Olivia Rodrigo, Paramore, and More Taylor Swift: Inside ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4 Needle Drops

Music supervisor Justin Kamps is ready for audiences to dive head-first into the magic with orchestral covers of pop-star hits

Dearest gentle reader, it’s been almost two years since audiences have last seen any new episodes of the hit Netflix series Bridgerton. This drought will finally end with the release of Season Four on Jan. 29. Since Bridgerton’s premiere in 2020, the sex-positive, petticoat heavy streaming show has built a reputation for its campy, purposefully anachronistic take on regency-era romance. And let’s not forget its signature strings covers of chart topping classics. (Where else could you watch the culmination of a years-long friends-to-lovers plot be consummated in a carriage to a violin heavy version of “Give Me Everything” by Pitbull?) 

Based on the best-selling novels by Julia Quinn, each Bridgerton season focuses on the romances and eventual marriages of at least one of the (alphabetically named) Bridgerton siblings. After the successful matches of Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) and Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) in Season One and Two, and Season Three’s double matches for Colin (Luke Newton) and Francesca (Hannah Dodd), Season Four follows the relationship between Benedict (Luke Thompson) and maid Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha). The two have a life-changing encounter as a masquerade ball, but societal convention and the power of gossip — driven by formerly anonymous columnist Lady Whistledown (Nicola Coughlan) — threaten to destroy their connection. And all the while, the magic and mystery are soundtracked by some of the most whimsical — and unhinged — songs the Bridgerton team can get. Ahead of Thursday’s premiere, we talked with music supervisor Justin Kamps to get an exclusive look at some of the Season four’s biggest needle drops, including hit songs from Usher, Paramore, and Taylor Swift. 

Kamps has worked on Bridgerton since 2022 and says each season starts with making sure the musical choices match both the on-set movements and the emotional journeys of the characters. “When we’re working on a season, our goals are focused on finding songs that match the choreography. As we start production, I like to have a conversation with our showrunner, Jess [Brownell] about what our characters are going to be experiencing,” Kamps tells Rolling Stone. “This season, we’ve got a little bit of a Cinderella story, so we’re using songs that play on that.” 

The first episode of the season, titled “The Waltz,” will use a cover of Coldplay’s “Life in Technicolor,” by cover group Vitamin String Quartet. Fans will also hear a VSQ cover of Third Eye Blind’s “Never Let You Go” as well as Usher’s “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love,” performed by Toronto group Strings From Paris.  Kamps says the string version of the Coldplay song gives audiences a firsthand look into Sophie’s headspace when she arrives at her first ball, hosted by the Bridgertons. “It’s something that she’s never experienced in her life. So we wanted something that matched that magical air of all these people arriving in these gorgeous costumes,” he says. “There’s all this color and lights and everyone’s on their best behavior. ‘Life In Technicolor’ really matches that moment where she’s in total awe and wonder at the whole thing.” 

“Time Transfixed,” the second episode, will use Taylor Swift’s “Enchanted.” Episodes three and four, include covers of ‘All I Wanted,” by Paramore and “Bad Idea Right?” by Olivia Rodrigo. “I’m not going to spoil what’s going on when [“Bad Idea Right?”] plays, but it’s such a, let’s say, energetic moment,” Kamps says. “The song plays right into it. There’s a lot of bad ideas happening. And the arrangement, especially with that energetic almost fiddle sound, builds in that passion.” 

Following Netflix’s recent trend of breaking heavy hitter seasons into multiple parts, Bridgerton fans will have to wait a bit to see how Benedict and Sophie’s class-crossing love story plays out. While Part One of the series premieres Jan. 29, Part Two won’t be available until Feb. 26 — giving fans plenty of time to relive their favorite needle drop moments again and again. 

“Even though I’ve seen [the episodes] a million times, when I watch them back, I will start to get teared up listening to these covers and their scenes,” Kamps adds. “I’m excited for people to fall in love with them.”