Summary
- Austin Butler sang many of the songs heard in Baz Luhrmann’s
Elvis
, impressing audiences with his flawless range and lilting Presley drawl. - The use of stems allowed Butler’s and Presley’s vocals to be woven together, creating a seamless transition between their voices in the film.
- While Butler’s singing abilities were showcased throughout the first half of the movie, Presley’s heavy drug use and age led to changes in his voice that were impossible for Butler to convey.
Audiences were blown away by the likeness between Austin Butler and Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 biopic, but the key question for many is if Austin Butler sings Elvis. While Butler sings every line to every song, what audiences hear in Elvis is more complicated. Elvis draws audiences into the full breadth of Presley’s life. Luhrmann depicts Presley’s childhood, spent living in Memphis’ impoverished Black communities in the late 1930s and early 1940s, where Presley discovered gospel music. While the question of did Austin Butler sing in Elvis requires some explanation, his Oscar-nominated performance certainly impressed many.
It is not until 1954 when Presley’s first single, “That’s Alright,” was released and Colonel Tom Parker entered Elvis’ life that Presley’s first song is heard in the film. As such, Presley’s singing in Elvis is based on music and performances from 1954 until he died in 1977. However, it is Austin Butler doesn’t sing every song. According to Elvis composer Elliott Wheeler (via Variety), Butler “performs everything up until 1968 where he is in black leather. Everything after that was Elvis…” Butler’s voice in Elvis’ post-1968 performances weaved together with Presley’s vocals using what Wheeler calls “stems.”
Elvis: The Sad Connection That Made Austin Butler’s Casting Perfect
The Elvis movie had big names in mind for Presley until Austin Butler’s audition tape revealed the sad link that makes him perfect for the role.
Austin Butler’s Voice Is Merged With Elvis Presley’s
Austin Butler Sang Throughotu Elvis, But It’s Not Just His Voice In The Movie
Austin Butler singing in Elvis sounded uncannily like the real thing, and this was partly achieved using Stem. Stems are a recording tool used to isolate tracks in the stereo recording process. This allows composers like Wheeler to separate each individual instrument in a stereo recording and, in this case, allowed Wheeler to isolate Presley’s original vocal tracks and lay them into Elvis.
Interestingly, this same process was used in the recent Queen Biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. “If we did end up using Elvis takes, we ended up slicing [parts of] Austin’s performance,” Wheeler says on whether Austin Butler did sing in Elvis (viaVariety). “We used a lot of the breaths, grunts, and body movements that are Austin, and we’d switch back to Elvis.” While stereo sound became the standard of audio production from the late 1960s onward, having access to Presley’s original audio does not necessarily explain why Presley’s voice was used over Butler’s when filming the icon’s late years in Elvis.
Butler’s performances throughout the first half of the film certainly assuage any doubt about his vocal abilities: his range and lilting Presley drawl when singing is flawless. However, the songs 30-year-old Austin Butler sings solo in Elvis end in 1968, when Elvis would have been 33 years old. In this way, it is likely that Presley’s heavy drug use and age led to changes in his voice that were impossible for Butler to convey.
Furthermore, while some may be disappointed by the audio assist in the film, using the stems to achieve vocal authenticity for the later years of Presley’s life does not detract from the point of the biopic or Butler’s work. Butler’s performance in Elvis was in an effort to bring Presley’s life story to the screen, which he does impeccably. His job was not to be Presley because, as the film shows, there has only ever been one Elvis Presley.
Elvis Cast Guide: What The Characters Look Like In Real Life
The cast of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic features a bevy of stars, including Austin Butler and Tom Hanks playing real-life characters in the film.
Was Austin Butler Known For Singing Before Elvis?
Surprisingly, Austin Butler didn’t have a track record of public singing before being cast in Elvis. Butler became a TV star as a teen, appearing in Nickelodeon and Disney Channel series such as Zoey 101 and Hannah Montana, before moving on to teen dramas like Switched at Birth and The Carrie Diaries.
Prior to Elvis, Austin Butler first gained major critical attention appearing on Broadway alongside Denzel Washington in a revival of The Iceman Cometh, but it wasn’t a musical. Butler didn’t have much of an opportunity to show off his musical talents before Elvis — but when given the chance, he was able to deliver a performance that lived up to the King’s legacy.
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Elvis True Story: How Accurate It Is & What The Movie Changes
Baz Luhrmann’s biopic Elvis plays fast and loose with the truth. However, there are some ways that the movie remains historically accurate.
Whether He Sang Or Not, Austin Butler Earned His Oscar Nomination
Playing Elvis Was A Career-Defining Performance
Whether Austin Butler actually sang the blues or not, his performance as Elvis is one of the best that audiences have seen from an actor yet, making his Golden Globe win all the more exciting. The actor didn’t have an easy ride on the way to the top, as he had quite the competition this year at the Golden Globes. In terms of the Best Actor — Drama category, Butler had to contend against industry veterans such as Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Hugh Jackman (The Son), Bill Nighy (Living), and Jeremy Pope (Inspection).
Considering that Elvis was truly Austin Butler’s breakout role, it’s an incredible feat that he won — proving his performance was so great that it deserved accolade attention. Arguably one of the best attempts made by an actor to bring Elvis to the screen, Austin Butler has received much due recognition for playing the King of Rock n Roll. He was also nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor In A Leading Role. Though Brendan Fraser won the Oscar for The Whale, the nomination cemented Butler as a new talent to watch in Hollywood.
In addition to Butler’s nomination, Elvis snagged seven more. The movie is nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Snubbed for a nomination is Baz Luhrmann for Best Director, though he did earn a Golden Globe nomination, he lost out to Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans.
Austin Butler Isn’t The Only Actor To Sing In A Biopic
Many Actors Have Proved Their Singing Ability Playing Real Musicians
Austin Butler’s singing in Elvis certainly added to the movie’s popularity though he is not the only actor in a musical biopic to do his own singing. There have been a number of actors who have brought iconic music figures to life on the big screen while also showing off their own impressive skills for replicating their most famous songs.
Some notable examples of this include both Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon as Johnny Cash and June Carter-Cash in Walk the Line as well as Taron Edgerton as Elton John in Rocketman. More recently, Naomi Ackie sang parts of the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody while Houston’s own vocals were used as well.
Of course, the ability to sing like the artist in question is not all that is needed to pull off a strong music biopic performance. Rami Malek won an Oscar for playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody despite not having sung any of the songs in the movie. In fact, though Butler played some role in the singing, his performance in Elvis goes far beyond that in bringing the icon to life. He was able to capture the spirit of the beloved rock and roll figure which is why his performance earned him such acclaim.
Elvis
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis tells the story of the musician’s meteoric rise to superstardom. Following Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) from his time as a young up-and-coming musician, Elvis chronicles how the titular artist met Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), his infamous agent and business partner. Elvis documents the King’s rise to the top, his subsequent career slump, his triumphant return, and his tragic end.
- Release Date
- June 24, 2022
- Cast
- Austin Butler , Helen Thomson , Richard Roxburgh , Kelvin Harrison Jr. , Kodi Smit-McPhee , Natasha Bassett , Tom Hanks , David Wenham , Luke Bracey , Olivia DeJonge , Xavier Samuel
- Runtime
- 159 minutes
- Writers
- Jeremy Doner , Craig Pearce , Sam Bromell , Baz Luhrmann
- Studio(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
