Mercifully, only three things make up a trilogy. So with Fifty Shades Freed, the final chapter in the three books authored by E.L. James, the confusing pleasures and tribulations of Anastasia Steele have come to what looks like a happy end. So have the motion picture adaptations. Take a bow. It is the end. Kaput. Fini.
The reason for the relief is that both the book and the movie of each subsequent installment have only gone from bad to worse. Given that, I do hate to imagine what a prequel or a trilogy of sequels would be like. So accept it. The time has come. Christian Grey has already educated millions of readers and moviegoers on his style of romance and even marriage. He needs the rest.
What is sad about the demise of the Fifty Shades Of Grey franchise though is that it also means that the attached series of soundtrack albums has also come to its end. While the books and the films have become known for shallow melodrama and sensational sex scenes, the soundtracks are well-thought-out pieces that succeed in all aspects of the medium.
The songs chosen for all three soundtracks serve their main purpose very well. That is to enhance what is happening on the screen and to further the story. These are also all cleverly put together with an eye not only towards helping sell the picture at the box-office but also towards record sales.
These tunes chosen usually have common denominators, new, sexy, romantic and very edgy. They are also mostly performed by the hottest music acts of today. The results are big hits with several of them No. 1 sellers. I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker) by Zayn Malik and Taylor Swift; Crazy In Love by Beyoncé; I Put A Spell On You by Annie Lennox; Not Afraid Anymore by Halsey; Helium by Sia; For You (Fifty Shades Freed) by Liam Payne and Rita Ora. Two of the best cuts from Fifty Shades Freed, Heaven and Are You, are by the now sensational singer/songwriter Julia Michaels.
Aside from that, the music of Fifty Shades also helped propel new acts to big-time stardom these past three years. The Weeknd, who even got an Academy Award nomination with Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey) and Where You Belong; Ellie Goulding with Love Me Like You Do and Tove Lo with Lies In The Dark. I do not know if the same thing will happen to him but Fifty Shades star Jamie Dorman, yes, your very own Mr. Grey sings the Paul McCartney standard, Maybe I’m Amazed in the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack.
Years from now, these recordings will become artifacts of a bygone era. I am sure that those who will discover them will also be amazed by the way the soundtracks were put together and by the catchy, sophisticated kind of pop songs they contain. They will figure out that because of the music, the “20teens” must have been a fun, exciting time.
The latest of the batch, Fifty Shades Freed by Various Artists is the most loaded of them all with 22 tracks. In a throwback to the first one from 2015, it contains a new version of the irresistible Love Me Like You Do, a Fifty Shades Freed Version by Goulding.
Also included are Capital Letters by Hailee Steinfeld and BloodPop; Sacrifice by Black Atlass feat. Jessie Reyez; High by Whethan and Dua Lipa; Big Spender by Kiana Lede feat. Prince Charlez; Never Tear Us Apart by Bishop Briggs; The Wolf by The Spencer Lee Band; Cross Your Mind by Sabrina Claudio; Change Your Mind by Mike Snow; Come On Back by Shungudzo; I Got You (I Feel Good) by Jessie J.; Ta Meilleure Ennemie (Pearls) by Samantha Gongol of Marian Hill feat. Juliette Armanet; Deer In Headlights by Sia; Diddy Bop by Jacob Banks and Louis the Child; Cross Your Mind in Spanish also by Claudio; and Pearls in English also by Gongo. Then there are the usual two tracks from the motion picture score, Freed and Seeing Red by Danny Elfman.
Now, just in case you want to take a look back at the before sounds of Fifty Shades, there is Fifty Shades Darker of 2017 with Pray by JRY feat. Rooty; No Running From Me by Toulouse; One Woman Man by John Legend; Code Blue by The-Dream; Bom Bidi Bom by Nick Jonas and Nicki Minaj; Cruise by Kygo feat. Andrew Jackson; The Scientist by Corinne Bailey Rae; and others.
Then Fifty Shades Of Grey of 2015 with Undiscovered by Laura Welsh; Meet Me In The Middle by Jessie Ware; Haunted by Beyoncé; Salted Wound by Sia; Beast of Burden by The Rolling Stones; I’m On Fire by AWOLNATION; Witchcraft by Frank Sinatra; One Last Night by Vaults; and I Know You by Skylar Grey.