The Boys Soundtrack: Every Song In Season 2

Summary

• The Boys
  season 2 uses music to enhance emotional scenes and establish tone, with iconic tracks and original songs by the cast.
• Billy Joel’s music is a key element in season 2, reflecting Hughie’s emotional journey and backstory in pivotal moments.
• French hip-hop, rock hits, and obscure tracks are also featured in the soundtrack, adding depth and atmosphere to the show.

The second season of The Boys features a carefully-curated soundtrack, and every episode uses songs to great effect — either to acknowledge a character’s emotional state, to establish the tone of the scene, or to make a sly metafictional wink to the audience. The dark satirical superhero series set the bar high for itself in this regard, since The Boys season 1 soundtrack added thematic and emotional depth to the show’s events. The Boys is one of the slickest Amazon Prime Original shows on the platform, and features an equally slick soundtrack to match.

Season 2 of The Boys continues some trends set by season one, such as including Billy Joel songs in significant character moments for Hughie, as well as both new and classic hits to underpin the intense action of the show. The first season also featured iconic English rock bands like The Clash and The Damned — likely as a nod to the source material, the comic series of the same name penned by Irish-born Garth Ennis. Season 2 of The Boys does the same while using a broad range of songs to enhance the viewing experience.

Episode 1: “The Big Ride”

The Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil”: The 1968 classic from The Rolling Stones plays early on in the first episode of The Boys season 2, in the scene in which Black Noir murders the new super terrorist Naqib — as well as some bystanders. The scene is loaded with religious symbolism, and the song choice is loaded with implications, both due to teh title and the lyrics.

Erin Moriarty, “Never Truly Vanish”: Not every song in The Boys season 2 soundtrack is a well-known song, and the show also includes some original numbers. The Seven hero Starlight (Erin Moriaty) sings this message-laden original song at Translucent’s funeral, capitalizing on her religious image (and using her powers for added visual effects). While it would be typical for Vought to have their hero lip sync, the recording is actually sung by Starlight’s Moriarty hersel.

Billy Joel, “Pressure”: The Boys season 2 wastes no time in using a Billy Joel number to underpin a key moment for Hughie. 1982’s “Pressure”, from the album The Nylon Curtain, plays in the background as Hughie and Starlight are getting ready for their secret meeting. The song nods to both parties being under incredible “pressure.”

Episode 2: “Proper Preparation and Planning”

Don McLean, “AmericanPie” (marching band cover): When Butcher enters the Ciceros’ restaurant, a cover of “American Pie” is the ambient music in the background. By a fun coincidence, this is the same chain of the restaurant The Boys kept Translucent captive under in season 1. The song choice here is also somewhat ironic, given Butcher’s proud British identity and the distaste he often voices for American culture.

Guizmo, “Indé-structible”: French rap is used repeatedly throughout each season of The Boys, most often in key scenes for Frenchie (and the character is canonically a big fan, as he’s often seen listening to the same tracks through headphones while he works). The French hip-hop track being listened to in the Haitian Kings’ safe house, where The Boys are hiding out. Guizmo was used in season 1 as well.

Goo Goo Dolls, “Iris”: 1998’s Iris was one of the greatest hits for New York alternative outfit The Goo Goo Dolls, and The Boys season 2 used the melodic track to great effect by juxtaposing it with a surreal scene involving The Deep and hallucinogens. During The Deep’s mushroom trip, he’s listening to this song — perhaps it takes him back to his teen years?

Hatin Toney, “Day One”: After the speedster A-Train’s surprise appearance during the “Girls Get It Done” press tour, he and Starlight talk at a small party, presumably thrown to celebrate him waking up. The rap tune is playing at the get-together. Interestingly, the full version of the song was never released.

Billy Joel, “You’re Only Human (Second Wind)”: Another Hughie moment is underscored with a Billy Joel track in the second episode of The Boys season 2. Hughie is watching the music video for the song and singing to himself while in his depressing, cramped, dark, and dingy sleeping area at the hideout. The title “You’re Only Human” is a clear nod to Hughie’s situation, as he is indeed a simple human trying to go up against godlike supes.

Chace Crawford, Patton Oswalt, “You Are So Beautiful”: The Deep and his gills sing the classic Joe Cocker song during the disgraced hero’s drug trip. The meaning behind this particular song choice is incredibly clear, as The Deep is beyond self-conscious about his gills – and seeing him sing a duet with them is a timeless moment of comedy from The Boys season 2.

Talking Heads, “Psycho Killer”: After an episode of beta-male Hughie undermining the group’s alpha, Butcher, The Boys’ leader, finally snaps, punching Hughie in the face; the 1977 song “Psycho Killer” from the subversive rock group Talking Heads plays as Hughie decides to follow Butcher into the van, symbolizing his acknowledgment that Butcher is in charge (and is a “psycho killer”).

Episode 3: “Over The Hill With The Swords of 1000 Men”

Billy Joel, “You’re Only Human (Second Wind)”: Episode 3 of The Boys season 2 only has one notable entry to the season’s soundtrack, and it is once again a Billy Joel number used to underscore a key moment for Hughie. The episode opens with the music video again. This time, Hughie is listening to it while on a boat. The song plays briefly towards the end of the episode as Hughie is facing death. According to Amazon Prime’s “behind-the-scenes” trivia for the episode, this is Hughie’s favorite song.

Episode 4: “Nothing Like it in the World”

Kaaris, “Le Temps”: Another French hip-hop song, this plays as Frenchie’s prepping and snorting drugs. The song comes from French rapper Kaaris, who hails from Sevran, North East of Paris, and was at one point signed to Def Jam France.

Erin Moriarty, “Never Truly Vanish”: The Boys season 2, episode 4 also features another original son mad exclusive for the show (and is one again sung by Starlight actor Erin Moriarty). The initial song heard on the car radio as Starlight, Hughie, and Mother’s Milk drive to Raleigh, North Carolina. Starlight is annoyed to hear her own insincere ballad on the radio, which is seemingly playing on every station. The moment serves as a reminder that she has been acting as a double agent for some time — a role that is starting to wear on her.

Billy Joel, “We Didn’t Start the Fire”: This Billy Joel song from episode 4 appears during another focal moment for Hughie, one that shows him and Starlight enjoying a somewhat wholesome moment as a couple. The 1989 hit, which is one of the songs Billy Joel is most famous for, is what Starlight settles on when searching the car radio for music. She shares a moment singing along with Hughie. The song has infamously difficult lyrics to memorize.

Episode 5: “We Gotta Go Now”

Dead Tired, “Punks at the Gym”: Butcher goes to a punk show to get wasted — and violent. The hardcore band playing at the bar is Dead Tired, performing as a cameo.

Ashot Philipp, Galina N. Ajvazjan, “Show Star”: This song plays in the background as Kimiko attacks — and viciously kills — the unknown gangsters. Later, it’s revealed she was hired to get rid of them. This, like Dead Tired “Punks at the Gym” and several other tracks on The Boys season 2 soundtrack, shows just how deep the creative team dig for the show’s music, as the Russian synthpop tune is obscure to say the least.

George Frideri Handel, “Hallelujah”: Black Noir’s ringtone is “Hallelujah,” George Frideric Handel’s most recognizable work. “Hallelujah” is the chorus of his oratorio Messiah. It’s one of the few pieces of classical music used in The Boys season 2, but it’s featured to great effect, as it adds to the perplexity of the enigma that is Black Noir.

Aerosmith, “Dream On”: On the other end of the scale from obscure artists like Ashot Philipp and Dead Tired are rock megastars Aerosmith, and episode 5 of The Boys season 2 uses one of their hits, 1973’s “Dream On” incredibly well. Beginning during the final scene between Butcher, Hughie, and Judy, the song continues — and climaxes — during Homelander and Stormfront’s super-powered sexual encounter at the end of the episode.

Episode 6: “The Bloody Doors Off”

Sexion d’Assaut, “Casquette a L’envers”: Another Frenchie scene features a French hip-hop song playing in the background. This time, the scene is a flashback to eight years ago and fills in the troubled man’s history. Sexion d’Assaut are a group of french rappers from Paris, and this particular track is one of the hardest-hitting rap songs in The Boys season 2.

Idan Raichel, “Galgal Mistovev (Spinning Wheel)”: This song is barely audible during the scene in which Frenchie removes Starlight’s tracking device. It’s one of the more obscure tracks in The Boys season 2, being released in 2019 by Israeli experimental musician Idan Raichel.

The Turtles, “Happy Together”: After Homelander and Stormfront stop the petty criminal in an alley, this song plays together as the two fornicate next to the thief’s corpse. It’s one of several songs on The Boys season 2 soundtrack from the 1960s, and the juxtaposition of its upbeat tone next to the visceral visuals make for a memorable, if unsettling, moment.

Christopher Lennertz, Untitled A-Train Anthem: Ashley Barrett (Colby Minifie) shows A-Train a “lit” A-Train rap anthem, which the soon-to-be ex-Seven member responds to with markedly less enthusiasm. The man rapping in the video is actually The Boys‘ music composer Christopher Lennertz. The full version of the song plays during the credits.

Enya, “Orinoco Flow”: The soothing — yet mildly unsettling — Enya song plays during the meeting lunch between The Church of the Collective head Alastair Adana (Goran Visnjic) and the disgraced superheroes A-Train and The Deep. It’s an incredibly well-known track, and one that became synonymous with commerical spiritualism in the 1990s — making it perfect for this moment in The Boys.

Cynthia Fee, “Thank You for Being a Friend”: Best remembered as The Golden Girls theme, this song plays during the episode’s final moments, as unstable telekinetic Supe Cindy walks down the road, away from the Sage Grove compound. The title of the song is incredibly poignant due to its irony, as Sage Grove was anything but friendly to the rogue Supe.

Episode 7: “Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker”

Jon Batiste, “What a Wonderful World”: The song plays, ironically, after the seemingly nice and gentle-spirited unnamed fan of Stormfront snaps, shooting an innocent man who works at a convenience store. The event occurs because the former sees light reflected in the latter’s eyes (likely from a passing car’s headlights) and becomes paranoid that he’s a “Supe terrorist.” The subtext of the scene is that the attack was racially motivated as a direct result of Stormfront’s influence.

K.C. And The Sunshine Band, “That’s the Way (I Like It)”: the classic feel-good hit is playing at the lavish birthday celebration for Alastair Adana, the head of the Church of the Collective.

Episode 8: “What I Know”

Billy Joel, “Only the Good Die Young”: The final Billy Joel song on The Boys season 2 soundtrack plays early on in episode 8, and is the 1977 hit “Only the Good Die Yong” from Joel’s album The Stranger. When Hughie and Starlight are driving together (and trying to think of a plan that doesn’t involve killing all the Seven), this Billy Joel song is playing on the car radio.

Guizmo, “André”: The song is playing in the scene in which the Boys are prepping for war against Homelander. It’s yet another French hip-hop number with heavy beat and lightning-fast lyrics.

Jane Taylor, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”: The children’s song plays in the animation of Stormfront with a Hitler mustache.

Peaches, “Boys Wanna Be Her”: When Starlight, Kimiko, and Queen Maeve team up to give a beatdown to Stormfront, this classic alt-rock girl-power anthem plays in the background. The appropriateness of this song for the clean is clear, as it celebrates the fact that all four of The Boys central female Supes are on-screen. As Frenchie observes, “girls do get it done.”

The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows”: This plays over the ending montage that shows the TV show’s The Boys lineup reuniting with their families and enjoying themselves.

Where To Stream The Boys Season 2 Soundtrack

Every season of the Amazon Prime Original show The Boys has a soundtrack filled with well-known hits and obscure, yet incredibly catchy, songs, and season 2 is no exception. As such, many fans want to add songs from it to their own playlists. Fortunately, The Boys season 2 soundtrack is incredibly easy to find online, and can be streamed on both Spotify and Amazon Music.

Additionally, the musical score for The Boys season 2, which was composed by Christopher Lennertz, can also be found on Spotify.

Why The Boys Season 2 Soundtrack Has So Much Billy Joel

The Boys soundtrack for season 2 features five songs by the prolific artist, and the musician gets almost one song per episode — so what’s up with all the Billy Joel content? First and foremost, the artist is extremely important to Hughie and his character as a whole. The Boys season 2 reveals why exactly the musician is so cardinal to Hughie in The Boys season 2, episode 8, “What I Know.” In the episode, Hughie and Starlight are trying to make one last attempt at striking back at Vought International, so they drive to Queen Maeve for her help.

The moment features “Only The Good Die Young” by Billy Joel, and Starlight/Annie asks Hughie why he’s so into the singer/songwriter. Hughie goes on to explain that he grew up with Joel’s music. He later goes into the true reason behind his love for the artist when he explains that his mother left the family behind when he was six years old and that the two used to have Billy Joel dance parties before she left.

The musician is so important to Hughie’s character that Eric Kripke often writes the songs into his particular story beats. While The Boys features an outstanding ensemble cast, the world of the series and Vought International is mainly introduced through Hughie’s perspective. He’s not the show’s “main character,” but he is the one who usually gets the most screen time and his origins and characterization are more deeply explored than others.

It’s only natural that showrunners would line up Hughie’s story beats with Billy Joel songs in The Boys soundtrack. In addition, season 2 reveals even more about Hughie to audiences, justifying the amount of Billy Joel tracks in the series.