The United States vs. Billie Holiday (soundtrack): History and Key Facts

The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack album to the 2021 film, released on February 19, 2021, by Warner Records. The film is based on the life of singer Billie Holiday, and also from the book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari. Directed by Lee Daniels, it stars Andra Day as Holiday. The soundtrack features several compilations of songs composed and performed by Day. She also wrote the original song "Tigress & Tweed" and co-produced the album with Salaam Remi, and Raphael Saadiq and Warren Felder. Lynn Fainchtein and Daniels were the music supervisors.

The 13-song soundtrack album is composed mostly of western, contemporary classical, pop and soul music originated from the 1930s and late-1950s, reflecting on Billie Holiday's time period. It was recorded mostly live on sets and conceptualized in late-September 2019, even before the film's shooting began, the following month. The soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 64th Grammy Awards, with the track "Tigress & Tweed" being nominated for Best Original Songs at the Golden Globe, Critics' Choice Movie Award and Black Reel award ceremonies in 2021.

The film's original score, composed by Kris Bowers, was released as a separate 12-track album titled The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Original Motion Picture Score) on February 26, 2021, by Lakeshore Records, which coincided with the film's streaming release on Hulu.

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