The official soundtrack for Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux has been released to coincide with its premiere in theaters. Besides musical numbers from stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/Joker and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, the album opens with a new song from Nick Cave. Stream it in full below.
Cave’s contribution is a medley of the pop standards “Slap That Bass,” “Get Happy,” and “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” which were penned by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, and Burt Bacharach and Hal David, respectively.
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As such, the track transitions from a straight-up Broadway tune to a song more up Cave’s alley. He sounds right at home singing, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love/ No, not just for some but for everyone.” Stream it below.
The soundtrack isn’t the only project inspired by the film; Lady Gaga released her companion album, Harlequin, last week.
Read our review of Joker: Folie à Deux, in which Senior Entertainment Editor Liz Shannon Miller describes the film as a “muddled love story that falls apart due to its inability to express anything thematically substantial or original.”
Cave and the Bad Seeds recently released their latest album, Wild God, and are currently on a European tour ahead of their North American dates, which begin in April 2025. Grab your tickets here.
Joker: Folie à Deux Soundtrack Artwork:
Joker: Folie à Deux Soundtrack Tracklist:
01. Slap That Bass/Get Happy/What the World Needs Now Is Love – Nick Cave
02. For Once in My Life – Joaquin Phoenix
03. If My Friends Could See Me Now – Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga
04. Folie à Deux – Lady Gaga
05. Bewitched – Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga
06. That’s Entertainment – Lady Gaga
07. When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You) – Joaquin Phoenix
08. To Love Somebody – Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga
09. (They Long to Be) Close to You – Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga
10. The Joker – Joaquin Phoenix
11. Gonna Build a Mountain – Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga
12. I’ve Got the World on a String – Lady Gaga
13. If You Go Away – Joaquin Phoenix
14. Gonna Build a Mountain (Reprise) – Joaquin Phoenix
15. That’s Life – Lady Gaga
16. True Love Will Find You in the End – Joaquin Phoenix