SPOILER alert:Do not read if you have not watched the first seven episodes of “Euphoria” Season 2.
Despite the immense popularity of HBO’s “Euphoria,” clearing a song for use in the show isn’t as easy as it may appear — especially when it comes to legacy artists and estates.
As music supervisor Jen Malone puts it, the teenage drama series has “sex, nudity, violence, drugs, guns. There’s not one thing that was missing as far as red flags for approval parties.”
And yet the first episode of Season 2 kicks off with Billy Swan’s cover of “Don’t Be Cruel,” made famous by Elvis Presley. The song plays as the grandmother of Fezco (Angus Cloud) struts into a strip club, walks in on a man receiving oral sex and shoots him in both legs. So how did Malone convince Presley’s estate to let the show use the song? “It was just handling it with care — the nuance of presenting the show and what it’s doing,” she explains.
Though Season 1 established “Euphoria” as a series in which music is just as important to its aesthetic as the camerawork — replete with masterful synchs from Billie Eilish, Blood Orange and Arcade Fire, to name a few — Malone and series creator Sam Levinson came into Season 2 ready to dive even more deeply into the show’s musical ethos.
“The goal this season was to not repeat ourselves, and take it places that we haven’t really dug too much into before,” Malone says. That meant turning more to the classics, like ’90s hip-hop and late-’80s alt-rock.
Episode 1 features Rue (Zendaya) rapping along to 2Pac’s “Hit ’Em Up,” and a New Year’s Eve party blasts the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize” and DMX’s “Party Up.” Though some on Twitter criticized the song choices, saying that Gen Z would never play ’90s rap at a party, Malone sees it from a different perspective.
“I think that ‘Euphoria’ is an element of music discovery,” she says. “And to be able to introduce some of the Gen Z audience to this amazing music is so exciting.” As for the haters, Malone says with a laugh: “If kids are going to parties where they’re not hearing those types of bangers … then their parties are not that great.”
Indeed, “Euphoria” has dominated the discourse on Twitter for the past seven Sunday nights, with much of the attention going to the music. Memes have arisen about the extent of the show’s music budget, and songs like “Down the Line” by Gerry Rafferty and Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work” have become TikTok trends following their placements in Episode 1. Other musical moments, such as Lexi (Maude Apatow) blasting Laura Les’ hyperpop banger “Haunted” in Episode 2, immediately trended on Twitter and sparked debate.
“That was one of those where it was like, ‘Trust me, just put it in,’” Malone says. “And then it blew up, and we’re always kind of floored. A lot of people were psyched on it, [but] there’s definitely a couple of people who were like, ‘She would never be listening to this!’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, but why not? Why wouldn’t she be listening to this song?’”
For Malone, all of the chatter just further proves to artists that putting their music on “Euphoria” can be just as valuable to them as it is to the show.
“We got a call from a label that 2Pac’s numbers were just skyrocketing on socials and on Spotify and it’s just like, ‘Yes, good kids! Listen to this music that’s so good,’” Malone says. As for scoring the 2Pac synch, Malone says the late rapper’s estate is “very protective” of how his music is used in film and television. But, she adds, “they were lovely and it was like, ‘We’re huge fans of Zendaya, and he would be a fan of Zendaya also and probably of this show.’”
Though “Hit ’Em Up” was scripted in right from the start, other songs required a “jumping-off point,” Malone explains. For example, in Episode 3 — which focuses on the teenage years of Cal (Eric Dane), the manipulative father of Nate (Jacob Elordi) — Malone knew Levinson wanted INXS to act as the musical centerpiece to further anchor the late-’80s setting. From there, she was able to build out a tidal wave of tracks from that same period, including ones from Depeche Mode, Roxette, Erasure, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Cult and Lenny Kravitz. Malone says the episode was special to her because “that late-’80s, early-’90s new wave is just my favorite.”
“When a music supervisor gets to work on a show or an episode with their absolute favorite music that the director and showrunner want to have, it’s just so fun,” Malone says. “I made bins of a bunch of music that could be used and what I think would be great for Cal’s playlist. Normally I give a reasonable amount, but with [editor] Laura [Zempel] I was like, ‘Sorry, I gave you way too much music.’”
INXS returns in Episode 4 for more Cal flashbacks, and his late- ’80s playlist bleeds into the mental breakdown of Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) as she lip-synchs to Sinéad O’Connor’s “Drink Before the War.”
“That record was so important to me growing up, so reading it and seeing it — it was the same with INXS, it was just, like, chills. And then to see the edit was just so emotional, first because the performances, especially from Eric and Sydney… when Cal sees Derek, it hits you in a place that in a way you’re like, I really feel for this absolute monster of a character,” Malone says. “It’s one of those moments that I’m proud to have a small hand working with Sinéad’s people and our publisher partner to make sure she knew that we were doing right by her and the song.”
Throughout the rest of the season, the throwback theme continues, with songs by Spandau Ballet, Sharon Cash, Mazzy Star and a fabulously choreographed dance to Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero.” Malone says she’s grateful for this “once-in-a-lifetime” show and to be able to introduce some of her favorite artists to a different generation.
“It’s fun to give these songs new life and a new audience, and it’s important because it’s coming from an artist legacy standpoint that we’re bringing them back,” Malone says. “We’re helping these artists continue their legacy.”
