Your Guide to the ‘Bridgerton’ Soundtrack: Vitamin String Quartet, Sufjan Stevens, Jessica Vaughn, and More

Bridgerton is Netflix’s dizzy dream of a Regency romance, full of dashing men in cravats, blushing ladies in corsets, and non-stop balls. The Shondaland series follows young Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) as she searches for true love in the competitive London marriage mart. Standing in her way are an overly protective elder brother, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), and the harsh scribblings of an acid-quilled gossip writer named Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews). Daphne hatches a plan with the handsome Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page) to trick “the ton” into believing they are a real couple. In order to do this, they have to attend balls nearly every night. Balls where Regency era characters somehow dance to the hits of 2020’s biggest pop acts…

Bridgerton emphasizes the heady importance of balls with some very special needle drops. String quartets play covers of Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes, and Billie Eilish throughout the first season of the show. But who plays those string covers in the Bridgerton soundtrack? And was that really Ariana Grande’s “thank u next?” playing at the Danbury ball?

Here’s everything you need to know about the music in Bridgerton, from Vitamin String Quartet to composer Kris Bowers…

Minor spoilers for Bridgerton ahead!

WHAT IS THE MUSIC PLAYING IN BRIDGERTON ON NETFLIX?

The music in Bridgerton is overseen by composer and musician Kris Bowers. However, while Bowers composed most of the show’s score, there are some key samples from other groups. Alexandra Patsavas, the music supervisor known for giving Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, and the Twilight Saga their killer soundtracks, also worked on Bridgerton. And it stands to reason Patsavas helped zero in on some of the show’s most memorable needle drops. Such as…

In Bridgerton Episode 1 “A Diamond of the First Water,” you can hear Vitamin String Quartet’s versions of Ariana Grande’s “thank u next” and Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You.”

In Bridgerton Episode 2 “Shock and Delight,” Daphne and Simon dance to Vitamin String Quartet’s cover of Shawn Mendes’s “In My Blood.”

In Bridgerton Episode 3 “The Art of the Swoon,” there is yet another VSC string cover of Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy.”

However things get a little less 2020 in Bridgerton Episode 4 “An Affair of Honor,” when 20th century Russian composer Dmitiri Shostakovich’s “Second Waltz” can be heard at Lady Trowbridge’s scandalous party. Then Siena Rosso (played by actress Sabrina Bartlett and singer Rowan Pierce) sings the classic aria “Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour,” which is from Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann. Ironically, both these numbers, while sounding period appropriate, are not! Shostakovich is obviously a 20th century composer and The Tales of Hoffmann was composed in 1881.

Bridgerton Episode 5 “The Duke and I” features Sufjan Stevens’s “Love Yourself (Short Reprise)” during a key romantic scene. (Spoiler: a wedding.)

Bridgerton Episode 6 “Swish” features Duomo’s string arrangement of Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” and later “The End” by Jessica Vaughn.

In Bridgerton Episode 7 “Oceans Apart,” we finally get a historically accurate piece of music! A symphony plays Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” which was written about 100 years before Bridgerton is set. How about that?

WHAT IS VITAMIN STRING QUARTET?

Vitamin String Quartet, the group that provides the bulk of Bridgerton’s anachronistic needle drops, is an American instrumental group known for their string covers of pop hits. Founded in 1999, they have produced an insane amount of music over the last two decades and contributed to the Westworld soundtrack. Still Bridgerton might be the thing to make them super duper mainstream. (I, for one, have chosen them as my new go-to reading background music.)

Where to stream Bridgerton