The Art and Impact of the ‘Twilight’ Soundtracks 

It’s that very M.O. — combining an unlikely group of bands and musicians, both from the Twilight world and beyond — and creating an unexpected, yet pitch-perfect compilation soundtracks that pleases fans of the series and fans of just plain great music.

The first Twilight soundtrack, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 back in November of 2008, and spent an astonishing 224 weeks on the charts and moved more than 3.5 million copies worldwide. In addition to commercial success, the album was loved by critics (Entertainment Weekly gave it an A-) and even earned Grammy nominations. 

Since then, the four soundtracks to follow: New Moon, Eclipse, and both Breaking Dawns, have all followed suit and been chart-topping, must-have records. Many of the artists featured on the Twilight soundtracks were bona fide hit-makers and music superstars long before they contributed their exclusive tracks to the albums (including Muse, Linkin Park, Florence and the Machine, Radiohead‘s Thom Yorke, Cee Lo Green, The Killers, Bruno Mars, and The Black Keys), just as many up-and-coming indie artists were given a major platform to share their music with the masses. 

So what’s it like being part of the pop culture phenomenon and becoming a “Twilight band” alongside the likes of Muse and Death Cab For Cutie? Hollywood.com caught up with two of the bands featured on the Twilight soundtracks, how they got involved, the impact it has made on their careers, and the reception they’re received since. 

Melissa Dougherty, the lead guitarist of rock band Eastern Conference Champions, whose original song “A Million Miles An Hour” was featured on the Eclipse soundtrack, put it simply: “Being on the soundtrack definitely opened up a lot of doors for our band … We saw it as a great opportunity to grow the band on a global level.” While the band had already gained notoriety for appearing on shows like Friday Night Lights and Gossip Girl, the bass-heavy “A Million Miles An Hour” track clicked with the Twilight fan base. “The Twihards are a very loyal and supportive community, and they definitely embraced our band wholeheartedly, which we truly appreciate,” Dougherty says 

It probably didn’t hurt that ECC’s song started the first moment Lautner’s Jacob appeared on screen in Eclipse. Dougherty recalled, “We didn’t know which scene the song was for … We went to the premiere and heard the bass line start, but the audience went crazy screaming for Taylor Lautner, so we kind of missed hearing it.” Of course, as much as a thrill the song provided for fans (“People always want to hear that tune as well, and it’s become a fun one to play,” she says), being welcomed aboard the Twilight soundtrack lineage was just as much a thrill for the band back when they submitted their music for consideration. 

“We’re very proud to have had our song picked out of 400 other artists. It’s a big honor and a big opportunity for an unsigned band to get. At the time we, had no label, no manager and no lawyer,” Dougherty recalls, adding, “It was definitely one for the underdogs.”  

Like ECC, the eclectic Southern indie rock outfit The Features were approached to submit a song through their publishing company. If it hadn’t been for the Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack, their track “From Now On” may have never heard the light of day. Singer/guitarist Matt Pelham recalls, “We were, at that time, in the studio finishing up a record, and had a few songs that were left over from the record. And we figured it couldn’t hurt, so we submitted a couple of the songs we had left over. ‘From Now On’ was one of those, and it wound up on the soundtrack.”

“From Now On”, one of the more upbeat songs in the Twilight soundtrack catalog, plays during Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella’s (Kristen Stewart) honeymoon sequence. While Pelham acknowledges that their appearance on the soundtrack has brought in some younger fans and a spike in YouTube awareness (“At one point the YouTube video that someone had posted had surpassed a million hits, which if you take every other YouTube video we have and combine them, it doesn’t even come close to that”) he and the band had their initial trepidations about appearing on the soundtrack. 

“At first, when they asked, we thought it might be kinda weird,” Pelham admits, “We didn’t know how we’d fit into that soundtrack.” Still, Pelham — who says he admires the “mix tape” approach of albums (“I really enjoy records that kind of move around and surprise you”) — and the band were happy with how things turned out in the end. “I’m really glad we were part of it … The music supervisor did a really good job of placing the music and with the music they chose. It comforted the band to know it wasn’t just find the catchiest stuff and stick it in there.”

That music supervisor is none other than Alexandra Patsavas, the woman worked on all five of the Twilight soundtracks and also put her magical musical touch on the likes of Grey’s Anatomy, Mad Men, The O.C., and more recently, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Pastavas, who says she’s “always been interested in independent music,” cites the combination of artists like ECC and The Features with “some of the most important alternative and indie rock bands” as “one of the most rewarding and interesting parts of the Twilight saga soundtracks.”

In addition to using a variety of bands for the soundtracks, Pastavas, who worked closely with Stephenie Meyer and the various directors throughout the creation of the Twilight soundtracks (“It is a very analog process for this very sophisticated digital era we live in … It’s a collaborative effort in the artistic process,”), also credits the use of original, exclusive music for why these albums struck such a chord. “It was a special thing and something the fans really, really appreciated being able to forever associate the songs and bands with their favorite scenes in the film.” 

Pastavas, who says she received over 500 submissions for each album, perhaps summed the success of each of the wide-ranging soundtracks best: “Every single one has told a different story.” Yet another reason we’re sad to close the Twilight chapter. 

[Photo credit: Atlantic Records]

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