The full artist lineup for the “Elvis” soundtrack has been revealed — although still not the actual tracks they’re performing — and among those takin’ care of business on the album are Eminem, Tame Impala, Stevie Nicks, Jack White and Jazmine Sullivan.
A handful of the artists named were already known, including Kacey Musgraves, who said on the Met Gala red carpet that she’ll be doing “Can’t Help Falling in Love” for the film; Maneskin, whose version of “If I Can Dream” was used in a recent teaser trailer; and Doja Cat, whose “Vegas” was already released as the album’s first single.
But that still left room for plenty of surprises in Monday’s announcement. Along with the aforementioned, the lineup includes CeeLo Green, who is listed as a collaborator with Eminem on their mystery track; the combination of Swae Lee and Diplo; and Chris Isaak and Pnau, among others.
It’s not yet been revealed how many of these songs will be heard in the movie, over end credits or elsewhere, or if it’s more of a “companion album” project. But the artists list does include a fair amount of cast members as well, whose contributions are likely to be both seen and heard on screen, including Austin Butler (who plays the title role), Yola (playing Sister Rosetta Tharpe), Gary Clark Jr. (Arthur “Bigboy” Crudup), Shonka Dukereh (Big Mama Thornton), Alton Mason (Little Richard) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Jimmie Rodgers).
It won’t all be completely fresh recordings. Top-billed in the graphic is Elvis Aaron Presley (middle name prominently included, although it was never part of his billing). The late Rufus Thomas, who died in 2001, is also listed as a contributor.
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No release date has been given for the soundtrack, although it seems highly likely to launch the same day as the Baz Luhrmann-directed film itself, which gets a wide release June 24.
There haven’t been many advance reports from those who’ve seen the movie, but the Presley family has notably weighed in. In an interview with PvNew at Cannes (where the film is set to premiere), Elvis’ granddaughter, Riley Keough, said, “In the first five minutes, I could feel how much work Baz and Austin put into trying to get it right. That made me emotional immediately. I started crying five minutes in and didn’t stop. There’s a lot of family trauma and generational trauma that started around then for our family. I felt honored they worked so hard to really get his essence, to feel his essence. Austin captured that so beautifully.”
Prior to that, Lisa Marie Presley had tweeted, “Let me tell you that it is nothing short of spectacular. Absolutely exquisite. Austin Butler channeled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully. In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and finally done accurately and respectfully. … Thank you for setting the record straight in such a deeply profound and artistic way.”
