Music supervisor is a job that is part professional music nerd, part aural detective and part crate-digging business affairs exec. 5 Songs is a Deadline series that highlights the work of these below-the-line workers through songs and stories.

What do Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Joan Jett, BTS, Rob Zombie and Tchaikovsky have in common? Their songs were all used in Amazon ballet drama Étoile.

Étoile came from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino and followed the the dancers and artistic staff of two world-renowned ballet companies in New York and Paris as they embark on an ambitious gambit to save their storied institutions by swapping their most talented stars.

It starred Luke Kirby, Lou de Laâge, Gideon Glick, Charlotte Gainsbourg, David Alvarez, Ivan du Pontavice, Taïs Vinolo, David Haig, LaMay Zhang and Simon Callow.

The series may have been canceled after one season but there’s still a good chance it secures at least one Emmy nomination, most likely for music supervisor Robin Urdang, a TV Academy favorite, having been nominated for her work on Maisel five times and winning on three occasions. Urdang has also worked on series such as Tracker, Cross and The Equalizer as well as movies including Challengers and Queer.

Urdang worked closely with choreographer Marguerite Derricks on Étoile, which simultaneously shot the first four episodes across two continents without a pilot. “We had no idea what the sound of the show was going to be,” she said.

The Palladinos are musical people so it’s not a huge surprise that the soundtrack is packed with an incredibly broad array of music from modern day pop songs, classic rock ‘n’ roll and orchestral pieces.

WHAT WAS THE FIRST SONG YOU GOT FOR ‘ÉTOILE’?

Many of the songs were discovered during pre-production or even during filming, often because they were used for choreography or because Amy and Dan wanted to shoot a scene to a particular song to establish rhythm and pacing — something they do often. I believe it may have been “Taiko Stomp” [by Christophe Zurfluh] that I sent to our choreographer, Marguerite Derricks, to consider for one of Tobias’ choreography scenes. That track is also used as a source cue in an earlier episode, as score as the dancers are getting ready for their classes. 

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SONG IN ‘ÉTOILE?‘

“Optimist” by Zoë Keating which is used multiple times throughout the series and plays a key role in helping to shape the sonic identity of Tobias Bell, portrayed by Gideon Glick. Tobias is a quirky, eccentric and immensely talented choreographer, always wearing headphones. He’s sent to Paris as part of the company swap between the New York and Paris ballet companies, and his music needed to reflect both his unique personality and his artistic journey.

The song captured the essence of how he choreographs — layered, emotional, and unexpected. The song became the foundation for the additional music created for his choreography sequences.

THE MOST UNEXPECTED CUE IN ‘ÉTOILE?‘

“Big in Japan” by Tom Waits underscores a raw, emotional moment for Cheyenne. In a burst of intensity, she runs into an empty classroom and uses dance as a release, channeling her emotions through movement to the gritty, offbeat rhythm of the song. The track’s unconventional energy mirrors Cheyenne’s inner turmoil and rebellious spirit in that moment.

THE HARDEST SONG TO LICENSE FOR ‘ÉTOILE?‘

Ironically, none of the songs were especially hard to license — but the one that took the longest was a French track I found: “La Javanaise” performed by Iggy Pop, originally written by Serge Gainsbourg. Charlotte [Gainsbourg] was happy we were using it and gave us her blessing early on. But even with her approval, it took forever to get a response from the French publishing company. Eventually, I reached out to Charlotte again through her assistant, and with her help, the approval came through almost immediately.

FAVORITE SONG IN ‘ÉTOILE?‘

“Cosmic Dancer” by T. Rex appears in Episode 103 and scores a pivotal, emotional montage. The song plays as Jack reflects on everything unfolding in his world — a moment of quiet contemplation and inner reckoning. The sequence culminates in a beautiful scene where he gives a young, talented girl — seen up late at night, secretly teaching herself to dance — permission to join the company. It’s a deeply moving moment, and the track continues through the end credits, carrying the emotion forward.

Episode 1
Heart Of Glass (Remix) – Blondie
Gimme Love (Sentinel Remix) – Sai
Sinfonia in C Major: IV. Vivace – Evergreen Symphony Orchestra & Gernot Schmalfuss
Hot In It – Tiësto & Charli xcx
Nights Are For Love – Sons of Raphael
Tico Tico – Charlie Parker
Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64, Act I, Scene 2: No. 21, Dance of Love – Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Kitayenko, Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Big in Japan – Tom Waits
Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64, Act 1: XVIII. Gavotte – Gewandhausorchester & Kurt Masur
Lie – BTS
At Dawn I Look For You – Sons of Raphael
Love Is All Around – Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Episode 2
Cherry Bomb – The Runaways
Tut tut tut tut – Gillian Hills
By This River – Brian Eno
Nights Are For Love – Sons of Raphael
La Javanaise – Iggy Pop

Episode 3
Nights Are For Love – Sons of Raphael
Cosmic Dancer – T. Rex
Elle Me Dit – MIKA

Episode 4
Heal tomorrow (feat. Izia) – Naive New Beaters
Athalie – Incidental music to Racine’s play, Op. 74: II. War March of the Priests – Vienna Philharmonic & Christoph von Dohnányi
Orfeo ed Euridice (Orphée et Eurydice) – Sung in French/Original Paris version for tenor (1774) / Act 2: Air de Furies – Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid & Jesús López Cobos
Growing Pressure – Gabriel Saban
La Bayadere, Act II: 33. Wedding Variation – Gamzatti – Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, Kevin Galiè
Optimist – Zoë Keating
Swan Lake, Op. 20 : Act III: Allegro moderato: Women’s Variation – Sofia National Opera Orchestra & Boris Spassov

Episode 5
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Ballet, Op. 71, Act II, Scene 12: “Danza Rusa Trepak” – Orquesta Filarmónica De Viena & Knud Anderson
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op. 71, TH 14, Act I Tableau 1 (Arr. for Piano): Grandfather Dance – Stewart Goodyear
Ou Est Ma Tete? – Pink Martini
Once In a Lifetime – Talking Heads

Episode 6
Trio-Flo’ – 2 Piece & A Biscuit

Episode 7
Dance to the Music – Sly & The Family Stone
The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition) – Rob Zombie
Torn – Nathan Lanier
Sylvia (Complete Ballet): Act I: Les Chasseresses (Fanfare) – Andrew Mogrelia & Razumovsky Symphony Orchestra

Episode 8
Tried to Be a Man – Rickie Lee Jones
Les Yeux Noirs (feat. The Vignes Rooftop Revival) – Pomplamoose
Poison Rouge – Saint Privat
Sunday Mondays – Vanessa Paradis
Les Champs-Elysées (feat. John Schroeder) – Pomplamoose
Digital Love – Pomplamoose
I Married Myself – Sparks
Mr. Blue Sky – Pomplamoose