The second chapter of Days of our Lives' Beyond Salem has created a huge buzz with major moments like a reunion between long-absent supercouple Bo and Hope and the surprise return of classic villain Megan Hathaway, and the excitement just keeps coming. The Peacock spinoff today announced that a soundtrack is now available for listening on digital platforms such as Amazon and Apple Music.
Released by Corday Productions, Inc., the 45-minute album was recorded at Eastwood Scoring Stage on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, with the help of a 44-piece live string orchestra.
"There are places in our show where a cinematic approach enhances the storytelling in a big way," says producer D. Brent Nelson in a statement. "Yes, we are absolutely pushing the envelope in terms of putting music to picture in our genre... And sure, we could settle for a string section half this size. But why? 44 strings sound amazing, especially on the Eastwood Stage at Warner Bros. It's very exciting and so much more fun doing it this way. There's a sense of tradition and magic happening as the cues are being performed. For me, this is it. This is the thing."
That tradition and magic has been happening on-screen since 2012, when Corday and Nelson first started incorporating live string orchestras in the Days of Our Lives scores.
Ken Corday, who both executive produces and composes DAYS, adds, "This score for Beyond Salem, as with the mothership, Days of our Lives, is always meant to enhance the story and in doing so, only serves as a frame for the big picture. There are times when the music is played in scenes without dialogue, and in those moments, the composers have an amazing opportunity to enhance the story in a much more direct way. It has always been my greatest pleasure and creative outlet to have been able to score Days of our Lives since 1979. Beyond Salem has given us an opportunity to raise the bar and somewhat change the game of composing Daytime Drama."
Three of Corday and Nelson's songs have been Emmy-nominated for “Best Original Song.”
Beyond Salem Chapter 2 (Original Score from the Peacock Series) includes 22 songs with titles such as "The Quiet Storm," "Don't Go In There," "Frozen Body," "The Clock Ticks," and "Bo Returns." Since the song is not an original DAYS composition, the album does not include Bo and Hope's love theme, Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack's "Tonight I Celebrate My Love," which fans were happy to see made it on-screen in the spinoff.
The first five-episode season of Days of our Lives: Beyond Salem debuted in 2021 to rave reviews, earning four Daytime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Directing, and Outstanding Casting.
Season two of Beyond Salem kicked off on Monday, July 11, and stars Kristian Alfonso (Hope Williams Brady), Peter Reckell (Bo Brady), Deidre Hall (Dr. Marlena Evans), Drake Hogestyn (John Black), Steve Burton (Harris Michaels), Stephen Nichols (Steve "Patch" Johnson), Mary Beth Evans (Kayla Brady Johnson), Lucas Adams (Tripp Johnson), Camila Banus (Gabi Hernandez), Victoria Konefal (Ciara Brady), Robert Scott Wilson (Ben Weston), Remington Hoffman (Li Shin), Abigail Klein (Stephanie Johnson), Eileen Davidson (Kristen DiMera/Thomas Banks);, Christopher Sean (Paul Narita), Tanner Stine (Joey Johnson), and Miranda Wilson (Megan Hathaway), among others.
What do you think about Days of our Lives releasing a soundtrack for the second season of Beyond Salem? What did you think of the score written for the spinoff series? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
