Already downloaded every instrumental pop cover from Bridgerton Season 2? Good, you’re one step ahead of the game.
Each of these gorgeous orchestral selections was specifically chosen by showrunner Chris Van Dusen and music supervisor Justin Kamps so that these stirring instrumental covers would pull on your heartstrings at just the right moments of dancing, merriment, heartache and, naturally, pining — especially in the love triangle between Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), Kate (Simone Ashley) and Edwina (Charithra Chandran).
Now that another London social season has come and gone, and Lady Whistledown has put down her quill (at least for now), we’ve got a full, spoiler-filled rundown of the show’s key needle drops with Kamps.
Press play on Harry Styles’ orchestral “Sign of the Times,” and let’s begin this Q&A:
Let’s start with why you chose the Bollywood song “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham” for when Edwina is getting ready for her wedding with her mother and sister.
So, the director of [Episode 5] had wanted to feature a Bollywood song, which is something that was incredibly appropriate for the sequence and something we hadn’t done on the show before. We were able to get a hold of this one to use, and everyone was happy with the recording that Kris [Bowers, Bridgerton’s composer] did. It’s a beautiful track, and it plays over this sequence that’s half the Haldi ceremony and half of Anthony’s bachelor party, and it’s just a fun sequence.
It’s such a meaningful inclusion for the show to feature, especially since the Sharmas were coming from India this season.
Yeah, exactly. It’s perfect, and I’m glad we got to get something that represents them more directly in this season.
Out of the songs that you featured, is there one in particular that you feel truly captured the essence of Kate and Anthony’s love story?
Man, I do feel like in the final episode, we have “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus, and I do feel like that symbolizes, for both of them, how meeting each other was just... [it] blew up all of their plans, each of them dealing with the same duty to their family and everything. And then they’re trying and failing to fight off their desire for each other. “You came in like a wrecking ball” — that’s totally how Anthony would feel about Kate and vice versa, I think.
Oh yeah. They vex each other.
It’s like a roadblock that you want to try to go around, but then you’ve just got to fight through it and fall in love with each other. You think this is what you want, but actually, “this is what I really want.” [They’re] fake begrudging. I feel like that song does a good job of summing things up a bit.
When you choose these songs, do you usually associate them with particular characters, moments or character arcs?
Yeah, sometimes. I think an interesting one in Season 2 is the Nirvana cover “Stay Away” by Vitamin String Quartet, because it’s used in a sequence where we don’t necessarily always have a string cover. It’s this montage sequence of Anthony going throughout his day. You could see how filled his day is, full of dealing with family obligations and trying to find a match for himself. And it’s just this hectic, stress-filled sequence. A lot of our string-quartet covers are beautiful, flowing dance moments, and this one is just this really tense, energetic driving song that we don’t always get to use. And I feel like that was a really good thing for Anthony. Also, you know, “Stay Away,” the title and everything, it’s his attitude right then at the start of Season 2. So I feel like that one really matched.
Any others?
Oh yeah, like the Queen throwing her Diamond Ball [in the premiere]. So, obviously, we want to use one of the most well-known diamond songs you can think of — “Diamonds” by Rihanna.
Absolutely, makes sense that you want Edwina to “shine bright like a diamond.”
And the Queen is just going to be on the nose with the music because she’s not subtle. She’s got to have the best.
Tell us about incorporating Alanis Morissette’s iconic “You Oughta Know,” but now in the context of Anthony and Kate heart-wrenchingly pulling themselves apart from each other.
That’s another great one that I feel like the string-quartet version from Duomo has a totally different feel than, obviously, the original song. It’s got all this anticipation to it, which is something you don’t think of with that song, like, “Oh, I don’t feel anticipation listening to ‘You Oughta Know,’ ” but this string-quartet version [makes you feel that way]. We use it towards the end of Episode 5, and it has all this anticipation, and wants you to just press play right away on the next one.
I was so excited you got that one, especially in the context of the scene, where Anthony and Kate admit, “We are really into each other, but this is too complicated.” And they finally resign themselves to duty and misery. I love when the song picks up again after Kate calls him “Anthony” for the first time. Was that a very specific choice, to drop it in then?
Yeah. That’s how it was cut in originally, when I first saw it as well. And everyone loved the way that played. That one was never moved around, as far as I know. It was, “As long as Alanis is cool with it, we’re going to move forward with that one.” And luckily, they were very happy with that use as well.
I also want to touch on the “Dancing On My Own” cover, which is a crucial song for coming-of-age and love stories. Would you say that it’s the perfect song about yearning, especially in this context where Kate and Anthony’s entire relationship hinges on that dance at Aubrey Hall?
Oh yeah. It was one of the Vitamin String Quartet covers that already existed, too, and I think that everyone really loved the energy of that song, and it was great for their first dance there. And I agree, it’s kind of [like they’re] playing both sides and then, finally, I feel like they have their first realization, really, of, “Uh-oh, we’re in trouble here. There’s really something going on and we’ve got to sort this out.”
Why did you use Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” as the song for Anthony and Edwina’s wedding march?
It works so well as the wedding is getting going for Edwina and Anthony. You wouldn’t necessarily think of this as being, like, a go-to wedding song. But sometimes when you translate it into the string quartet, it just takes on, apart from the lyrics and everything, it takes on a whole different vibe and sound. And it’s such a sweeping and beautiful cover that I’m excited for people to see in [Episode 6].
Right, you wouldn’t necessarily think it’s a “Sign of the Times” that you’re going to marry the person you don’t love — sorry, Edwina. But the way it comes across, with the strings on lines like, “We never learn, we been here before,” is so gorgeous. The sound of it feels like it’s meant for a wedding in a church.
Yeah, the arrangement that Steve Horner did on that just adds a lot of majesty to this song that doesn’t necessarily exist in the original recording. And if you were to use the original recording there, you’d be like, “This is weird.” But the string quartet just adds this whole other level of cinematic beauty and everything. It’s very unique. That’s why I love the way that you can kind of get away with using, well, not anything, but I love the way that [string covers] renew songs in a way and give them a totally different quality than the original recording does.
I think we can expect after this season that a lot of people’s wedding songs will be “Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles, the instrumental version.
Yeah, totally. Even though that wedding doesn’t go so well...
Season 2 of Bridgerton is now streaming on Netflix. Make sure to peruse Tudum for more stories from the ton.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
