Music artists Sam Smith and Rufus Wainwright have been tapped up for the soundtrack album of the upcoming biopic Judy.
Yesterday, Decca and Republic Records announced that Renée Zellweger, the actress who plays the role of Judy in the film, will be singing a pair of duets with Wainwright and Smith for the original soundtrack album of the film, which is due to come out on September 27.
Smith will join Zellweger in an new version of Garland’s iconic hit “Get Happy”, while Wainwright’s voice will accompany Renée’s in “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.
“She was one of the bravest humans out there and her vulnerability and honesty in her art still gives me goose bumps like it did the first time,” Smith said in a statement, adding “It was truly an honour to sing with Renée. Nobody could have played Judy as well as Renée, and it is a career highlight for me to be singing with her, and in some small way, with Judy. I hope everyone loves the film as much as I did”.
The Grammy-nominated artist Wainwright also dedicated some grateful words after the news. “Judy Garland has been a constant force in my life. The Wizard of Oz was one of the pyramids of culture that I gazed at as a small child.”
“It’s nice to come back and observe her again in the film and through this wonderful duet with Renee, her performance is astounding in a film that focuses on the love and the generosity that Judy always had for the world around her. It reminds me of how unique her life and art were,” he added.
The soundtrack album will also contain Zellweger’s versions of many different Garland tunes, such as “Come Rain or Come Shine” or “For Once in My Life”. Meanwhile, the film trailer already reveals the Hollywood star singing an incredibly emotional, shaky version of Garland’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.
#Peace.Love.JudyGarland
