Ranking All The Songs from The Birds of Prey Soundtrack
Birds Of Prey and the Suicide Squad movies feature fan-favorite villianess Harley Quinn. Harley is easily the most identifiable and successful of all the female villains ever written. In short, she was bound to have a movie or three eventually, and they did not disappoint. Like the films, the soundtrack is well executed with an exceptional lineup, so we’re ranking all the songs from The Birds of Prey Soundtrack.
15. It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World by Jurnee Smollett-Bell
Like many of the songs on this album, Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Its a Man’s Man’s Man’s World is a cover. The original Called It’s a Man’s Man’s World was released in 1966 by James Brown. While this song is a classic and Smollett-Bell does a lovely job singing it, we still gave this last place on our list because it’s such a well-known and oft-played song.
14. Bad Memory by K. Flay
Anyone who’s ever been angry at their ex can relate to this song. Bad Memory says out loud so many of the things we all think in private. This tune puts it all out there in a very blunt and straightforward way we can all appreciate. Some breakups leave you sad and mopey, but this is a song for the bridge-burning angry relationship endings.
13. Feeling Good by Sofi Tukker
Musical Duo Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern, known collectively as Sofi Tukker, is most well known for Best Friend, which was nominated for a Grammy. However, Feeling Good embodies their positive attitude. As Sub Stream Magazine describes them, “Sofi Tukker is a safe space for everyone involved to be their authentic selves without judgment. The only requirement is to dance the night away or in your room. Pass the infectious happiness on to each other.”
12. Invisible Chains by Lauren Jauregui
There’s no question Lauren Jauregui has a gorgeous voice. Invisible Chains lives up to its name by expressing how difficult it is to escape the less obvious type of bonds that hold you down without being visible to the rest of the world. This song isn’t higher on our list because we couldn’t fit everyone at the top.
11. I’m Gonna Love You Just A little More Baby by Summer Walker
Part of the reason I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby didn’t make it to the top ten is because it feels out of place on this soundtrack. Although it works in the film when you set it side-by-side with all the other music from the soundtrack, this superb song feels out of place. Summer Walker offers us a sweet, beautiful love song, which is nothing like the rest of this album’s pro-feminist girl-boss attitude.
10. Experiment On Me by Halsey
Experiment On Me from Halsey sounds like a direct descendant of The Crow soundtrack, and the video matches that energy sublimely. This superb song and the video it goes with show off the darkness and desperation inherent in the Harley Quinn-Joker relationship. This is not what anyone should wish for and far from a healthy relationship, yet the gritty and obsessive nature is enthralling.
9. Diamonds by Megan Thee Stallion and Normani
Diamonds by Megan Thee Stallion and Normani is a good song about being a baddie with plenty of bling, to no one’s surprise. Diamonds borrows heavily from the original song Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend. However, it is the Dark cartoony dystopian feel of the video that we find most notable. From grayscale to brilliant color, it captures the essence of Gotham.
8. Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Adona
The original Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar and Eddie Schwartz is a powerhouse song with a fast pace. However, this brilliant Adona cover is a slow, sensual remake showing the same power behind those classic words while reframing it for a darker, more gritty universe. The original was a 1980’s anthem, but this is a 2020 ballad for a smoky futuristic jazz club.
7. Danger byJucee Froot
Some songs seem to exist purely to empower and move the plot forward. Danger is a feminist song that openly says, “It’s an all-girls party, and no boys can come.” Jucee Froot knows how to get the ladies pumped up and feeling themselves, and this song is as good for the Birds of Prey Soundtrack as a ladies’ night out in Vegas.
6. Sway With Me by Saweetie and Galxara
Sway is a modern re-imagining that borrows from Dean Martin’s original. Saweetie and Galxara bring the fire, adding crisp spoken-word rap tracks into this classic and bringing it to a new century. Plus, like all the videos from The Birds of Prey soundtrack, the visual dynamics are stellar and look like they came from the same world where Harley Quinn lives.
5. Lonely Gun by Cyn
Cyn’s lovely, sweet voice is ideal for this electro-pop song filled with frustration and delicious innuendo. The singer co-wrote Lonely Gun, and you can hear it in the way she connects to the lyrics and really brings them out. There’s a sense of disappointment and loneliness that manages to avoid taking away from the importance of independence in the ‘lonely gun’ character like she was hoping for more but knew she didn’t need it.
4. So Thick by Whipped Cream featuring Baby Goth
So Thick is all about being self-made. While Harley followed the Joker around for years, her own light wasn’t shining. She was like a backup dancer in his act. However, once freed, Harley has had the chance to show how easy it is for her to make it on her own despite the odds. In fact, she’s beaten over a dozen superheroes (https://screenrant.com/superheroes-harley-quinn-has-beaten-defeated-suicide-squad/), including Superman.
3. Joke’s On You by Charlotte Lawrence
There is no Birds of Prey or modern Harley Quinn without a breakup song worthy of the queen of crime. Joke’s On You by Charlotte Lawrence embodies all the rage and fire we’ve come to expect from a character like Harley. If her love for the Joker (which lasted for decades canonically) wasn’t meant to be, then the joke is definitely on the one who lost her love. After all, the Joker might still be rotting away in Arkham without Harley.
2. Smile by Maisie Peters
It seems all the dynamic women on this album understood the assignment perfectly. Smile is an empowering delight or as Concord Monitor says, “… English singer Maisie Peters, whose sweet voice delivers an awesome dose of Quinn-inspired communication: “got bridges to burn, and places to run/yeah this smile is a loaded gun.” The 2020s are all about the era of the multifaceted, dynamic female villain, and this song is precisely where it belongs.
1. Boss Bi**h by Doja Cat
Doja Cat announced the video for this son on December 14th of 2019. Fans had to wait for a little over a month, but it was worth it. The song made the top 100 in virtually every country, and the accompanying video directed by Jack Begert was a hit. If any artist on this album can channel the wild competence and unreserved boss-babe energy of Harley Quinn herself, it’s Doja Cat.
Final Thoughts
We love The Birds Of Prey Soundtrack, music videos, and the film it goes with. When you finish listening to this playlist, we recommend checking out every artist included here. Even without the movie to tie them together, the women from this album offer us a cross-section of (mostly) female singers are bringing fire and musical empowerment to a whole generation.