The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical
The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical is a concept album by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear that won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The album was the first Grammy winner to be developed on TikTok, while Barlow and Bear were the youngest nominees and winners ever in their Grammy category.
| The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by Barlow & Bear | |
| Released | September 10, 2021 |
| Recorded | 2021[1] |
| Genre | Musical theatre[1] |
| Producer | Emily Bear |
Conception and development
In January 2021, singer-songwriter Abigail Barlow posted a TikTok video in which she asked, "What if Bridgerton was a musical?" and sang a verse of a song that she had written based on a line uttered by a character in the Netflix series Bridgerton.[2] Before posting the video, she sent the song to her writing partner, composer-producer Emily Bear, who arranged the number.[3] The video received wide attention, and so Barlow and Bear teamed up to write more songs inspired by the first season of the TV series. The two livestreamed their songwriting and recording sessions from Los Angeles, inviting and incorporating viewer suggestions, and posted demos of the songs on TikTok and other social media.[4][5] Members of Bidgerton's cast, the writer of the Bridgerton novels and Netflix expressed their admiration of the musical numbers, and Netflix gave its approval for an album of the songs to be released.[1] By September 2021, Barlow and Bear had received more than 200 million views and 48 million likes on TikTok.[6] The two performed several of the songs in New York City at Elsie Fest in August 2021[7] and in London in November, with Bear at the piano and Barlow doing most of the singing, along with several guest artists.[8]
Production and release
Bear orchestrated and produced a concept album consisting of 15 of the songs, The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical, with Barlow again singing most of the vocals, and Bear singing the rest; they released the album on September 10, 2021.[1][9] It debuted at No. 3 on the Heatseekers Albums chart and No. 36 on the Top Album Sales chart, among other Billboard charts.[10]
Post-release
Bear and Barlow performed their song "Ocean Away" with Darren Criss at the Kennedy Center 50th anniversary concert in September, which aired on PBS on October 1, 2021.[11]
Grammy award
The album won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. It is the first Grammy awarded to a project that originated on TikTok.[12] Bear and Barlow were the youngest Grammy nominees, and youngest winners, in the musical theater category.[13]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tis the Season" | 5:19 |
| 2. | "Lady Whistledown" | 1:19 |
| 3. | "If I Were a Man" | 2:59 |
| 4. | "Penelope Featherington" | 2:45 |
| 5. | "The Ruse" | 3:00 |
| 6. | "Fool for You" | 0:52 |
| 7. | "Alone Together" | 2:13 |
| 8. | "Entertain Me" | 3:33 |
| 9. | "Friend Turned Foe" | 2:30 |
| 10. | "Burn for You" | 2:54 |
| 11. | "Worker Bee" | 0:52 |
| 12. | "Every Inch" | 2:46 |
| 13. | "Burned Me Instead" | 1:02 |
| 14. | "Balancing the Scales" | 2:23 |
| 15. | "Ocean Away" | 3:15 |
Charts
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[10] | 36 |
References
- Jacobs, Julia. "TikTok to the Grammys: How a Bridgerton Musical Beat Broadway", The New York Times, April 4, 2022
- Yeo, Amanda. "TikTok's 'Untitled Bridgerton Musical' just won a Grammy", Mashable.com, April 4, 2022; and DeSantis, Rachel. "Unofficial Bridgerton Soundtrack Beats Andrew Lloyd Webber at Grammys – and It Started on TikTok!", People, April 4, 2022
- Hill, Laura Wheatman. "From TikTok Trend to Grammy Nominee: How The Bridgerton Musical Is Changing Theater Culture", Grammy.com, March 24, 2022
- Fitzpatrick, Felicia. "Bridgerton is TikTok's Latest Musical – The Writers Share a Track and Discuss Future Plans", Playbill, January 22, 2021
- Curran, Niamh. "Bridgerton the Musical: does the fate of the stage lie in the hands of TikTok?", Varsity, April 2, 2021
- Maskell, Emily. "Inside the Making of the Unofficial Bridgerton Musical", Paper, September 14, 2021
- Gans, Andrew. "The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Concept Album Due in September", Playbill, August 4, 2021
- Brown, Abram. "From Bella Poarch to a Bridgerton Musical, Meet Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Social Media", Forbes, December 1, 2021
- Brethauer-Hamling, Taylor. "VIDEO: Barlow & Bear Release Music Video for 'Burn for You' from The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Concept Album", BroadwayWorld.com, September 10, 2021
- "Heatseekers Albums", "Top Album Sales", "Independent Albums", "Emerging Artists", and "Top Current Album Sales", Billboard, September 25, 2021
- Marsh, Kayla. "All Is Bright Again: Inside The Kennedy Center's Star-Studded 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert", District Fray, September 16, 2021; and Tumilowicz, Danielle. "Rockford’s Emily Bear to perform Bridgerton original at Kennedy Center Concert", WIFR, August 27, 2021; and Hautzinger, Daniel. "The Stars Celebrating the Kennedy Center's 50th Anniversary on PBS", WTTW, October 1, 2021
- Tangcay, Jazz. "Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Becomes First Grammy-Winning Album to Originate on TikTok", Variety, April 3, 2022
- Burack, Emily. "The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Wins a Grammy", Town & Country, April 4, 2022