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Austin Butler plays Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s new hip-shaking biopic Elvis. The movie covers the King of Rock & Roll’s life from his childhood right through to his death, soundtracked by his iconic music. However, you’ll likely be wondering just how much of the music was sung by Butler in the movie. Well, the answer is slightly complicated…
Director Luhrmann has confirmed that Elvis’ early voice is sung entirely by Butler. He shared an unedited video of the actor performing 'That’s All Right' ahead of filming back in 2019. "I feel I haven’t been clear enough in conveying that Austin sings all the young Elvis in the movie so forgive me," Luhrmann wrote on Instagram. "I thought you might find this 2019 camera test fascinating. Thank you Austin Butler for letting me share this early test to give the fans an insight into your journey."
Butler opened up about capturing Elvis’ voice in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "When I began the process, I set out to get my voice to be identical," he explained. "That instills fear. So that got the fire burning. For a year before we started shooting, I was doing voice coaching."
However, Luhrmann has been clear that Butler doesn’t sing all of Elvis’ songs in the movie. As the crooner ages, his voice is only partly Butler blended with tapes of midlife Elvis in order to achieve his distinctive tone. According to Variety, as part of the release of the movie’s official soundtrack, we’ve been given a better idea of which songs Butler actually sang. The actor is credited on:
- 'I’ll Fly Away'
- 'That’s All Right'
- 'Baby, Let’s Play House'
- 'Blue Suede Shoes'
- 'Heartbreak Hotel'
- 'Working on the Building'
- 'Hound Dog'
- 'Are You Lonesome Tonight?'
- 'Trouble'
- 'Crawfish'
- 'Here Comes Santa Claus'
- 'If I Can Dream'
- 'Suspicious Minds'
- 'Can’t Help Falling in Love'
Elvis is released in theaters on June 24. You can read our full interview with Butler here about auditioning for the role in his bathrobe, letter writing with Tom Hanks, and his upcoming part in Dune 2. Check out our list of the other 2022 movie release dates confirmed so far.
