- in Entertainment News by Mike
Jessie J’s “Flashlight” From Pitch Perfect 2 Debuts
THE BARDEN BELLAS
PITCH PERFECT 2, THE FOLLOW-UP ALBUM TO SOUNDTRACK SMASH PITCH PERFECT, AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER TODAY
First single, “Flashlight,” by Jessie J hits radio today, video premieres on ET and VEVO
A new mix of all new mash-ups and medleys available May 12
The Barden Bellas are back to pitch slap the world. Pitch Perfect 2, the highly-anticipated sequel to the smash hit and platinum-selling soundtrack, Pitch Perfect, will be available for pre-order today, iTunes, Amazon CD, Amazon LP.
Once again creating exclusive a cappella mash-ups and medleys from the upcoming Universal Pictures film Pitch Perfect 2, the soundtrack from Universal Music Enterprises is available on all formats: digital, CD and vinyl on May 12, with the movie hitting theaters nationwide on May 15. The comedy is helmed by Elizabeth Banks, co-star and producer of Pitch Perfect, and produced by Paul Brooks, Max Handelman and Banks. Writer Kay Cannon returns to the team to pen the next chapter.
“Flashlight,” the first single off the album, penned by superstars Sam Smith and Sia, among others, will be hitting radio stations nationwide today. Other standout tracks include a “campfire version” of “Cups,” a ’90s medley and the song “Crazy Youngsters,” written and performed by cast member Ester Dean.
“Flashlight,” is performed by multiplatinum-selling, GRAMMY® nominated artist Jessie J. The music video for “Flashlight” is directed by Hannah Lux Davis (Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj’s “Bang Bang,” Ariana Grande and The Weeknd’s “Love Me Harder”), and was filmed at a college campus…complete with a stirring live performance from Jessie J and a rousing nighttime flashlight finale that is sure to bring audiences to their feet. You can watch the video after 7:30 p.m. EST, here
Jessie J’s debut album, Who You Are [LAVA], marked the debut of a global icon when it reached #1 and was certified multiplatinum in more than 15 countries. Who You Are also yielded an astonishing six Top 10 singles, including the hit “Domino.” To date, she has sold more than 3 million albums and 20 million singles worldwide. Her latest album, Sweet Talker [LAVA/Republic Records], debuted in the Top 10 after its October 2014 release and includes hits such as the double platinum smash hit “Bang Bang” with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, and “Burnin’ Up,” featuring 2 Chainz.
Julianne Jordan, one of the soundtrack’s producers and executive music producers of the film, explains, “With this soundtrack, we wanted to keep the unexpected fun, fly-by-the-seat-of-your pants spirit of the first one but take it to another level. We believe we accomplished that with the arrangements, more out of the box song choices and mashups.”
“Creating the song moments to illustrate the story was so exciting,” says Julia Michels, soundtrack producer and the film’s other executive music producer. “Working with Elizabeth Banks from start to finish was a great experience, and we are so proud to be a part of the Pitch Perfect team again.”
Pitch Perfect has sold almost 2 million albums worldwide. In the U.S., it was the top-selling soundtrack of 2013, 6th overall album of 2014, and the second-highest selling soundtrack of the decade, behind the Frozen soundtrack, and spent 36 of 37 weeks on the chart, and 16 weeks in the top 20.
The hit single, “Cups” has sold more than 3 million downloads, spending 50 weeks on the Top 200 tracks chart, and ended 2013 in the top-50 biggest-selling digital tracks. It has been viewed almost 200 million times worldwide on VEVO.
Album producers include Julianne Jordan, Julia Michels, Jason Moore and The Underdogs, with Jordan and Michels serving as executive music producers on the film. Tony Award-winning Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, American Idiot) is one of the movie’s vocal arrangers/producers, along with Ed Boyer (The Sing Off), Deke Sharon (International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella co-founder), Alana Da Fonseca (Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower) and The Underdogs—whose track record includes collaborating with Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Brown and Jordin Sparks, among others. The Underdogs earned Grammys for Best Pop Album (Justin Timberlake’s Justified) and Best R&B Album (Chris Brown’s F.A.M.E.), among others.