The Lion King (soundtrack)

The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Elton John and Hans Zimmer
Released	May 31, 1994
Recorded	Fall 1993 – May 1994
Studio	Media Ventures, Los Angeles Ocean Way Studios, Los Angeles Snake Ranch, London Angel Studios, London BOP studios, Mmabatho
Genre	Pop, world, soundtrack
Length	46:21
Label	Walt Disney
Producer	Hans Zimmer, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Chris Thomas
Walt Disney Animation Studios chronology
Aladdin (1992) The Lion King (1994) Pocahontas (1995)
Elton John chronology
Duets (1993) The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1994) Made in England (1995)
Singles from The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" Released: May 12, 1994 "Circle of Life" Released: August 9, 1994

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	C[2]
Filmtracks	[3]
Vox	(3/10)[4]
Sputnikmusic	5/5[5]

The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the original motion picture soundtrack for the 1994 Disney animated film, The Lion King. It contains songs from the film written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and a score composed by Hans Zimmer. Elton John has a dual role of performer for several tracks. Additional performers include Carmen Twillie, Jason Weaver, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeremy Irons, Cheech Marin, Jim Cummings, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, and Sally Dworsky. The album was released on May 30, 1994 on CD and audio cassette. The soundtrack was recorded in three different countries: the U.S., the U.K. and South Africa. It is the best-selling soundtrack album to an animated film in the United States with over 7 million copies sold, with 4,934,000 copies sold in 1994.^[6]

An expanded version of The Lion King soundtrack, featuring 30 minutes of previously-unreleased material, was released as part of the Walt Disney Records: The Legacy Collection series on June 24, 2014. In 2014, Hot Topic released a vinyl picture disc of the soundtrack.^[7]

Track listing

All music composed by Elton John and Tim Rice (Tracks 1–5, 10-14), and Hans Zimmer (Tracks 6-9).

The Lion King (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[8]
No.	Title	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Circle of Life"	Carmen Twillie and Lebo M.	3:59
2.	"I Just Can't Wait to Be King"	Jason Weaver, Rowan Atkinson, and Laura Williams	2:50
3.	"Be Prepared"	Jeremy Irons, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings	3:40
4.	"Hakuna Matata"	Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Jason Weaver, and Joseph Williams	3:33
5.	"Can You Feel the Love Tonight"	Joseph Williams, Sally Dworsky, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, and Kristle Edwards	2:57
6.	"This Land"	Hans Zimmer	2:55
7.	"...To Die For"	Hans Zimmer	4:17
8.	"Under the Stars"	Hans Zimmer	3:45
9.	"King of Pride Rock"	Hans Zimmer	5:59
10.	"Circle of Life"	Elton John	4:51
11.	"I Just Can't Wait to Be King"	Elton John	3:37
12.	"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (End Title)	Elton John	4:01
Total length:			46:40

The Lion King: Special Edition[9]
No.	Title	Artist(s)	Length
13.	"The Morning Report"	James Earl Jones, Jeff Bennett and Evan Saucedo	1:36
14.	"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Remix)	Elton John	4:08
Total length:			5:44

The Legacy Collection release

Walt Disney Records released an expanded edition of The Lion King soundtrack containing an additional thirty minutes of previously-unheard material from the film, as well as a collection of demo versions of cues.^[7] This revision contains a new remastered mix by Alan Meyerson.

Chart and commercial success

The soundtrack shipped over 10 million copies in the U.S. and eventually went 10x platinum in 1995, thus becoming the biggest-selling soundtrack ever from an animated film. Its certification was promoted to Diamond when the award was instituted in 1999. According to Nielsen Soundscan the soundtrack, as of April 2014, has sold a total of 7.873 million copies in the US.^[6] It is also the best-selling vinyl album in the Nielsen SoundScan era (starting 1991), with 1,043,000 copies sold as of June 2014.^[10]

In 2010, Rhapsody called it one of the all-time great Disney & Pixar Soundtracks.^[11]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart Peak position Australian ARIA Album Chart[12] 3 Austrian Albums Chart[13] 4 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) [14] 16 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[15] 5 Canadian RPM Albums Chart[16] 1 Dutch Albums Chart[17] 6 Finnish Albums Chart[18] 19 French SNEP Albums Chart[19] 1 German Media Control Albums Chart[20] 7 Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[21] 20 New Zealand Albums Chart[22] 1 Swedish Albums Chart[23] 4 Swiss Albums Chart[24] 1 U.S. Billboard 200[25] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1994) Position Australian Albums Chart[26] 6 Canadian Albums Chart[27] 4 French Albums Chart[28] 4 U.S. Billboard 200[29] 4 Chart (1995) Position Australian Albums Chart[26] 32 Austrian Albums Chart[30] 17 Canadian Albums Chart[31] 26 Swiss Albums Chart[32] 19 U.S. Billboard 200[33] 10 Decade-end charts Chart (1990–1999) Position U.S. Billboard 200[34] 21

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[35]	4× Platinum	280,000^^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[36]	Platinum	50,000^*
Brazil		500,000[37]
Canada (Music Canada)[38]	Diamond	1,000,000^^
France (SNEP)[39]	4× Platinum	1,249,300[40]
Japan (RIAJ)[41]	Gold	100,000^^
Poland (ZPAV)[42]	Gold	50,000^*
Sweden (GLF)[43]	Gold	50,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[44]	2× Platinum	100,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[45]	Platinum	300,000^^
United States (RIAA)[46]	Diamond	10,000,000^[47]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[48]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^*
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Accolades

Awards
Award	Category	Recipient(s) and nominee(s)	Result
Academy Awards	Best Original Song	"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" — Elton John and Tim Rice	Won
		"Circle of Life" — Elton John and Tim Rice	Nominated
		"Hakuna Matata" — Elton John and Tim Rice	Nominated
	Best Original Score	Hans Zimmer	Won
Golden Globe Awards	Best Original Song	"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" — Elton John and Tim Rice	Won
		"Circle of Life" — Elton John and Tim Rice	Nominated
	Best Original Score	Hans Zimmer	Won
Grammy Awards	Best Musical Album for Children	Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Chris Thomas, Hans Zimmer	Won
	Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)	Hans Zimmer and Lebo Morake — "Circle of Life" performed by Carmen Twillie	Won

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States
• Return to Pride Rock: Songs Inspired by Disney's The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

References

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3. Clemmensen, Christian (September 24, 1996). "Review: The Lion King". Filmtracks Publications. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
4. Phillips, Shaun. "Review: Various Artists – The Lion King (Phonogram 522690-2)". Vox. IPC Media (VOX48, September 1994): 104.
6. Paul Grein (April 30, 2014). "Chart Watch: Sell 14K Albums, Make The Top 10". Yahoo Music.
7. Grisham, Lori (May 7, 2014). "Walt Disney Records to release legacy collection". USA Today. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
8. "The Lion King (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Various Artists". iTunes Store. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
9. "The Lion King: Special Edition by Various Artists". iTunes Store. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
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11. 10 Essential Disney & Pixar Soundtracks Referenced July 27, 2010
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