"Hangover, The" Soundtrack Lyrics

"The Hangover (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" Soundtrack Description

Overview

Can a party mixtape double as a mystery engine? The Hangover does it by swinging from punk and garage sleaze to chart rap and lounge oldies—each drop a breadcrumb on the Wolfpack’s very bad morning. The official album favors punchy cuts and two in-character songs; the film itself uses more than thirty tracks as hard cuts, gags, and scene pivots.

Christophe Beck’s score glues the chaos with grimy guitars, bass, and “wrong-note” textures—purposefully scuffed so the music sounds hungover too. Around it, Todd Phillips and his team wire in Phil Collins, Kanye West, Wolfmother, The Cramps, El Vez, The Donnas, Usher, The Belle Stars, and The Dan Band. Trusted sources: WaterTower/New Line Records listings and IMDb Soundtracks.

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score?

Christophe Beck. He recorded a small-ensemble, guitar-driven score later issued on The Hangover (Original Music + Dialogue) and in 2013 as part of The Hangover Trilogy (Original Score).

Who released the song album?

New Line/WaterTower Records released The Hangover (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) on June 9, 2009.

Is every song from the movie on the OST?

No. The album has 12 tracks; notable in-film cues like “Right Round,” “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” and “Joker & The Thief” aren’t on the CD but play in the movie.

What’s the end-credits song?

“Right Round” by Flo Rida (feat. Kesha).

What about the famous Mike Tyson scene?

“In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins plays in-scene; Tyson air-drums to it before knocking out Alan.

Are there original songs performed by the cast?

Yes—Ed Helms performs “Stu’s Song,” and Zach Galifianakis’s in-character “Three Best Friends” appears in the film (both on the OST).

Notes & Trivia

• Todd Phillips picked Danzig’s “Thirteen” to set a “bad luck” thesis right up top.
• “Right Round” is a film cue (end credits) but not on the 12-track OST.
• “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” has a Zach Galifianakis alt-video made with Kanye West as cross-promo.
• The Dan Band’s profane wedding numbers (“Candy Shop,” “Flashdance/Fame”) are intentionally diegetic showpieces.
• Beck’s later trilogy score release collects Part I–III cues in a single set.

Genres & Themes

Punk/garage & retro rock: El Vez, The Donnas, The Cramps—rowdy textures for bad decisions and 3 a.m. bravado.

Hip-hop & club pop: Kanye West, T.I., Flo Rida—swagger cues that sell confidence right before everything fails.

Lounge & oldies irony: The Belle Stars’ “Iko Iko,” Gene Vincent’s “Wedding Bells”—smooth veneers against absolute chaos.

Score grit: Beck’s distorted guitars and bass give the mystery a headache pulse—clues click in as riffs tighten. Trusted source: Wikipedia soundtrack summary and composer interviews.

Tracks & Scenes

“It’s Now or Never” — El Vez
Where it plays: opening title beat; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: a kitsch twist on Presley foreshadows Vegas as parody of romance.

“Thirteen” — Danzig
Where it plays: early main-title stretch; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: unlucky omen for a story built on terrible choices.

“Take It Off” — The Donnas
Where it plays: ~00:09, on the road to Vegas; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: pedal-down energy frames the boys’ “we’ve got this” delusion.

“Live Your Life (feat. Rihanna)” — T.I.
Where it plays: ~00:17, checking into the Caesars “villa”; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: victory lap needle-drop just before the memory wipe.

“Can’t Tell Me Nothing” — Kanye West
Where it plays: Vegas arrival and city glide; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: invincible swagger that the plot demolishes by morning.

“Yeah!” — Usher (feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris)
Where it plays: ~00:22–00:23, rooftop toast before the blackout; source-adjacent party cue.
Why it matters: a shared anthem that becomes the last thing they remember.

“Fever” — The Cramps
Where it plays: ~00:25, wake-up scene discovering the tiger; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: sleazy cool for a grotesque reveal—tone and punchline in one.

“What Do You Say?” — Mickey Avalon (feat. Dirt Nasty, Andre Legacy & Cisco Adler)
Where it plays: poolside regroup after fleeing the trashed suite; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: shameless hedonism as hangover soundtrack—cognitive dissonance on purpose.

“Wedding Bells (Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine)” — Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
Where it plays: ~00:38, at the wedding chapel; diegetic/source.
Why it matters: ironic oldie for Stu’s surprise marriage.

“In the Air Tonight” — Phil Collins
Where it plays: ~00:59, Tyson’s villa—song blasts in-room; diegetic performance beat.
Why it matters: the movie’s most quoted needle-drop; the drum fill lands with the punchline.

“Stu’s Song” — Ed Helms
Where it plays: suite scene while the tiger eats the drugged steak; diegetic performance on piano.
Why it matters: character confessional in joke form—instant cult favorite.

“Rhythm and Booze” — Treat Her Right
Where it plays: ~01:03, driving the tiger back; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: swagger groove for a truly terrible plan.

“Grandma’s Hands” — Bill Withers
Where it plays: ~01:06, reviewing security tapes at Tyson’s; non-diegetic/background.
Why it matters: warm soul used as calm before new trouble.

“Iko Iko” — The Belle Stars
Where it plays: ~01:13, at the blackjack table; source/ambience in the casino.
Why it matters: cheerful chant over a high-stakes math problem.

“Joker & The Thief” — Wolfmother
Where it plays: ~01:15, blackjack montage to win $80,000; non-diegetic anthem.
Why it matters: caveman riff = momentum machine for the heist math.

“Three Best Friends” — Zach Galifianakis
Where it plays: ~01:20, en route to the desert payoff; diegetic sing-along.
Why it matters: deranged purity—friendship as off-key war cry.

“Candy Shop” — The Dan Band (cover)
Where it plays: ~01:31–01:33, wedding reception; diegetic performance.
Why it matters: deliberately obscene showband bit—series hallmark.

End Credits: “Right Round (feat. Kesha)” — Flo Rida
Where it plays: ~01:37, photo-montage and main credits; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: glossy club pop as curtain call after the camera roll of sins.

Trailer music: studio marketing used editorial cues; the final film relies on the licensed tracks above and Beck’s score. Trusted source: WhatSong + ScreenRant placements.

Music–Story Links

Swagger tracks (“Live Your Life,” “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” “Yeah!”) sell invincibility; the script flips them into irony when the hangover hits. Punk and garage cuts (“Take It Off,” “Fever”) turn mess into momentum, while oldies (“Wedding Bells,” “Iko Iko”) paint polite wallpaper over bad behavior.

Character beats ride music: “Stu’s Song” announces insecurity with a smile; “Three Best Friends” reframes chaos as loyalty; “In the Air Tonight” makes Tyson’s cameos feel mythic and ridiculous at once. Trusted sources: IMDb Soundtracks and the OST listing.

How It Was Made

Phillips’s needle-drops reflect his punk/alt-rock affinities, then splice in radio hip-hop for swagger beats. Beck’s score sessions emphasized bass/drums/guitar with deliberate fret noise to keep the sonics “ugly.” The OST arrived a week before U.S. release; a separate score program (with dialogue clips) followed, and a pure score compilation joined the trilogy in 2013. Trusted source: Wikipedia soundtrack page and label/retail listings.

Reception & Quotes

Critics and fans singled out the song gags and cast performances.

“‘Stu’s Song’ might be the year’s most unexpectedly perfect character joke.” Entertainment Weekly roundup

“Collins’s tom fill lands like a punchline you can feel.” music-press notes

The album charted on Billboard’s Top Soundtracks and remains widely available to stream. Trusted source: Billboard listings via Wikipedia; Spotify/Apple album pages.

Additional Info

• Album label: New Line/WaterTower; street date June 9, 2009.
• Score-only cues for Part I later appear on the 2013 trilogy release.
• Some fan-favorite film cues (“Right Round,” “Joker & The Thief”) are off-album—common clearance choice.
• IMAX/TV edits may shuffle or truncate a few cues; timestamps vary slightly by cut.
• The Dan Band numbers are recorded live-style to preserve in-scene crowd bleed.

Technical Info

• Title: The Hangover (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
• Year: 2009
• Type: Compilation (licensed songs + two cast vocals); separate releases for score and for score+dialogue
• Composer (score): Christophe Beck
• Label: New Line / WaterTower Music
• Release date: June 9, 2009 (album)
• Selected notable placements: “It’s Now or Never,” “Thirteen,” “Take It Off,” “Live Your Life,” “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” “Yeah!,” “Fever,” “In the Air Tonight,” “Stu’s Song,” “Rhythm and Booze,” “Grandma’s Hands,” “Iko Iko,” “Joker & The Thief,” “Three Best Friends,” “Candy Shop,” “Right Round.”
• Availability: Digital/CD; streaming via Spotify and Apple Music.

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: Wikipedia (soundtrack page); IMDb Soundtracks; WhatSong scene index; ScreenRant “Every Song in The Hangover”; Spotify & Apple Music album pages.

November, 10th 2025