Yep, You've Definitely Heard Those Catchy Tunes From 'Bridgerton' Before

Bridgerton is a modernist period piece. The series is technically set in the Regency Era of English history — 1813, to be exact. But so much of it hews to modern expectations of romantic fantasy. Everyone's teeth are straight. Everyone's hair and skin are flawless. Daphne has so many outfits her suitcase must come from the same shop as Mary Poppins' carpetbag. And then there's the music. Despite being transposed to instruments of the era, the Bridgerton Season 1 soundtrack is filled with modern pop perfection.

Music is, after all, one of the places in which the Regency Era overlaps with our own. Not that Lady Gaga was publishing "Pop for Pianoforte," or Megan Thee Stallion was releasing "Hip-Hop for Harpsichord" — but the romantic era spawned the concept of the short and sweet "popular" tune, moving away from the longer operatic pieces or the intensely formal, classical models of the late 1700s.

Music was also more focused on nature and lyrics telling autobiographical stories. (Hello, Folklore.) The songs also became shorter, and though they weren't quite the 3- to 4-minute radio edits fans are familiar with today, the nocturnes, etudes, sonatas, and rhapsodies, which all came in vogue in this time, were much closer to the sort of pop song structure of the 21st century.

The series takes this real movement in history and combines it with both original songs and pop numbers viewers are more familiar with, creating fascinating mashups.

Here's the full soundtrack listing of original songs written and performed by Kris Bowers.

1. "Flawless My Dear"
2. "The Latest Whistledown"
3. "We Could Form An Attachment"
4. "Shock and Delight"
5. "Simon and Lady Danbury"
6. "What Women Do Best"
7. "Call Me Simon"
8. "Sommerset House"
9. "When You Are Alone"
10. "Feeling Exceptional"
11. "What You Saw Was A Lie"
12. "The Duel"
13. "A Love Based on Friendship"
14. "All is Fair in Love and War"
15. "Miserable Together, Happy Apart"
16. "Come With Me"
17. "One Last Dance"
18. "Love is A Choice"
19. "A Grand Finish"

And here's the list of modern song covers, which are being released as a separate EP. All songs performed by the Vitamin String Quartet unless otherwise noted.

1. Ariana Grande's "thank u, next"
2. Maroon 5's "Girls Like You"
3. Shawn Mendes' "In My Blood"
4. Billie Eilish's "bad guy"
5. Celeste's "Strange" – Kris Bowers feat. Hillary Smith
6. Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams" - Duomo

Both Bridgerton – Music From The Netflix Original Series and Bridgerton – Covers From The Netflix Original Series arrive digitally on Friday, Dec. 25, 2020.