Greta Gerwig listened to Dua Lipa‘s Barbie song ‘Dance The Night’ “100 times” in one morning, according to Mark Ronson.
Ronson produced the soundtrack to the new movie, featuring artists including Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice, Charli XCX, Sam Smith, Billie Eilish, Haim, PinkPantheress, Karol G and FIFTY FIFTY.
Speaking to NME in a new feature, Ronson said he was desperate to work on the soundtrack.
“The minute I knew Greta was directing the film, that she was writing it with her partner Noah [Baumbach], and that it was Barbie… I signed up. I mean, I did read the script. And the script was incredible. But honestly, if it had been bad I still would have said yes,” he said.
Asked to write something quick for Barbie’s first big musical number, Ronson only had a week before choreography began to come up with something to fit the scene.
“It felt like if I did a good job on that track there might be a chance to do more,” he recalled. “But it was getting close to the deadline and I didn’t have anything. Finally, at the last minute, I had this track that I liked. I named it ‘Tastes Like Barbie’ and sent it in overnight. I knew it was already mid-morning in England, where they were filming. I always turn my phone off before I go to bed but I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t resist checking my email. Greta loved it. She said she’d already listened to it 100 times on the way to set. It felt like I could breathe again.”
Later, he asked Dua Lipa to work on the vocals (“I always felt like it had a Future Nostalgia feel to it”), and the track developed into ‘Dance The Night’.
As well as providing the lead single, Lipa also made a cameo appearance in the film – playing a mermaid variation of Barbie.
Ronson previously revealed how he managed to persuade her to join the soundtrack.
Barbie arrived in cinemas on July 21 and stars Margot Robbie, Gosling, Liu, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Dua Lipa, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Sharon Rooney and more.
The film earned a four-star review, with NME‘s Alex Flood writing: “The script contains unexpected subtlety, particularly during the tender moments which pack an emotional punch. Gerwig is clever enough to deliver these with self-awareness and some sarcastic jokes, meaning the balance between reality and commercial is never lost. For a movie that ostensibly exists to promote a doll, this is laudable. Now come on Barbie, let’s go party.”
