After being announced as the voice to the lead character in the musical comedy Trolls opposite Anna Kendrick,[2]Billboard reported that Justin Timberlake also signed on to write and perform original music for the film.[3] Timberlake said in an interview:
It kind of all happened at the same time. I've been friends with the Katzenbergs for years, and Jeffrey had always spoken to me about doing a DreamWorks Animation film. I believe his line was, "We can’t let Elton have all the fun," and I've always said, "If the right thing comes up, let’s do it." … The directors brought me to the DreamWorks campus and pitched me the movie and the character. And when I came out of the room Jeffrey was there, and he said, "And there’s this other thing you could do…"[4]
By the time Timberlake joined the project, there was still some original music needed to be written for the film. Timberlake planned to cover the disco genre among the variety of pop songs present in the film.[4] For the soundtrack album, Earth, Wind & Fire re-recorded "September" with Timberlake and Kendrick.[5]
The lead single, "Can't Stop the Feeling!" performed by Justin Timberlake, was released on May 6, 2016, and reached number one on the official charts of 17 countries, including the US Billboard Hot 100.[14]
In 2017, Trolls was ranked as the 11th most popular album of the year on the Billboard 200.[15]
Two years after the soundtrack was released, it was ranked as the 80th most popular album of 2018 on the Billboard 200.[16]
"Can't Stop the Feeling!" (Timberlake, Kendrick, Stefani, Corden, Deschanel, Dohrn, Funches, Icona Pop, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Nayyar - film version)
^Kaufman, Gil (May 6, 2016). "Justin Timberlake Talks 'Trolls' Soundtrack and New Music". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
^Siegel, Tatiana (September 16, 2015). "Justin Timberlake and Jonathan Demme are making a concert film together". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
^Ford, Rebecca (January 5, 2016). "Justin Timberlake to Executive Produce Music for 'Trolls' Movie". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
^ abSteve, Pond (December 30, 2016). "Why Oscar Song Contender Justin Timberlake Went Disco for 'Trolls' Hit". The Wrap.
^"To Get His First Oscar Nod, Justin Timberlake Had To Act Like A Troll". NPR. February 10, 2017.
^"Justin Timberlake & Alexandre Desplat Among Winners At Hollywood Music In Media Awards". Deadline (published November 18, 2016). 18 November 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
^"Drake, The Chainsmokers Lead Nominees for the 2017 Billboard Music Awards". Billboard. April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
^"Here Is the Full List of 2017 AMAs Nominations". Billboard. October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
^"Grammy Awards 2017: See the Full Winners List". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
^"Oscars: The Nominations List". The Hollywood Reporter. January 24, 2017.
^"Justin Timberlake to Be Honored at Hollywood Film Awards". Hollywood Film Awards. October 28, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
^"Golden Globes 2017: The Complete List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
^"Critics' Choice Awards 2017: La La Land, Moonlight, Arrival lead movie nominees". Entertainment Weekly. December 1, 2016.
^"Satellite Awards (2016)" (PDF). International Press Academy. IPA. November 28, 2016. pressacademy.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 3, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
^"Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack – Trolls" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
^"Ultratop.be – Soundtrack – Trolls" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
^"Ultratop.be – Soundtrack – Trolls" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
^"On The Charts This Week Future Makes History". FYIMusicNews. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
^"End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
^"Soundtracks – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
^"ARIA End of Year Albums 2017". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
^"Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
^"Top Selling Albums of 2017". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
^White, Jack (January 3, 2018). "The Top 40 biggest albums of 2017 on the Official Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
^"Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
^"Soundtracks – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
^"Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^"Soundtracks – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
^"Soundtracks – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
^"Soundtracks – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
^"Soundtracks – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
^"Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
^"Brazilian album certifications – Various – Trolls (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
^"Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – Trolls (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Music Canada. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
^"Danish album certifications – Soundtrack – Trolls". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
^"New Zealand album certifications – Soundtrack – Trolls". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
^"Veckolista Samlingar, vecka 48, 2017 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
^Copsey, Rob (October 12, 2018). "Blockbuster soundtracks that conquered the Official UK Albums Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
^"Trolls (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Various jetzt als MP3 in top Qualität herunterladen. Komplette Alben und Einzeltitel verfügbar". Amazon.de. Retrieved 2016-10-14.