Turn Up The Sunshine

Album: Minions: The Rise of Gru (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2022)
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Songfacts®:

  • "Turn Up The Sunshine" is an unlikely collaboration between '70s disco icon and Supremes great Diana Ross, and the Aussie psych-rock masters Tame Impala. They recorded the feel-good summer anthem for the soundtrack of the animated family movie Minions: The Rise of Gru.
  • The groove-laden dance-pop track with a utopian chorus does exactly what the title suggests. It begins with young children repeating the titular phrase, then Ross steps in to rap-sing the verses before letting rip on the soaring soul chorus. The song is reminiscent of both Ross' '70s disco-driven pop hits and Tame Impala's swirling, psychedelic soundscapes.
  • Jack Antonoff curated and produced the Minions: The Rise of Gru soundtrack. The New York producer helmed Taylor Swift's Folklore and Evermore albums as well as records by Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and St. Vincent.

    Antonoff and Ross got along so well that he later produced and played on "I Still Believe" on her 2021 Thank You album.
  • Jack Antonoff and Tame Impala's Kevin Parker wrote "Turn Up The Sunshine" with American singer-songwriter Sam Dew, who worked with Kendrick Lamar on his Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers album, and with the Swedish musician/producer Patrik Berger (Icona Pop's "I Love It," Charli XCX's "Boom Clap"). Berger co-produced all but one track on Bleachers, aka Jack Antonoff's, Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night record.
  • Antonoff and Parker both played guitar, bass, keyboards, and percussion on the song. The other musicians are:

    Michael Riddleberger: drums and percussion
    Evan Smith: flute, saxophone, backing vocals
    Sam Dew: backing vocals
    Bobby Hawk: violin
  • Set in the 1970s, Minions: The Rise of Gru is a prequel to the Despicable Me series, telling the story of how Gru, the supervillain with a heart of gold, first met his henchmen, the Minions. Its soundtrack consists of various contemporary artists re-imagining some of the biggest funk, pop, and soul hits of the '70s.
  • Diana Ross showed up for the first session with some of her grandkids. "You can hear that in the record," Antonoff told Billboard. "In the beginning, that voice saying 'turn up the sunshine,' that's one of her grandkids. We're in the studio and she's singing the song in the big booth, and she was surrounded by all these kids dancing and singing with her. It almost sounds fake because it was so beautiful."

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