
Plenty of TV sitcom theme songs stand the test of time. The singability of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, clap-infused pop of I'll Be There For You from Friends, and nostalgic harmonies of Where Everybody Knows Your Name from Cheers each holds a notable slot in the cultural zeitgeist. It's less common for a drama's theme song to meet the same reception. And that picture is even more complicated when the theme is a wordless instrumental used-in the first moments of the show-to set the scene for dead bodies washing ashore.
Yet composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer's Aloha! and Renaissance, which serve as the theme songs for first and second seasons of The White Lotus, respectively, have reached such success. Each track features a consistent melody with high-pitched instrumentation, a danceable beat, and breathless vocals. Each is also tailored to reflect its season's location-Hawaii in the first and Sicily in the second.
Each season, The White Lotus offers colorful, suspenseful commentary on exploitation, wealth, class, and race with a backdrop of murder and dysfunction set in a fictional luxury resort. The combination of Cristobal's masterful composition, the show's alluring storytelling, and a rabid global fan base has propelled both themes to viral fame and millions of Spotify streams, and raised the profile of their composer.
Fans on the prowl Since its July 2021 release, Aloha! has been streamed most by fans in Warsaw, Berlin, and Paris. The song's popularity only grew in the lead-up to the October 2022 premier of the second season, with fans taking to the internet to share commentary on the song.
One popular fan theory was that its repeated notes created a musical allusion to the Gregorian chant Dies Irae, or The Day of Wrath. In a rare interview with For the Record, Cristobal explained that this is but a coincidence. Those melodies are the result of chanting with voices and finding a melody that works with the sound. For lots of reasons, I ended up with those types of harmonies, but I wasn't specifically inspired by that music or trying to use it intentionally.
Following the debut episode of the second season on October 30, 2022, searches for White Lotus on Spotify increased more than 500%. But to the chagrin of fans, Renaissance wasn't released on Spotify until December 11, the end of the season.
Even so, dedicated fans steadily played Aloha! on Spotify while they waited, and on December 12, streams of Aloha! jumped 200% compared to the month prior. Searches for White Lotus soared to 4,800% compared to two months prior.
Once released, daily streams of Renaissance hit an all-time high on December 13, 2022, with fans in Paris, Oslo, and Berlin leading the charge. And as for Cristobal? The composer saw a 162% lift in his own catalog's daily streams following season two.
Even after the season came to an end, fans continued to circulate the song, using it as the musical background to their viral videos. On February 17, 2023, Dutch DJ Ti sto put out his own remix of Renaissance, which became a favorite among fans in Sydney, New York, and Oslo in particular.
Soundtracking suspense So what went into creating the right soundtrack? Cristobal employed wind instruments to create the whirling bird sounds on Aloha! For the first season, I wasn't trying to make Hawaiian music. It was more about making something about nature kicking the characters in the ass, and the wild stuff coming for the characters, Cristobal explained. To hit his mark, he combined bird calls with tribal chants for an island feel with a spooky tropical depth.
Composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer
The temp score was this loungy, rather soft thing-something that would be playing in a nice luxury cafe when you're on vacation somewhere, he recalled. It was very different from what I came up with. I went with a tribal, rather aggressive screaming, and drums and flutes.
That screaming, which seems to be the best way to describe the vocal sounds, became a driving force behind the song's virality when it came time to adapt it for the second season. Cristobal knew he wanted to match the vibe of the location and utilize disconcerting vocal tones.
The oululus' are the most important thing, said Cristobal, using his tongue heavily to propel the sound from his own mouth. For the second season, I was trying to fit into the Italian and the Sicilian vibe. We spoke about having some renaissance sounds, some harps, mandolin, violin, things that we'd connect with Italian music and opera. I did a demo of some classical Italian music, something operatic, and that's the beginning of the track. From there, I wanted to somehow bring back the sound of the first season, which is these screaming voices that are so recognizable.
He also wanted to evoke a different journey for a new cast of characters.
In the first season, there's a lot of conflict in the music, he said. It feels very stressful and more tense than how it should; it has more dissonance. But this was something calculated. And I think the second season is funnier because things become dark later, towards the end of the show. So the song keeps it more playful, more light and harmonious.
A trip to Thailand Cristobal finds the composing process as tumultuous as life is for the White Lotus patrons at times. I don't do anything particular to get into the zone, he notes. Sometimes people try to have the best conditions-relaxed and with a view-but surprisingly, for me, I like to see the stuff that results from being in a bad situation, a stressful situation, not having the right equipment, or not being in the right place.
For Cristobal, discomfort is more impactful, motivating, and conducive to creativity than pleasure or perfection. When I feel tha
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
20/11/2025
MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: NBC's New Three-Year Deal Covers Sunday Night Bas...
20/11/2025
MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: New Deal Will Bring 30 National Games to ESPN's Li...
20/11/2025
MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: Netflix Lands Opening Night, Home Run Derby, Field of ...
20/11/2025
MLB Media-Rights Shakeup Overview: ESPN, NBCU, Netflix Ink Three-Year DealsESPN gets new 30-game package, MLB.TV; NBC extends Sunday nights; Netflix adds tentpo...
20/11/2025
SVG Students To Watch: Henry Thuss, Indiana UniversityThe Southern California product has his goals set on the front benchBy Brandon Costa, Director of Digital ...
20/11/2025
Done+Dusted's Guy Carrington on Creating the Spectacular League of Legends W...
20/11/2025
FIA Extreme H World Cup Host Broadcaster Aurora Goes Inside the Production of th...
20/11/2025
Platinum White Paper: Amagi Utilizes Cloud Production for Sports Events - Multi-...
20/11/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Marc Herklotz, Steady Hand Behind the Sce...
20/11/2025
NFL Deep Dive: How 32 Cameras at Each Stadium Drive Virtual Measurement, Boundar...
20/11/2025
Charlie Shackleton attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Zodiac K...
20/11/2025
Your playlists are personal. They're the soundtracks to your road trips, your quiet mornings, and your biggest celebrations; collections of memories and dis...
20/11/2025
Spotify, uzun s redir zerine al t T rk m zik k lt r n n ikon haline gelmi ...
20/11/2025
For the first time, Spotify has teamed up with The Hollywood Reporter to cohost ...
20/11/2025
This year's ARIA Awards marked a turning point for Australian music, and Spotify was right at the heart of it. For the first time in the awards' nearly ...
20/11/2025
L3Harris has achieved NSA Cybersecurity Directorate certification for its KSV-650 space hub end cryptographic unit, ensuring secure, adaptable communications fo...
20/11/2025
L3Harris is strengthening its long-term partnership with Poland through the opening of a new facility in Warsaw to serve as a central business hub for regional ...
20/11/2025
15 March 2012
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Cinegy and Vericom are pleased to announce the recent deployment of Cinegy Archive for production and as...
20/11/2025
6 September 2012
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
FIC Turkey supplies media content to Pay TV under Fox TV Channel brands in Turkey.
At the start of s...
20/11/2025
25 June 2014
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Last month VIVA finalized its Cinegy installation in order to produce and broadcast the World Cup Brazil ...
20/11/2025
1 October 2014
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
With 5 locations spread out around Baden-W rttemberg, Schw bisch Media required a scalable end to end s...
20/11/2025
27 April 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Cinegy, which develops and produces media asset management products that are used in flagship production...
20/11/2025
12 August 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 26 October 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...
20/11/2025
5 November 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 3 November 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...
20/11/2025
12 February 2016
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 9 February 2016 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital...
20/11/2025
22 June 2016
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 21 June 2016 - Cinegy today announced that ABS BROADCAST, one of the largest independentl...
20/11/2025
10 January 2017
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Find us on page 12 of the Program Guide 2016
Tags
NewBay Media Awards , Program Guide 2016 , broadc...
20/11/2025
15 March 2017
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 15 March 2017 - Cinegy today announced that Thailand's Next Step direct-to-home Free...
20/11/2025
12 December 2017
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 13 December 2017 - Cinegy today announced that it is making its Cinegy Air Cloud Pack...
20/11/2025
25 June 2018
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich 25th June 2018 - Cinegy today announced that Canada-based Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) has implemen...
20/11/2025
27 May 2019
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
The best quality live video from the worst networks - Haivision
Although DVB and the World Wide Web are...
20/11/2025
24 November 2020
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
ATV Expand and Increase their Playout and Editing Capabilities using Cinegy Software
Munich, Germany...
20/11/2025
1 September 2021
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st September 2021:
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for di...
20/11/2025
20 September 2021
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
ElectronicVerve continues a strong history of supporting Cinegy customers in India
Munich, Germany,...
20/11/2025
1 November 2022
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 01 November 2022: Cinegy, a premier provider of software technology for digital video...
20/11/2025
31 October 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Britt Broadcast at TBC...
20/11/2025
CINCINNATI Oklahoma Community Television (OCT) has selected GatesAir and Triveni Digital as key technology partners in an ATSC 3.0 deployment that establishes a...
20/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has opened a wide-ranging inquiry into the relations between broadcast networks and their affiliates that could...
20/11/2025
NEW YORK Ad spend in the creator economy has more than doubled since 2021 from $13.9B to $29.5B in 2024 and that amount is projected to reach $37 billion in 202...
20/11/2025
Graduate Spotlight: Krysta Mirsik DePuy The educator from Hackettstown, New Jersey, shares how it took her 11 years to find the right graduate program for her...
20/11/2025
LONDON The winners of the Rise Awards 2025, which recognize women and companies whose achievements have stood out in the media technology industry, have been an...
20/11/2025
SANTA MONICA & NEW YORK Lionsgate's Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury have launched MovieSphere Gold in more than 30 million homes....
20/11/2025
ALAMEDA, Calif. Clear-Com has introduced its four-channel HelixNet beltpack, a next-generation advancement of its widely used two-channel model, and anticipates...
20/11/2025
NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J. Streaming technology and services provider Kiswe has launched Kiswe Core, a next-generation cloud-based platform designed to simplify the s...
20/11/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Dolby Laboratories has signed on as an official signature partner of the Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC) for the 2026 Super Bowl and the we...
20/11/2025
STUTTGART, Germany 3 Screen Solutions (3SS) has announced that the Canadian multiservice operator Telus has launched its Telus TV+ entertainment platform on Sam...
20/11/2025
Major League Baseball has announced deals with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix covering 2026-2028 that make ESPN the exclusive distributor for MLB.TV, put regula...
20/11/2025
Berklee Presents Holiday Extravaganza: Duke Ellingtons The Nutcracker Suite and ...
20/11/2025
Dubai, United Arab Emirates [November 20, 2025] Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the ...