Pop megastar Rihanna has debuted “Sledgehammer”, a song from Star Trek Beyond.
However, in all of Trek history, there has never been a theme song for a movie or TV show by a pop star - until now. Diane Warren’s theme song for Enterprise, to some controversy at the time, had lyrics. Abrams era of Star Trek movies, including Star Trek Beyond. Michael Giacchino has also provided first-rate scores for the J.J.
There was Alexander Courage’s famous theme for the original series, James Horner’s memorable scores for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, and Jerry Goldsmith’s work across the early movies, the Star Trek: the Next Generation and Voyager TV series and the movies featuring the TNG cast. Next month will see the arrival of the latest Star Trek movie, Star Trek Beyond, in which the Enterprise confronts several different alien races that are new to the franchise.įor that entire 50 years, music has been a big part of what makes Star Trek what it is. While it’s unlikely to escape the long shadow ‘Work’ has cast over 2016, ‘Sledgehammer’ is a song that makes up for any weakness in its clear and unadulterated love of its material.The Star Trek franchise marks its 50th anniversary this year, as the original Star Trek TV series debuted on NBC in September of 1966. It’s theatrical, weighty and – I hope, from one fan regarding another – contextually perfect.
When you’ve learned the lyrics, they sort of melt away, and the strength of the piano-and-bass instrumentation comes forth. It grows on you, and after catching enough airplay it certainly becomes a ‘belt along at the top of your lungs while driving’ track. But what ‘Sledgehammer’ has is a sort of a 21-era Adele appeal, something that’s been missing from the charts for a while now and that only creeps in on Sia’s other recent offerings. Is it her best song of the year? Not in my opinion, no. I’m not sure it’s an issue which could have been solved by focussing on one element over the other both are excellent, but both just need to be more. As a radio hit? The vocals aren’t prominent enough.
As a dramatic theatrical piece? It’s a little weak, too much fuss with the lyrics while instrumentation takes a back seat. The song’s weakness, however, comes in pulling off the balancing act between these two sub-genres. It’s a little orchestral, swooping, but with a strong enough chorus and verse pattern to be commercially successful. In a promotional trailer for the film, Rihanna explained that the track, co-written by Sia, sought to be, “big and impactful, dramatic haunting at the same time.” She pretty much nailed it – it feels tone perfect. (Earlier this year, she released a range of sunglasses with Dior inspired by Geordi La Forge’s visor in The Next Generation, which just indescribably warms my heart.) A fan since she was a little girl, the Barbadian singer was incredibly excited at the prospect at offering a track to the upcoming motion picture Star Trek Beyond, the thirteenth outing for the film franchise. A fun fact you might not know: Rihanna is a massive Trekker.