The Karate Kid (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack to the 2010 film The Karate Kid, directed by Harald Zwart and starred Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, which is a remake of the 1984 film of the same name and the fifth film in The Karate Kid franchise. The album featured 18 tracks composed by James Horner and released through Madison Gate Records on June 15, 2010.
Contents
Development
Zwart hired Icelandic composer Atli Örvarsson to contribute music for the film but was replaced by James Horner in March 2010. After his completion on Avatar (2009), Horner recorded the musical score at the Sony Scoring Stage and utilized ethnic instrumentation from China due to the film's setting and incorporated East Asian musical elements throughout the score. The film's official theme song "Never Say Never", performed by Justin Bieber and Smith and released as a single on June 8, was not included in the soundtrack. The album was released through Madison Gate Records on June 15, 2010.
Reception
Thomas Glorieuz of Maintitles wrote "Like the film, the music is nothing like The Karate Kid of Bill Conti, but it wins its own battles easily enough, this due to James Horner's never failing spirit." Filmtracks.com wrote "If Horner had explored original thematic ideas for The Karate Kid, it would easily be a four-star score." Pete Simons of Synchrotones described the score as "playful" and "colorful".
Personnel
Credits adapted from CD liner notes.