New Moon's soundtrack comprises songs that are all original and exclusive to the soundtrack and are performed by various
indie rock and
alternative rock artists.
New Moon director
Chris Weitz stated that the soundtrack would feature songs from
Radiohead,
Muse, and
Band of Skulls.
Death Cab for Cutie contributed the soundtrack's lead single, a song written specifically for the film called "
Meet Me on the Equinox", which debuted September 13 during the
MTV Video Music Awards. The music video for "Meet Me on the Equinox" premiered on October 7, 2009, and includes clips from the movie. The English
rock band
Muse contributed a remix of their song "
I Belong to You", which appears in its original form on their 2009 album
The Resistance.
St. Vincent collaborated with
Bon Iver's Justin Vernon to create a song called "Rosyln". When describing the song, she said, "[Justin] sings in his beautiful falsetto and I'm actually singing very, very low... I think there's something vampirey and creepy about the two of us singing together. It's a simple, stripped-down kind of song." The album's CD booklet folds out into a
New Moon poster. International versions of the soundtrack are available in certain countries, featuring bonus tracks from "local" artists. For example,
Mexican Grammy and
Latin Grammy nominee
Ximena Sariñana is featured on
Spanish language versions of the soundtrack, with the song "Frente al Mar" ("
In front of the Sea").
Reception Initial critical response to the
New Moon soundtrack was generally favorable. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an
average score of 70, based on 11 reviews.
Chart performance The soundtrack debuted at number two on the
Billboard 200 albums chart, and climbed to number one a week later after selling 153,000 copies in its first full week of release. It made history as the first time ever a soundtrack and its sequel have both reached the #1 spot on the chart. The album was certified Platinum by
RIAA, and has sold 1,305,000 copies in the US as of August 2013. In New Zealand, it was certified Gold on October 18, 2009, selling over 7,500 copies in its first two days of release. The album debuted at number two and was certified Platinum after its first week of release, selling over 15,000 copies. In Australia, the soundtrack rose to number one on the iTunes Store and has largely stayed in the top five since its release. It debuted at number two on the
ARIA Albums Chart in the week beginning October 26, 2009, and was certified Platinum in its first week. In Mexico, the album is jumped to No. 1 on the international album charts and No. 4 on the main chart after five weeks inside the chart, caused by the success of the film. In the UK, the album debuted at number one on the compilations chart.
Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications ==
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (The Score)==