Top Gun: Maverick (soundtrack)

Top Gun: Maverick (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack to the 2022 action film Top Gun: Maverick by Lorne Balfe, Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, and Hans Zimmer. It consists of the film's score as well as two original songs, "Hold My Hand" by Gaga and "I Ain't Worried" by OneRepublic, which were released as singles prior to the album. The soundtrack contains the song "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins, which was also featured in the first film. The soundtrack was released on May 27, 2022, by Interscope Records and Paramount Music through digital and physical formats.

Development
By June 2017, Top Gun composer Harold Faltermeyer had returned to score for the sequel. Later, in October 2018, Hans Zimmer joined Faltermeyer to score for the film, accompanied by Lorne Balfe and Lady Gaga also joining the film later. Zimmer produced a new original theme for the film that was featured in the February 2022 trailer, and was played by guitarist Johnny Marr. Marr claimed that the theme was "completely accidental" and did not watch the preview of the film before scoring. Speaking in an interview to Variety, Marr said "I think there was some issue with how the theme was sounding, and I was around and I have a guitar. It really was as simple as that." Twenty One Pilots frontman Tyler Joseph said that their band was reported to feature in the soundtrack, before Tom Cruise ousted them. He revealed in an interview that "I was working with the music placement person for the new Top Gun on writing a new song for them, and then I believe Tom Cruise came in and just fired everyone," Tyler also noted, "It was actually pretty soon after they brought me in to show me parts of the movie and what they were looking for and stuff. Then I got word that there was like a wholesale swap." Musician Kenny Loggins has confirmed that his song "Danger Zone", which was used in the first film, will be featured in the sequel. "Great Balls of Fire", another song from the first film performed by Jerry Lee Lewis, was also featured in the sequel. The song is performed by Miles Teller, who plays Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw.

On April 27, 2022, Gaga announced that she had written and recorded the song "Hold My Hand", which would serve as the film's theme song, in addition to producing the score. Gaga said that she worked on the song for years, and "didn't even realize the multiple layers it spanned across the film's heart, my own psyche, and the nature of the world we've been living in" while writing it. The song, released as a single on May 3, 2022, was co-written with Benjamin Rice and BloodPop. Another single, "I Ain't Worried" by OneRepublic was released on May 13. It was sent to contemporary hit radio in the United States on June 21, 2022. The soundtrack album was released on May 27, 2022, by Interscope Records.

Reception
The soundtrack received positive reviews, with Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood, Brian Lloyd of Entertainment.ie, Tomris Larfy of RogerEbert.com and Chris Bumbray of JoBlo.com calling the score composed by Faltermeyer, Gaga, Balfe and Zimmer as "one of the positive aspects of the film". Zanobard Reviews stated "the soundtrack of Top Gun: Maverick is a thoroughly entertaining and incredibly nostalgic musical experience from beginning to end".

Track listing
All performed by Lorne Balfe, Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta), and Hans Zimmer except where noted

Songs not included in the soundtrack, but featured in the film include the following:
 * Hank Williams – "Your Cheatin' Heart" – Plays at the small town diner after Maverick crashes the Darkstar
 * David Bowie – "Let's Dance" – Plays on jukebox at the Hard Deck bar
 * T. Rex – "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" – Plays on jukebox at the bar
 * Otis Redding and Carla Thomas – "Tramp" – Plays on jukebox at the bar when Rooster first appears
 * Foghat – "Slow Ride" – Plays on jukebox at the bar, as selected by Hangman
 * The Who – "Won't Get Fooled Again" – Plays on the first training montage

Credits
Credits adapted from Film Music Reporter


 * Supervising music editor: Cecile Tournesac
 * Music editor: Ryan Rubin
 * Additional music editorial: Peter Myles, Mikael Sandgren
 * Music consultants: Jason Bentley, T Bone Burnett, Kathy Nelson, Ryan Tedder
 * Additional music: David Fleming, Andrew Kawczynski, Steve Mazzaro
 * Additional arrangements: Steve Davis, Sven Faulconer, Stuart Michael Thomas, Max Aruj, Steffen Thum
 * Featured musicians:
 * Bass: Nico Abondolo, Trey Henry
 * Cello: Tina Guo, Ro Rowan
 * French horn: Dylan S. Hart
 * Trumpet: Thomas Hooten
 * Electric guitar: Lexii Lynn Frazier, Stuart Michael Thomas
 * Drums: Chad Smith
 * Violin: Ben Powell
 * Score consultant: Guthrie Govan
 * Orchestrations: Bruce Fowler, Walt Fowler, David Giuli, Jennifer Hammond, Yvonne Suzette Moriarty, Booker White
 * Music preparation: Booker White
 * Orchestral contractor: Peter Rotter
 * Score mixing: Al Clay, Stephen Lipson
 * Score mix assistant: Alvin Wee
 * Sequencer programming: Omer Benyamin, Steven Doar
 * Technical score engineer: Chuck Choi
 * Technical assistants: Alejandro Moros, Alex Lamy, Fabio Marks, Jim Grimwade, Aldo Arechar, Kevin Anderson, Florian Faltermeyer, Alfie Godfrey, Michael Bitton
 * Synth programming: Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe
 * Synth design: Kevin Schroeder
 * Digital instrument design: Mark Wherry
 * Digital instrument preparation: Taurees Habib, Raul Vega
 * Music production services: Steven Kofsky
 * Score coordinators: Shalini Singh, Queenie Li