As a film and television composer who’s worked on Deadpool & Wolverine and Stranger Things, Rob Simonsen is no stranger to finding a way to weave pop music into his lush scores. But what he was a stranger to was composing for an animated film — until now.

The veteran composer — whose work also includes 2009’s 500 Days of Summer, 2018’s Love, Simon and 2024’s It Ends With Us — will make his animated debut this weekend with Pixar’s Elio, which hits theaters on Friday. In addition to Simonsen’s score, which hops from 11-year-old Elio’s begrudging home planet of Earth to the far reaches of outer space where he dreams to live forever, there are also two prominent music placements in the film: Talking Heads‘ existential 1981 single “Once in a Lifetime” and Vicente García‘s “Carmesí,” a top 20 hit on Billboard‘s Tropical Airplay chart in 2017.

In a conversation with Billboard, Simonsen tells us how both of those songs ended up in the movie, how he musically guides viewers between multiple planets in the sci-fi adventure, his 1973 Disney favorite that still resonates today, how he created his own “space disco” track for a memorable montage, and why he “felt at home” working in animated film.

I would love to start with when and how you got involved in this project. I’m not seeing any other animated work in your bio, and your only previous Disney project is Deadpool & Wolverine – so was that the connection?

They found me before Deadpool. Actually, I had done some scores that I think they found to use in their film, and they called me to meet with me and shared this really touching story [of Elio] with me. And I really loved what they were going for, and I felt like I understood it and was really excited. Of course Pixar [is] an incredible brain trust, an incredible group of people, and so there was a bit of a sympathetic resonance, I think. And, yeah, we got underway.

How long ago was that?

I think two and a half years ago, something around there. This one had a longer time frame than what I’m normally used to, working in live-action. I wrote a suite after seeing an initial cut and having a conversation with the director and really felt what they were going for. And I sat down and I wrote a suite and I sent it, and that ended up being “Elio’s Theme,” which is in the film — starts and ends the movie.

What was the biggest difference between scoring an animated film and the other movies you’ve previously worked on?

Oh, lots of stuff. You know, getting used to seeing hand sketches of really emotional scenes and filling in the blanks with your imagination, which actually is a process that I love. In a lot of ways, there’s not the limitations of exactly what frame something needs to hit. So you’re allowed to create music that has a little bit more inherent music logic to it. And in some cases, they’re able to get some of these things in kind of early and maybe have some musical moments even to hang the cut and the animation on.

Oh wow, that has to be very cool when that happens.

That happened pretty rarely, but when it does happen, it’s certainly nice.

This movie travels to so many different locations, so can you talk about creating music for each setting of this movie? So when Elio is on Earth, versus when he’s in the Communiverse, versus when he’s on Hylurg.

We were definitely trying to give each different location its own flavor. So for Hylurg, we focus on this low male choir and low brass. And for the Communiverse, we use these choir dolls, which are these small, handmade wooden robot dolls that are made by a Swedish company called Teenage Engineering. And we used them as kind of our vocal choir for the Communiverse, which they’re encoded with vowels and words and consonants, and it sounds like language, but it’s not English. It’s not really any specific language. So it has this kind of uncanny resemblance to human voices, but yet it sounds otherworldly, slightly technological. And then on Earth, it’s quite grounded, and there’s a lot of atmosphere, with simple piano melodies to kind of speak to Elio’s heart and his longing.

One of my favorite music moments is when Glordon and Elio are in the Communiverse and basically just treating it like one big amusement park, and there’s sort of a montage of all the fun they’re having. What were you going for with that music?

Kind of a pop track, a space disco cut. I love space disco. What an amazing little subgenre of the ’70s and ’80s. You know, Meco doing these kind of orchestrated but synthesized disco versions of all these sci-fi movies, theme songs and whatnot. And do a modern version of that, but also something that has this kind of nostalgic whimsy to it but with a solid beat that kind of makes you bop your head hopefully.

There are also two pop music parts of the movie – let’s start with the first one, Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime.” Was that something you were involved in selecting, or was that the dream song that the filmmakers already wanted there?

Yeah, they picked that actually. By the time I saw the first cut, when I was brought on, it was in there. And I love that song, so I was happy to see it there.

I was racking my brain to think of another moment in a Disney/Pixar movie that features an existing song in its entirety like that and was having a hard time coming up with one. It’s jarring in a very cool way!

Yeah, it is a bit different for them. And off the top of my head, I’m not sure that I know of another one.

The other moment is a Vicente García song called “Carmesí,” which plays on Aunt Olga’s car radio in the movie. How was that song chosen?

I know they were chasing some options. And I think, actually, Zoe Saldaña [who voices Elio’s Aunt Olga] may have mentioned that song and put it forward as a song that she liked. So I think that there was a cool thread of involving her in that choice.

Between Stranger Things and Deadpool & Wolverine, you’re very familiar with how a song can get a big bump from being placed in a movie like this. Do you see a world where this young audience is going to discover Talking Heads and David Byrne or Vicente García through this film?

Sure, especially since there’s only those two song pieces. The Talking Heads, it’s interesting — it’s an older song now, but it still feels fresh sonically. And yeah, I hope that a young generation gets introduced to David Byrne.

Were you a Disney kid growing up or before working on this? What does working on a Disney project mean to you?

Disney has changed the world and has had so many influences and impacts on the world. And I really love that [Walt] Disney was a real visionary and someone who was trying to transport people to new places, but yet, in these new places, you hopefully find something inspiring about life and humanity and the experience of being human, and he was a really forward-thinking person. So, I mean, it’s undeniable the mark that Disney has left, and Pixar as well. Their track record is incredible, and they’ve had so many movies that have been so enjoyable to watch and have been so well-made and so smart, and I think they really cracked the code on making films that appeal to adults and kids. So it was a real dream to get a call from them and to work on this one.

Do you have a personal favorite Disney project from your past?

You know, I love [1973’s] Robin Hood. I loved it as a kid, and I recently rewatched it, and I was struck by how relevant it is to today’s times. So I recommend that movie as a rewatch to anyone now. It’s really, really resonant, and the music is incredible in that it’s very, very catchy melodies and a great score by George Bruns, who is an amazing Disney composer, and Roger Miller delivering these amazing songs. Some of those melodies are just constantly in my head. I find myself absentmindedly whistling the “Whistle Stop” song from Robin Hood when I’m walking down the street.

Do you hope to do more animated work after this?

Yeah, I would love to. I really enjoyed working with animators. They’re so sensitive. You know, their whole job is to capture the essence of a human emotion with drawings and representations of humans, and knowing exactly what kind of emotion to go for. And emotion is almost infinite in terms of the gradation of it and the spectrum of human emotions. And Pixar, they’re the best at doing these very specific facial expressions, and the performances that they infuse their characters with is really impressive. And I saw as these animations kind of improved over time and got more specific, a character would wince in a certain way or kind of make a face in a certain way. And I just appreciate how much study of humanity animators have to do, and that’s what we do as film composers, you know? You’re a study of human emotions. So I felt at home with these people. So I’d love to do it again.

What was it like seeing the movie in its entirety the first time?

I think when I saw the whole thing, I had some notes for myself. [Laughs] But, you know, we really worked hard and I think banged it into great shape, and I think the movie really sings. Sitting back and watching it with an audience for the first time at a premiere was great. There’s a lot of enthusiasm for the characters and a lot of laughs, and it’s very breezy and, I think, very poignant in moments. So to be able to feel that with a group of people, you know, that’s an irreplaceable experience.

Demi Lovato and Jordan ‘Jutes’ Lutes are honeymooning in tropical paradise.

In an Instagram post shared Monday (June 16), the singer gave fans a look inside their post-wedding vacation. One photo shows the couple kissing while enjoying dinner on the beach, while other snaps find them smooching with bright turquoise water filling up the background behind them.

Lovato also shared a clip of herself and the music producer riding jet skis, as well as a number of photos in which the glowing Camp Rock alum models different bikinis. “Honeymoon dump,” Lovato wrote in the caption.

“Wifey,” Jutes commented on the post, along with: “I love u so much.”

The honeymoon update comes a few weeks after the pop star and Jutes tied the knot in California in late May. Lovato has shared a number of photos from the ceremony, including many of the gorgeous Vivienne Westwood gown they walked down the aisle in.

Lovato and Jutes first made their relationship Instagram official in 2022 before getting engaged in 2023. “My love, I’m beyond excited to marry you … every day I’ve spent with you has been a dream come true and I can’t wait to love and cherish you forever,” the former Disney Channel star wrote at the time.

Lovato echoed those thoughts in February this year while sharing snaps from an Old Hollywood-themed Valentine’s Day photoshoot the couple did. “Jordan, I cannot WAIT to marry you!!” she wrote at the time. “The past 3 years have been the best 3 years of my life and I have you to thank for that. I’m obsessed with your heart, your love and your light. I can’t wait to grow old with you and start a family together. Happy Valentine’s Day to the love of my life. I love you honey!!!”

In addition to being life partners, Lovato and Jutes are also collaborators. The latter helped to write multiple songs on his now-wife’s 2022 album Holy Fvck, which reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200.

Lovato is now working on their next album, telling Jimmy Fallon last September that the next project will likely reflect the lovey-dovey phase of life the singer is in now. “I’ve been writing nothing but love songs and sexy songs, because I’m in this really good place,” she said at the time. “It feels good to be able to write coming from that place.”

“I don’t know when it’ll come out,” Lovato added. “But it’ll come out when I’m ready.”

THE BIG STORY: Years after it was first filed, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to revive a lawsuit claiming Ed Sheeran’s 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud” infringed Marvin Gaye‘s famed 1973 jam “Let’s Get It On.”

The decision is the latest win for Sheeran in a nine-year legal odyssey over two songs that do, in fact, sound pretty similar to many listeners. Spin described “Thinking” as “an incredibly obvious successor” to Gaye’s song, and countless YouTube accounts mashed them up. Even Sheeran himself seemed to agree: In an infamous video clip, he was captured toggling between the two at a 2014 concert.

He was sued over those similarities in 2016 by the daughter of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the 1973 tune with Gaye, but that case ended with a high-profile jury verdict that said Sheeran and his co-writers had independently created their song. He was sued again in 2018 by Structured Asset Sales (SAS), an entity owned by industry executive David Pullman that controls a different stake in Townsend’s copyrights. But in November, a federal appeals court tossed that case, too, ruling the songs share only basic “musical building blocks” that all songwriters are free to use.

With Monday’s move by SCOTUS, which will allow that decision to stand, is Sheeran’s long copyright nightmare finally over? Not quite yet.

Back in 2020, Pullman’s company filed yet another case over “Thinking” — something of a creative gambit to get around shortcomings of the earlier lawsuits. A judge had ruled that Townsend’s copyrights covered only the basic sheet music to “Let’s Get It On,” and not Gaye’s famous recorded version you’ve heard countless times. So SAS’s lawyers filed for an entirely new copyright on the recorded version and then sued Sheeran for infringing it.

Can they do that? Unclear. The newer lawsuit has been paused for years while the earlier case played out in court, meaning a judge has not yet ruled on whether the get-a-new-copyright maneuver is legally viable in the first place. But after Monday’s move by the Supreme Court, the case will now be reopened for action.

Speaking to Billboard on Monday, each side previewed the battle ahead. Pullman said Sheeran and his co-defendants “fear” the sound recording and vowed that his newer case “will now go forward.” Meanwhile, Sheeran’s attorney, Donald Zakarin, stressed that his client had already been cleared by a jury of his peers.

“Pullman’s completely unauthorized and improper purported registration of the Marvin Gaye recording of ‘Let’s Get It On,’ 50 years after it was created, will not change that fact,” Zakarin said. “If he truly believed that the second case he filed was so compelling — which it is not — he would not have spent the last two years pursuing his failed first case.”

You’re reading The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday, go subscribe here.

Other top stories this week…

SMOKEY ROBINSON UPDATE – Facing a rape lawsuit from his former housekeepers, the Motown legend argued in new court filings that his accusers are trying to slow-walk the case to gain maximum leverage for an extortionate settlement payout, including by dealing a financial blow to his ongoing tour. His lawyers say attorneys for the housekeepers want to “let the lawsuit linger publicly while the Robinsons have to live every day under the unfair specter of public opinion.”

IT NEVER ENDS – Amid their bruising legal battle over the movie It End With Us, Blake Lively asked a federal judge to block Justin Baldoni’s continued efforts to see her texts with Taylor Swift, arguing her nemesis shouldn’t be allowed to drag the pop superstar into the court battle just to generate “sensational headlines.” Separately in the same messy fight, Lively moved to subpoena music executive Scooter Braun, seeking to find out what the HYBE America boss knows about Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign against her.

DIDDY TRIAL CONTINUES – The sex-trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs continued into a sixth week, as the prosecution nears the conclusion of its case. Week Five was dominated by testimony from “Jane,” a former girlfriend who says the star coerced her into taking part in the “freak-off” sex parties at the heart of the case — and by a brief moment where Ye (formerly Kanye West) stopped by the courthouse. Week Six kicked off with the judge dismissing a juror for giving inconsistent answers about where he lives — a ruling that rejected warnings by Combs’ attorneys that the dispute was a “thinly veiled effort to dismiss a Black juror.”

MORE AI LAWSUITS – Artificial intelligence music startups Suno and Udio were hit with new copyright lawsuits — this time, proposed class actions on behalf of independent artists who have been “left without a seat at the table” in the high-profile litigation filed by Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony Music. The cases, filed by a country singer named Tony Justice on behalf of “thousands” of indie artists, came weeks after news broke that the majors were negotiating potential settlements with the two tech firms that would see them license their music for AI training.

MEGAN GAG ORDER – A federal judge issued a gag order in Megan Thee Stallion’s defamation lawsuit against gossip blogger Milagro Gramz over the Tory Lanez shooting, barring both sides from talking about the case. The ruling cited warnings from the star’s lawyers that Gramz’s ongoing posts about Megan had sparked “severely critical and derogatory comments” about the star that could potentially “incite violence.”

R. KELLY WANTS OUT – The disgraced R&B star asked a federal judge to cut short his 30-plus-year sentence for racketeering, sexual abuse and child pornography, claiming jail officials tried to solicit a member of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang to kill him. In later filings, Kelly’s lawyers claimed he’d been placed in solitary confinement as retaliation, and that he’d been rushed to the hospital after officials gave him a lethal quantity of his medications. Prosecutors denied the allegations, calling them “deeply unserious” and the “behavior of an abuser and a master manipulator” on full display: “This court should not allow Kelly to turn its docket into a grocery store checkout aisle tabloid,” prosecutors wrote.

50 CENT HORROR FIGHT – The producers of SkillHouse, a horror movie starring 50 Cent, responded to the rapper’s recent lawsuit aimed at blocking its premiere next month, blasting the case as “a baseless and last-minute shakedown.” Fifty claims he never signed off on the movie and hasn’t been paid, but the producers argued that they have “a mountain of documentary evidence” that he did, in fact, agree to appear in and promote the flick.

DOXXING DISPUTE – A Los Angeles judge ruled that the hip-hop powerhouse Top Dawg Entertainment must face claims that the company “doxxed” two women after they sued the record label for sexual harassment and assault. The judge refused to dismiss allegations that the company broke a newly enacted California law outlawing doxxing — revealing someone’s identity non-consensually — by including the names of the two “Jane Doe” accusers in a response statement that called the lawsuit a “shakedown.”

MANSLAUGHTER PLEA – The Atlanta rapper Silento, best known for his 2015 chart-topper “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae),” was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to fatally shooting his cousin in 2021. Facing a looming trial, the 27-year-old rapper avoided murder charges by admitting to voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, gun possession and concealing a death, crimes he said he’d committed while mentally ill.

THE SARCASM DEFENSE – Karol G and UMG fired back at a copyright lawsuit claiming she lifted key elements of “Gatúbela,” a track on her chart-topping album Mañana Será Bonito, from an earlier song. In the filing, they denied claims that one of the song’s producers effectively admitted to the theft in an Instagram comment — arguing that he posted it “sarcastically” and that it clearly wasn’t an admission of liability.

TORTIOUS REUNION? Música mexicana singer-songwriter Codiciado filed a lawsuit against his old record label, Rancho Humilde, and former bandmates in the ensemble Grupo Codiciado, claiming they stole his intellectual property by getting the band back together under the name Los Codicia2 after he went solo.

DISCRIMINATION DEAL – Nas’ record label and media company, Mass Appeal, inked a settlement with a white former executive, Melissa Cooper, who claimed that she was the target of discrimination and forced out because of her race. The deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, will resolve a lawsuit in which Cooper claimed that she had been subject to animosity because she was a “white woman working in hip-hop.”

PHOTO FIGHT – Robin Thicke was hit with a copyright lawsuit for allegedly posting paparazzi pictures of himself on Instagram without paying to license the images. The case, filed by celebrity photo agency BackGrid USA, is the latest in a string of such lawsuits over artists posting themselves to socials — cases that have targeted Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber and others.