Soundtrack of Dreamworks' ‘Forgotten Island’ to feature BINI, Lea Salonga, SB19, Sophia Laforteza, more
Filipino talent is taking center stage in DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming film Forgotten Island, with several homegrown artists set to be featured on its official soundtrack.
In a report by Variety, the movie will feature music from P-pop girl group BINI, Broadway legend Lea Salonga, Kings of P-pop SB19, Sophia Laforteza of global girl group KATSEYE, and R&B singer-songwriter H.E.R.
Apart from leading the soundtrack, both H.E.R. and Salonga will also lend their voices to the film's cast. H.E.R. stars as Jo, one of the two main protagonists of the film, while Salonga will play as The Dreaded Manananggal, the most feared creature on the titular island.
The news outlet detailed that the music will "blend influences from the 1980s and ’90s, particularly drawing inspiration from Filipino and Filipino-American musical culture."
The film’s directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, as well as Angela Leus, senior vice president of Film Music at Universal Pictures, had agreed that the soundtrack "had to be rooted in authenticity."
As a Filipina-American who was surrounded by the music her parents loved, Leus wanted to honor the artists who played a significant part in influencing her life while also spotlighting Filipino music and artists from both older and newer generations.
“From the very beginning, I said, ‘I need to be aware of every Filipino music creator out there,’ so it was a deep dive and a lot of reaching out to our community in the Philippines and here,” she said. “It was about educating myself on who’s out there.”
BINI will come out with a new song called A Parallel World, which Leus said incorporates the friendship theme for the film's two heroines "but reimagines it in a fresh way."
Laforteza will meanwhile sing a remixed version of INXS’ Never Tear Us Apart for an "emotional moment between the two friends."
"She put a new twist on it to signify the evolution of their friendship. The song parallels their friendship and captures the journey from where they were to what they become," Leus said.
Liza Soberano, who voices Jo’s best friend Raissa, will also showcase her musical talents by singing the track BRB together with co-star H.E.R. Together, they "capture the nostalgia, warmth and joy that radiate from their characters and the movie as a whole."
"As a Filipina, hearing that song, seeing it on screen, and hearing the Tagalog language on a global stage is incredibly special," Leus said.
Meanwhile, SB19 will cover the song Mga Kababayan by Francis M, while Filipino rapper Ruby Ibarra sings Salbahae Ako with Carl Angelo.
Centering around Filipino folklore, Forgotten Island tells the story of longtime best friends Jo and Raissa, who find themselves stranded on a remote, forgotten, and magical island called Nakali. The only way home, they discover, may involve having to forget each other and their friendship.
It is written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, who previously worked together on Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and The Croods: A New Age. Completing the cast are Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Ronny Chieng, Dave Franco, and Jenny Slate.
Universal Pictures is set to release Forgotten Island theatrically on Sept. 25 later this year.
