Gran Turismo Soundtrack Guide: Every Song In The Movie

Gran Turismo features both original scores and well-known songs throughout its runtime. Based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, Gran Turismo walks through everything from the professional driver’s early days as a gamer to his foray into the world of professional racing car driving. While at it, the movie also features several gripping racing scenes where Jann either loses by a long margin or races against time to narrowly earn wins.

Directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium, Gran Turismo has an ensemble cast that includes Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Takehiro Hira, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell-Horner, and Djimon Hounsou. While the movie’s talented cast and white-knuckling racing scenes are enough to keep viewers entertained, it further enhances one’s experience by featuring upbeat tracks from myriad genres. This makes it hard not to wonder which song plays when in the movie.

Here’s every song that plays in Gran Turismo:

When Every Song On The Gran Turismo Soundtrack Plays In The Movie

The Gran Turismo Soundtrack Features 16 Songs

“Hold My Head” by Kenny Beats: This track plays in the opening scene of Gran Turismo where Jann unboxes his new steering wheel. Kenny Beats is an American DJ and producer. “Hold My Head” is a song from his solo debut album, Louie, which he released in 2022.

“Waltz in A flat major, Op. 69, no. 1 (Farewell)” by Classical Coterie: In Gran Turismo, this classical piece can be heard in the background when Jack, Nicholas, and Patrice share a meal at a restaurant in London. The song is a classic track by Frédéric Chopin that he composed in 1835.

“Get Out My Way (feat. Lecrae)” by Tedashii: One night before his race, Jann goes to a party his brother invited him to. “Get Out My Way” plays when Jann drives after his friends get pulled over by the police. Although he avoids getting caught, his father catches him and his brother red-handed when they return home. The song is on Christian rapper Tadashii’s 2019 album Never Fold.

“KILL DEM” by Jamie xx: After returning home, Jann takes the blame instead of getting his brother in trouble, but asks him to admit he is a better driver. This is when Jamie xx’s “KILL DEM” plays in the background. “KILL DEM” was a non-album single for Jamie xx from 2022.

“Songbird” by Kenny G.: Gran Turismo establishes Kenny G’s “Songbird” as one of Jann’s favorite tracks. He hears it on two different occasions in the film, and Jack also plays it for him towards the end of the movie when he is driving. The song is a 1987 hit for saxophonist Kenny G. It was certified gold when released and peaked at 55th on the Billboard year-end charts.

“Because I’m Me” by The Avalanches: As Jann celebrates his narrow win against Matty Davis, this track plays in the backdrop. The song is from The Avalanche’s 2016 album Wildflower. It was certified gold even though it never charted as a single.

“Orinoco Flow” by Enya: Enya’s “Orinoco Flow” is another song that is portrayed as one of Jann’s most played tracks. He not only listens to it before his first race but also hears it during Le Man when Jack plays it in his car. This song can be heard again in Gran Turismo‘s closing montage. The song was on Enya’s breakthrough album Watermark and hit number one in several countries, ending up certified gold.

“Search & Destroy” by Iggy Pop & The Stooges: While Jann puts in the work and goes through intense training to perform well in his race in Austria, “Search & Destroy” plays in the background. The song was on the band’s third album in 1973, and it was actually mixed by David Bowie.

“War Pigs” by Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath’s “War Pig” can be heard in Gran Turismo when Jann gets his FIA license but gets into a fight with a competing driver. This was a 1970 song by Ozzy Osbourne’s version of Black Sabbath and remains one of the band’s most popular hits.

“Celebrate (Bonus Track)” by Courtney Bell: Courtney Bell’s “Celebrate” marks the beginning of a new arc in Jann’s career as he arrives in Tokyo with his team. The song is a 2020 release by rapper Courtney Bell.

“Big Jet Plane” by Restricted: As Jann explores Tokyo in Gran Turismo, Restricted’s “Big Jet Plane” plays in the background. This is a dance/electronic song by Restricted that was originally released in 2023.

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“Pepas (Tiësto Remix)” by Farruko & Tiësto: This song plays in Gran Turismo when Jack goes to a club in Tokyo. This song was a massive hit in 2021, from Farruko’s 2021 album La 167. It was certified platinum as of April 2024.

“Wash.” by Bon Iver: Bon Iver’s “Wash.” can be heard in Gran Turismo when Jann struggles to get back to driving after getting involved in a near fatal accident that killed one spectator. The song is a track on Bon Iver’s second album, released in 2011, although it was never released as a single.

“Make My Move” by Oliver Michael: This song marks Jann and his team’s arrival in France. The song is the fourth track on Michael’s 2020 album release, Hold Me Down.

“Paranoid” by Black Sabbath: Jann initially struggles in his final race in the movie, especially after his crew makes some unforced errors while fixing his car. However, he soon gets back in the race as Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” plays in the background. A second Black Sabbath song, “Paranoid” was released in 1970 and is another hugely popular song by the band.

“God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters” by Moby: This track marks the end of the race when Jann narrowly earns third position and a podium finish for Nissan. Moby’s “God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters” plays as he celebrates his win with his team. The song is on Moby’s gold-certified album Everything is Wrong but was never a single.

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Where To Listen To The Gran Turismo Movie Soundtrack

The Album Soundtrack Is On Spotify & More

The official playlist for Gran Turismo is available on Spotify, which not only includes all the tracks mentioned above but also features the original soundtracks from the film. The songs mentioned above can also be streamed individually on other music streaming sites like Amazon Music and Apple Music. Apart from music streaming platforms, Gran Turismo‘s songs can also be found on YouTube with their respective official videos.

How The Gran Turismo Movie Soundtrack Compares To The Game

There is a big difference between a movie soundtrack and one for a video game. When watching a movie, the music has to play into the scenes and the emotions and story beats. That is what a song by Warren G can play and then a song by a Christian rapper can also be part of the same film. The movie includes some hard classic rock songs and some electronic dance numbers, and it all plays into the scenes that accompany them. That is very different from the role a car racing video game plays in music choices.

A video game needs to have music that increases the tempo for the gamer as they race and try to win. The first game, released in 1998, included music by alternative rock bands like Garbage and Feeder. The Japanese version had guitar rock too, but from Japanese guitarist Masahiro Andoh, and in both cases, it was about using rock music to get the gamer’s heart pumping to make the racing scenes even more intense.

Subsequent games kept the same flavor, with songs by Rob Zombie, Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, Beck, Hole, Creed, Papa Roach, Jimi Hendrix, and even one band that shares the movie soundtrack in Moby (although his song in that game was “Bodyrock”). The movie did pay tribute in a way because the Stooges song in practice and Black Sabbath song during the race is the exact music fans of the Gran Turismo video games might have expected to hear.

Gran Turismo

Based on the video game franchise and the true story surrounding it, Gran Turismo is a film adaptation arriving in 2023 from PlayStation Productions. The story will center around a teenage Gran Turismo player whose consistent winning streak in the games put him through a series of Nissan competitions, where he eventually became a real-life professional driver. 

Release Date

August 25, 2023

Director

Neill Blomkamp

Runtime

135 Minutes

Main Genre

Racing

Writers

Jason Hall , Zach Baylin

Budget

$100 Million

Studio(s)

Columbia Pictures , PlayStation Productions , Trigger Street Productions , 2.0 Entertainment

Distributor(s)

Sony Pictures Releasing

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