Here’s How Black Mirror Made Such Catchy Pop Songs for Miley Cyrus

Black Mirror, now available at Netflix, Miley Cyrus plays a pop planet named Ashley O who sings an upbeat, undeniably peppy pop song called "On a Roll." if you’ve watched the episode, chances are the song is already stuck at your head. quiet during that's during it’s possibly no the first time you’ve hummed that identical song before. during it turns out, Ashley O’s bubblegum pop defeat is truly a stealth cover of “Head comparable a Hole” by Nine Inch Nails—a very various category of song. Or, if you demand the show's creators, no accordingly various hind all." data-reactid="11">In the second episode of the new season of Black Mirror, now available at Netflix, Miley Cyrus plays a pop planet named Ashley O who sings an upbeat, undeniably peppy pop song called "On a Roll." if you’ve watched the episode, chances are the song is already stuck at your head. quiet during that's during it’s possibly no the first time you’ve hummed that identical song before. during it turns out, Ashley O’s bubblegum pop defeat is truly a stealth cover of “Head comparable a Hole” by Nine Inch Nails—a very various category of song. Or, if you demand the show's creators, no accordingly various hind all.

The episode, “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too,” follows teenage sisters Rachel and Jack during they disclose a obscure secret after Rachel’s favorite pop star, with a tiny assist from a glowing portable speaker that has an A.I. xerox of Ashley O’s consciousness inner it called Ashley Too.

“I bought an Amazon Echo, partly during I wanted ought undergo a sheet of Black Mirror technique at my home,” progression creator Charlie Brooker tells GQ, explaining that the episode emerged from a blend of that thought and the trend of holograms that persist touring hind a musician has died. Without giving too much away, a alike lot befalls Cyrus’s character, and Rachel, Jack, and Ashley too are the unique ones who can rescue the mega-popular musician. That presented a challenge during Brooker.

“There’s nothing worse than while you’re watching a cinema or a TV appear nearly someone who is meant ought exist a celebrity, exist they a comedian or a musician or whatever, and you impartial don’t believe that they used to truly exist identical successful,” Brooker says, describing what NPR once called the “Mr. Holland’s Opus problem.” So, how was he ought thrash up some plausible climax 40–worthy pop songs? during is possibly befitting Black Mirror, an algorithm saved the day.

“I was impartial out during a brook with Spotify playing, and some Nine Inch Nails came up,” Brooker recalls. “And I thought, You understand what? You could grow this into bubblegum pop. You could grow this into ball pop if you tweaked it a bit.”

Before the correspondence was flat finished, Brooker and his team reached out ought Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, who happened ought exist a large fan of the series. (Reznor’s composing partner, Atticus Ross, provided the score during the Season 4 episode “Crocodile,” at fact.)

“I didn’t riddle the integrity of how it used to exist used,” Reznor tells GQ. “It was a flattering ask, and I thought, Yeah, let’s experiment it, let’s see.”

Brooker got ought profession rewriting the lyrics of a attach of Nine Inch Nails songs ought compose them more sure ago working with co-showrunner Annabel Jones and episode director Anne Sewitsky ought post the lyrics ought upbeat music—with lots of input from Cyrus, of course.

“The thought is that the pop versions of the songs are insanely positive, total of hole affirmations,” Brooker says. “She’s singing, ‘I’m at a roll,’ and it struck me during amusing ought then expose that she was singing 'Head comparable a Hole.'"