability: digital via Apple Music and Spotify; compact 14-track set (not a complete film-use document). Trusted source: Apple Music.

Additional Info

• OST release date: February 24, 2015 (digital).
• Label: WaterTower Music (Warner’s in-house soundtrack imprint).
• Film features more cues than the album; several needle-drops are film-only.
• Stadium section leans on crowd-proven anthems to justify diegetic presence.
• Argentine tracks help anchor locale specificity in Act II.
• End-credits Barbara Lewis placement is a rights-cleared vintage deep cut.
• Urata’s “Focus (Love Theme)” is the album’s sole score cue.

Technical Info

• Title: Focus (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
• Year: 2015
• Type: Film soundtrack (various artists + score)
• Composer: Nick Urata (score; “Focus (Love Theme)”)
• Music Supervision: Jason Ruder
• Label: WaterTower Music
• Album Length / Tracks: 14 tracks (digital; curated selection)
• Selected placements: “Kernkraft 400 (Sport Chant Stadium Remix)” (stadium, diegetic), “Gimme Danger” (betting apex), “White Bird” (pre-crash), “Love Makes the World Go ’Round” (end credits)
• Release context: Film released Feb 27, 2015 (US); album timed to week of release
• Availability: Apple Music, Spotify; not all film songs appear on the album

Canonical Entities & Relations

Subject	Relation	Object
Nick Urata	composed	Focus (Love Theme)
Jason Ruder	supervised music for	Focus (2015 film)
WaterTower Music	released	Focus (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Warner Bros. Pictures	distributed	Focus (2015 film)
It’s a Beautiful Day	performed	White Bird
Barbara Lewis	performed	Love Makes the World Go ’Round
Glenn Ficarra & John Requa	co-directed	Focus (2015 film)
Rolling Stones	performed	Sympathy for the Devil (film use)

Sources: WaterTower Music; Apple Music; Spotify; Wikipedia; Variety; The Hollywood Reporter; Soundtrakd; The Numbers; ShotOnWhat; Name Of The Song.

This film is about a genius criminals, as always a man and a woman, who spend time together, sharing different information, opinions, etc., until they find quite a big deal. And they begin to play a double game. Which is concluded in that you need to fool each other so that the other would realize it only after a long time. There are many beautiful people on the screen, the first of which is Will Smith, who plays already loved by us role of a teacher, just like in the movie "Hitch: rules of pickup". And, as usually happens in such cases, the student is trying to surpass his teacher. Music for the film is not chosen at random. Despite the fact that the trailer of the film uses a lot of jazz compositions, which, of course, are in this collection, its character is quite diverse – here we meet pop, jazz, funk (I'm A Manchild), reggae, country ( Let Me Go Home, Whiskey ), blues, dance ( Kernkraft 400) and much more tasty songs. Most of the songs in the collection are composed of jazz + pop. But the rest is not just so, but to complement the overall picture, making it a complete and diversified in the same time. A pair of tracks, for example, a group Them, could easily be thrown out of the collection and it would only benefit from it. But such as, for example, The Rolling Stones , are a royal decoration here. Overall, the collection creates a relaxed mood, especially thanks to two trance songs, which are contained in the end of it. There is not a single really active composition, and this only is a significant advantage when it comes to creating a melancholic mood. In general, these 30+ compositions create a relaxed mood, just to spend your evening in the mild and entertained way.

November, 09th 2025

"Focus" movie: IMDb, Wikipedia

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