One Direction Songwriter Savan Kotecha Gave ‘The Idea Of You’ Songs That Boy Band Touch – Sound & Screen Film

In The Idea of You, Anne Hathaway plays Solene, a single mother who has a romance with singer Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine). Hayes is a member of the fictional boy band August Moon and performs their songs in the film. Songwriter Savan Kotecha, who also wrote “What Makes You Beautiful” for One Direction and “One More Night” for Maroon 5, wrote August Moon songs like he would any real-life recording artist.

“We really wanted it to feel real,” Kotecha said during a panel conversation at Deadline’s Sound & Screen music showcase on Friday. “In the movie, you would have to believe that this band is real. In creating the songs, I didn’t want to write movie songs. I wanted these songs to be competitive.”

It worked. The soundtrack album for the Amazon MGM Studios film has had more than 100 million downloads, and Kotecha revealed that some in the music industry assumed August Moon was real.

“Funny enough, some of the songs started getting radio play,” Kotecha said. “Radio stations were like, ‘We need the band. Where’s the band?”

August Moon did live again. After the release of The Idea of You, the cast recorded one more song that Kotecha wrote.

“There’s a song called “So Cold” that came out after the movie that we recorded for August Moon,” Kotecha said. “It’s an August Moon song. That was put out there for the fans because they were so great with this whole campaign and making the band feel real.”

Kotecha worked with director Michael Showalter in developing the songs and observing the casting process. Galitzine stood out among the other contenders.

“That guy could be a pop star if he wanted to in a day,” Kotecha said. “When I heard Nick’s voice, it was just like hearing any of the big artists I worked with. He has a fantastic tone. Eric Vetro worked with him, this amazing vocal coach that just helped stretch him more. It was just a great tool to paint with.”

Kotecha said “What Makes You Beautiful” was inspired by his wife when they first met. For August Moon, he took inspiration from the story of the film.

“I love this love story in the movie and I love that he was willing to wait for her and go through anything for her and give up his dreams for her,” Kotecha said. “It was really their relationship that inspired it.”

Check back Monday for the panel video.