DreamWorks Animation recently revealed the lineup for their upcoming Forgotten Island Soundtrack. Therefore, we already know that H.E.R., Bini, Lea Salonga, and Katseye’s Sophia Laforteza provided original songs to the animated feature adventure currently previewing at the Annecy Animation Film Festival in France.
Keep reading to learn more about the film and the other artists on the soundtrack.
If you haven’t heard yet, DreamWorks is currently working on a new animated feature called Forgotten Island. It’s a modern fantasy adventure based on Filipino and Filipino American folklore. Furthermore, they aimed for complete authenticity by ensuring that every aspect of the film conforms to Filipino culture, including the music.
For instance, the Forgotten Island soundtrack will feature original music from:
Additionally, it will feature an original score from composer Nathan Matthew David.
That’s already an impressive lineup, and we’ve haven’t even talked about the included third-party tracks yet. Taken as a whole, it’s very clear that they want a late 80s to early 90s aesthetic to the look and feel of the film.
Now, that’s not just a list of names to fill out a press release. They’re all deliberate choices. So much so that H.E.R. and Liza Soberano also serve as the voices behind the film’s two primary characters, Jo and Rai.
Moreover, in a recent interview about the film, Universal Pictures’ Film Music Senior Vice President Angela Leus noted that they wanted the soundtrack to “feel like the music of her parents’ favorite Filipino bands”. She also noted that the music perfectly represents Jo, Raissa, and their friendship.
And it’s that friendship that will drive the story, taking the girls on one last magical adventure together before they head off to college and go their separate ways. Along the way, they’ll meet shapeshifters, demons, and witches, while discovering a mysterious portal.
In other words, it’s a pure modern fantasy adventure, which just lends itself to musical interpretation. That’s because it’s the type of story that lets the soundtrack play. Therefore, we can expect numerous motifs for every character and theme presented in the film. Luckily, they have a lineup of musical acts that know how to make musical art.
As I said before, H.E.R. and Liza Soberanno star as the film’s main protagonists. So, it makes sense that they would have a duet on the soundtrack. And indeed, they do, a track called “BRB”. We also know that the ladies sang the song in Tagalog, reflecting their characters’ shared cultural identity.
Short for “Be right back”, the track will likely serve as the diegetic dialogue for when they say their goodbyes. As such, it’ll probably be a very emotional showtune ballad about the power of friendship and the bittersweetness of the moment.
As a result, it’s likely the Forgotten Island soundtrack’s key single. And something we’ll all remember long after we leave the theater.
However, BINI’s “A Parallel World” might be the track that gets everyone talking first. Produced by David and Shawn Wasabi, it’s another track about Jo and Raissa’s friendship, giving it a bigger Philippine pop (P-pop) feel.
It’s also the only song on the Forgotten Island soundtrack for which we already know the lyrics. That’s because BINI revealed a preview of the song during one of their concerts on their current Signals World Tour.
Thus, without delay, here’s the chorus for “A Parallel World”:
“You and I, we still together
‘Til the end, get up together
Life’s so hard, we cry together
You and I ride the tide together,”
From these lyrics, we can infer that the song will be about the real bond the girls share as they navigate the island’s many challenges.
In addition to the original songs, the Forgotten Island soundtrack will include a few covers. For instance, KATSEYE’s Sophia Laforteza performed a rendition of INXS’ “Never Tear Us Apart”, another song about friendship.
DreamWorks claimed they were first going to use INXS’s original, but they found a better use for the song, as noted by Leus:
“…But as you see [the girls] grow, that’s where the idea to bring in Sophia Laforteza from Katseye — who’s a badass — came from. She put a new twist on it to signify the evolution of their friendship. The song parallels their friendship and captures the journey from where they were to what they became.”
Regardless of their reason, it’s still a familiar song. So, it’s equally likely to take you out of the scene as it could draw you into it. However, only time will tell whether Laforteza’s take will work.
Other known musical acts on the Forgotten Island Soundtrack include Lea Salonga, SB19, Ruby Ibarra, and Carl Angelo. All of which added a bit of Filipino music history to the film, according to DreamWorks.
For instance, Lea Salonga provided a song and voiced one of the characters in the film. So, we may get a response song to “A Parallel World” and “BRB”. I do love good musical theater, though.
After that, SB19 provided a cover of Francis M.’s “Mga Kababayan”, while Ruby Ibarra sang “Salbahae Ako” with Carl Angelo. Then, we have DMX’s “Party Up” and Baha Men’s “Who Let the Dogs Out” to round out the soundtrack.
All in all, not bad for an animated movie soundtrack, especially after you include David’s original score. It certainly gives us something to look forward to when the film drops in theaters on September 25, 2026.
To reiterate, the Forgotten Island soundtrack certainly has an impressive lineup. It has all it takes to be a fun and memorable album once the film hits theaters this Fall. However, it’s too early to tell if that gamble will pay off. And for that, all we can do is wait and see what happens.
I’ll post the complete finalized track listing here once the album drops.
Until then, post your thoughts on this soundtrack lineup in the forums or the comments below.
Copy and paste this URL into your WordPress site to embed
Copy and paste this code into your site to embed
