Trolls Band Together (soundtrack)

Trolls Band Together: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2023 DreamWorks Animation film Trolls Band Together, the third installment in the Trolls franchise and sequel to Trolls World Tour (2020). It was released by RCA Records, digitally on October 20, 2023 and later through physical formats on November 17, the same day as the film's release. The album was primarily produced by singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake, record producer Mike Elizondo and composer Joseph Shirley. It was promoted with two singles: "Better Place" and "It Takes Two". A separate film score album, Trolls Band Together (Original Motion Picture Score), composed by Theodore Shapiro, was released by Back Lot Music on November 10, 2023, seven days before the film's theatrical release.

Background
Timberlake, also reprising his role as Branch in the sequel, had executive produced the soundtrack as he did with the predecessors. He described to the director Walt Dohrn on how the film should celebrate boy bands as well as making fun slightly. They discussed about including musical numbers of boy bands throughout the decades in an organic manner and make it as a medley which fits in the narrative.

Singles
Followed by the reunion of NSYNC at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, and after the second trailer's release on September 14, 2023, DreamWorks was announced that they would record a song for the film titled "Better Place" that would become the group's first song in 22 years, since their album Celebrity (2001). The song was released on September 29, which coincided the announcement of the soundtrack. The second single "It Takes Two" performed by Camila Cabello and Anna Kendrick released on October 11.

Commercial performance
Upon its release, "Better Place" debuted at number twenty-five on the Billboard Hot 100, tying the group *NSYNC's highest debut on the chart with their debut single, "I Want You Back" and their first since their previous single "Girlfriend" released in 2002. Joey Fatone, in an interview to OK! said that: "'I didn't think it was going to have the magnitude it had. I didn't think about it hitting the charts, which I know sounds stupid. I wasn't even thinking about that! It was like, 'This is for the Trolls Band Together movie. Let's do it for fun,' I wasn't thinking like, 'You're on the charts in Canada, Belgium, Germany' — all these places we haven't been to in years! Why is this even happening? Of course, it's the connection they feel to *NSYNC, to Justin, the movie connection. It just all worked.'"

Personnel
All credits are adapted from CD liner notes.

Musicians


 * Shellback - guitar (track 1), bass (track 1) , drums (track 1) , keyboards (track 1) , percussion (track 1) , programming (track 1) , whistle (track 1)
 * Justin Timberlake - beatbox (track 1), background vocals (track 5)
 * Robert Mollard - tambourine (track 1)
 * Kaspar Komar - tambourine (track 1)
 * Mike Elizondo - electric guitar (tracks 2, 4, 9, 13), bass (tracks 9, 13) , drum programming (tracks 2, 4, 9, 13) , keyboards (tracks 2, 4, 9, 13) , background vocals (track 13)
 * Joseph Shirley - guitar (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14), drum programming (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14) , keyboards (tracks 3, 5-8, 10, 11, 14) , synthesizers (tracks 3, 5-8, 10, 11, 14) , background vocals (tracks 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14)
 * Christopher Hartz - drums (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8), percussion (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8)
 * Nick Paul - keyboards (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8), synthesizers (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8)
 * Sam Sugarman - guitar (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8)
 * Mike Cordone - trumpet (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8)
 * Jesse McGinty - alto saxophone (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8)
 * David Moyer - tenor saxophone (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8)
 * Prateek Rajagopal - guitar (tracks 5, 8, 14), keyboards (tracks 5, 8, 14) , synthesizers (tracks 5, 8) , drum programming (tracks 5, 8) , ukulele (track 7)
 * Emily Warren - background vocals (tracks 9, 13)
 * Brianna Mazzola - background vocals (tracks 9, 13)
 * Fred Eltringham - drums (tracks 9, 13)
 * Javier Solis - percussion (tracks 9, 13)
 * Matthew Cohen - guitar (track 10), synthesizers (track 10)
 * Michael Pollack - background vocals (track 13)
 * Philip Towns - piano (track 13)
 * Roy Agee - trombone (track 13)
 * Evan Cobb - saxophone (track 13)
 * Emmanuel Echem - trumpet (track 13)

Technical


 * Chris Godbey - recording engineer (tracks 1-4, 6, 9, 11-13), additional mixer (tracks 3, 5, 6, 11)
 * Serban Ghenea - mixer (tracks 1, 12)
 * Mike Elizondo - recording engineer (tracks 2, 4, 9, 13)
 * Erica Block - recording engineer (tracks 2, 4, 9, 13)
 * Justin Francis - recording engineer (tracks 2, 4, 9, 13)
 * Alex Wilder - recording engineer (tracks 2, 4, 9, 13)
 * Kenneth Gombos - recording engineer (tracks 2-4, 6, 9-14)
 * Carlos Sotolongo - recording engineer (tracks 2, 5, 9, 13)
 * Phil Threlfall - recording engineer (tracks 2, 7, 13)
 * Adam Hawkins - mixer (tracks 2, 4, 9, 13)
 * Riley Mackin - recording engineer (tracks 3, 5-8, 10-12, 14), mixer (tracks 3, 5-8, 11, 14) , additional mixer (track 12)
 * Roy Latham - recording engineer (tracks 3, 10)
 * Robin Rönnbäck - recording engineer (track 3)
 * Tighe Sheldon - recording engineer (track 3)
 * John Armstrong - additional recording engineer (tracks 3, 5, 8), assistant recording engineer (tracks 6, 7, 9-14)
 * John Witt Chapman - additional mixer (track 3), recording engineer (track 10) , mixer (track 10)
 * Joseph Shirley - recording engineer (tracks 6, 8, 9, 11, 12)
 * Matt Smalley - recording engineer (tracks 6, 11, 12)
 * Chris Whiteside - recording engineer (track 6)
 * Bart Schroudel - recording engineer (tracks 9, 11, 13)
 * Bryce Roberts - recording engineer (tracks 10, 11)
 * Randy Merrill - mastering engineer

Background
On March 6, 2023, Theodore Shapiro was confirmed to compose the score for Trolls Band Together, returning from its predecessor.