Happy Feet Prince compilation

Atlantic Records

compilation

The movie said something to me.

Happy Feet is the official soundtrack album for the Warner Brothers animated movie of the same name. Its opening track is a newly written song The Song Of The Heart created by Prince.

The track is Prince’s first newly created material released under the Warner label since their much publicised dispute in 1993. Independent from Warner since 2000, Prince’s involvement in the Happy Feet soundtrack is credited to his full birth name Prince Rogers Nelson.

The Song Of The Heart was recorded on 23 June 2006 at Paisley Park Studios, with backing vocals added on 13 August 2006 sung by, albeit uncredited Bria Valente – making this her debut release. Happy Feet includes another Prince penned track Kiss, which is performed as a duet by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Originally only Kiss was intended to be incorporated in the soundtrack, but the director wanted to tweak its lyrics. Prince opposed, so in June 2006 the director George Miller turned up at Paisley Park and showed Prince an advance preview of the movie, after which not only was Prince happy to include Kiss, he even offered to write a new song for it.

The plot of the movie, set in Antarctica, focuses on a young tap-dancing emperor penguin named Mumble (voiced by Eligah Wood) who is longing for the ability to sing in order to attract a sole mate. Ridiculed by his peers, and father (Hugh Jackman), Mumble sets out on a long journey to look for the reason behind the dwindling fish population but finds himself along the way and discovers his Song Of The Heart.

Happy Feet OST was released by Warner imprint label Atlantic Records on 31 October 2006, ahead of the movie’s premiere on 12 November. It was a massive box office success, grossing $384 million. The Song Of The Heart was the sole track written exclusively for the Happy Feet soundtrack, the others being cover versions. The song also produced its own promo video on 20 November, albeit was not released as a retail single. In 2007 The Song Of The Heart won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Song Written For A Motion Picture. The Song Of The Heart was Prince’s second Golden Globe nomination, having been unsuccessful with When Doves Cry in 1985.

The only time Prince himself released The Song Of The Heart was of a live version performed a brief segment from the track in September 2007 during this Earth Tour concert residency in London. The recording was subsequently issued on its Indigo Nights CD live compilation on 30 September 2008.

Performers

Vocals / All instr.: Prince
Backing vox: Bria Valente

Data

Producer

Various

Label

Warner Sunset / Atlantic Records

Distribution

Atlantic Records

Released

19 years ago on 31 October 2006

Running Time

47:41

US Chart Peak

UK Chart Peak

Did not chart

Orig. Format

Tracklist

The Song Of The Heart (4:34) ¹
Hit Me Up (3:16)
Tell Me Something Good (3:11)
Somebody To Love (3:47)
I Wish (3:32)
Jump N’ Move (3:22)
Do It Again (2:27)
The Joker / Everything I Own (4:06)
My Way (1:45)
Kiss / Heartbreak Hotel (2:36) ²
Boogie Wonderland (5:10)
Golden Slumbers / The End (4:16)
The Story Of Mumble Happyfeet (5:51)

¹ Written, produced and performed by Prince.
² Kiss written by Prince, sung by Nicole Kidman.

Prince trivia