Diana Ross – “Turn Up The Sunshine” (Feat. Tame Impala)
Last week, posters in London teased a mysterious new product that would feature a whole lot of big-name artists, and people immediately figured out that the product in question would be the soundtrack for the forthcoming film Minions: The Rise Of Gru. Jack Antonoff produced and curated the Minions soundtrack, which mostly consists of present-day stars like Phoebe Bridgers and St. Vincent covering the hits of the ’60s and ’70s. But the soundtrack’s lead single has one of the biggest stars of the ’60s and ’70s teaming up with one of the biggest acts of today. Today, we get to hear what happens when Diana Ross gets together with Tame Impala.
The new single “Turn Up The Sunshine” comes from the sessions for Diana Ross’ 2021 comeback album Thank You. Antonoff worked on that record, and there were reports at the time that Tame Impala would come in on one song. The song in question, “Turn Up The Sunshine,” didn’t appear on the album. Instead, it’s out today. Antonoff produced “Turn Up The Sunshine,” and he co-wrote the song with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and behind-the-scenes figures Patrik Berger and Sam Dew. It sounds big and bright and funky.
“Turn Up The Sunshine” sounds like Antonoff and Parker attempting to recreate the euphoria of the music that Diana Ross and Chic recorded together in 1980. It’s a big, shiny dance-pop track with a utopian chorus and some nasty low-end work. Antonoff and Parker both played guitar, bass, keyboards, and percussion on the song, but it doesn’t really sound anything like Tame Impala. It doesn’t sound that much like Diana Ross, either. Instead, it sounds more like Pharrell Williams, the last person who had a big hit on the soundtrack of a movie that featured the Minions. Check out “Turn Up The Sunshine” below.
The Minions: The Rise Of Gru soundtrack is out 7/1 on Decca.