Inside The Boys' Profane, Prophetic, Penultimate Musical Number

This nonfiction contains spoilers for The Boys Season 5, Episode 7, which is disposable connected Prime Video now.

Homelander (Antony Starr) is your deity now… oregon astatine least, the recently established Democratic Church of America would precise overmuch similar him to be. As of this week’s penultimate occurrence of Prime Video’s The Boys, titled "The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother's Milk," he’s got the philharmonic fig to beryllium it, if Oh Father (Daveed Diggs) tin get his performers up to velocity connected the show’s latest barn-burner – a profane, prophetic ditty that urges followers of the Supe to “raise him up.”

The amusement has featured aggregate philharmonic numbers before, from Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) and Frenchie’s (Tomer Capone) aged Hollywood creation fig to “I Got Rhythm” successful Season 3, to Season 4’s outrageous Ice Capades-infused “Let’s Put The Christ Back In Christmas.” But it’s inactive a astonishment erstwhile everyone bursts into opus connected the acheronian superhero series; it’s less of a astonishment erstwhile you formed Broadway icon Diggs, who originated the roles of Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson successful Hamilton. Funnily enough, the philharmonic happened because Diggs was formed and not the different mode around.

“I was successful London, I believe, and I saw the announcement that Daveed got formed successful the show, and they didn't adjacent accidental what, they conscionable said, ‘Daveed Diggs has been added to the formed of The Boys for Season 5,” composer Christopher Lennertz told IGN. “I instantly texted [showrunner Eric] Kripke and was like, ‘if he's connected the amusement and we don't person him sing, we each merit what we get. It's a travesty.’”

A fewer hours aboriginal (once helium had woken up aft the 3am PT text), Kripke texted Lennertz back, asking the anxious composer to “give maine a beat.” That beat, it turns out, was respective months later, arsenic Diggs’ casting was announced connected September 24, 2024, the last play of the bid began accumulation connected November 25, 2024, and it wasn’t until they were already midway done accumulation that Kripke broached the taxable with his performer.

“We were a fewer episodes successful already, and Kripke, precise sweetly and astir sheepishly, approached maine with this idea,” Diggs explained to IGN, “and I was precise appreciative of however helium approached due to the fact that surely radical person asked maine to bash philharmonic numbers and different things, and I mostly refuse. But they bash euphony truthful good connected this show.”

Antony Starr arsenic Homelander

Lennertz, meanwhile, was waiting with bated enactment arsenic helium “started hearing, ‘oh, determination mightiness beryllium a changeable astatine it,’ and [Kripke] kept smiling.”

Ultimately, what swayed Diggs was the aforesaid happening that swayed him to articulation The Boys astatine all. “I entered with the mindset, I truly spot what these writers are doing, and I privation to beryllium on for the ride. I privation to bash each the brainsick things they privation to do. So erstwhile they did attack maine with it, I took a time to deliberation astir it, to marque definite that it felt bully to myself. And I was like, ‘Yeah, let's bash this. This is gonna beryllium ace fun.’ And I was right.”

After that, a fewer abbreviated months earlier the seventh occurrence was going into production, Lennertz yet got the publication pages with the uncover of what the contented of the opus would be, and helium couldn’t person been much elated. “Once I work it, I was like, ‘Oh, my god, he's gonna denote Homelander is god. It conscionable couldn't beryllium much perfect.”

“It's each astir hearts and minds. We're trying to get the kids connected board. We got to get everybody connected board."“

“It's each astir hearts and minds,” Diggs added connected the thrust of the philharmonic number. “We're trying to get the kids connected board. We got to get everybody connected board. Everybody has to beryllium dancing. It's got to beryllium the aged ladies and the teenagers and the babies, everybody, we each request to beryllium successful this.”

Once the taxable of the opus was decided, it was clip to really marque the thing, which some Lennertz and Diggs noted was a collaborative effort betwixt the 2 of them arsenic good arsenic showrunner Kripke. “He’s a genius, man,” Lennertz said of moving with Diggs. In fact, Lennertz requested being capable to constitute with Diggs due to the fact that helium knew the histrion needed to execute the fig “in a cadence and bushed helium feels comfy with.” Not lone that, but there’s the tricky quality of Diggs performing the fig not arsenic Diggss, but successful quality arsenic Oh Father, a super-powered preacher utterly devoted to proselytizing the connection of Homelander. The fig itself is besides gospel-inspired, meaning that “even erstwhile they’re speaking, it’s astir similar song.”

With each those thoughts successful the mix, Diggs and Lennertz began breaking down the lyrics. “We were texting couplets backmost and forth,” Lennertz said, with Diggs adding that “Chris was ace collaborative. It was awesome. Ultimately, I didn't person immoderate truly philharmonic oregon textual notes, possibly 1 small substance tweak. But it was truly Chris and his squad and Kripke keeping maine successful the loop.” Once the lyrics were bully to go, the squad brought the accumulation to Kripke. According to Lennertz, helium “wrote a mates of words connected it too. We truly built it successful a mode to effort to marque it consciousness similar it was a singing mentation of what the assemblage had already gotten utilized to [with] Oh Father up until this constituent of the show.”

Just successful lawsuit you’re shaking your caput speechmaking this and saying, “Yeah right, that’s Daveed up there,” well… helium disagrees. The multi-hyphenate explained to Lennertz that he’s “more of a rapper” and does “a batch of modern stuff,” portion the fig itself, per the little from Kripke, was meant to beryllium person to R&B duo Sam & Dave and the legendary James Brown, portion Lennertz besides pitched Otis Redding. Lennertz did admit that “there’s plentifulness of Daveed successful it – each of his attitude, each of his charisma.” But yet the extremity was to transmission Oh Father.

“He came successful to grounds it astatine my workplace present successful LA,” Lennertz said, “and by instrumentality fig two, we're like, ‘I don't know, man, it's beauteous great. If you privation to bash it again, you can, but it's awesome.’ He had that swagger that's portion of his ain personality.”

“The time of doing the vocal recordings was a truly amusive collaborative day,” Diggs added, “figuring retired however to transportation things, and the existent show broadside of it.” It helped that by that point, Diggs had already performed a pseudo-musical fig connected his archetypal time connected the show: the sermon memorializing A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) successful Episode 2 of the season. “I was already good, and that was earlier they asked maine to bash a philharmonic number,” Diggs continued.

While everything with Diggs went swimmingly, Lennertz notes that the opus “was recorded somewhat backwards” from the mode they would usually attack thing similar this. The regular process is to make a demo and past person Diggs instrumentality to decorativeness the song, but due to the fact that of the demanding accumulation docket and constricted clip with the actor, they had to implicit the bushed conception – bass, drums, guitar – first. Then they brought successful Diggs, earlier finishing with brass, strings, and yet the choir. The full happening needed to beryllium finished earlier shooting the number, portion Diggs was connected his mode backmost to Toronto to decorativeness up shooting the season.

“We needed to marque definite that the drum fills lined up, and the gospel choir down him was singing the close inheritance vocals. We astir apt got that done 10 days earlier they changeable it.” From there, the choir memorized the words, choreographer Amy Wright mapped retired the dance, and Lennertz flew retired conscionable successful clip to ticker them movie the sequence. ”I was having a hard clip not giggling excessively loud. I cognize they're shooting and I shouldn't marque immoderate noise, but it's conscionable truthful funny. It was specified a great, large sequence.”

Daveed Diggs arsenic Oh Father

One imaginable situation to the show was the bulky superhero costume Diggs dons arsenic Oh Father, perchance limiting his movement. As Diggs notes, however, his supersuit was “the beneficiary of 5 seasons of R and D connected these costumes. Judging from however everybody other felt each the time, I astir apt had the astir comfy and movable costume retired of anybody's. It's not the most comfortable, but they instrumentality six months astatine slightest to physique these things, and we did truthful galore fittings and they're truthful precise. It gets warm, and singing similar that with each the other value and unit connected it, aft the fortieth take, is harder. But each things considered, it's really a beauteous forgiving suit.”

Perhaps the astir shocking portion of the number, though, is however prescient it is. A large plotline of the play follows Homelander seeing a imaginativeness of Elisabeth Shue’s Madelyn Stillwell arsenic an angel, and subsequently deciding to marque himself into America’s caller god. Then, specified days earlier the plotline debuted successful the season’s 3rd episode, President Trump posted a meme that depicted him as, 1 mightiness argue, a Jesus-like figure.

“It was similar the beingness enactment a metallic platter of gifts connected our play,” Lennertz said laughing, erstwhile asked if helium had immoderate hesitation astir the opus aft this series of existent satellite events. “The full series and opus was done six months earlier the predetermination past year. We changeable astir of it successful May, truthful mode earlier the election. And past it happened. And past beyond that, helium virtually dropped that brainsick meme. And adjacent week, Elisabeth Shue is taking disconnected her apical arsenic an angel and saying you're the chosen one, and it looked conscionable similar [the meme]. It had the agleam lights, and I couldn't judge it.”

"It blows my caput each time however galore things they get right. It's precise scary. It's a small spot sad. But it's besides amazing.”“

“So I'm truly excited to spot what people's reactions to the opus are, due to the fact that it's excessively close, right? I mean, due to the fact that the brainsick happening is [that] Trump doesn't marque these memes, helium reshares them. In the background, each these radical and fans are feeding him things like, ‘Ooh, you should beryllium God. You're truly the chosen one.’ It's conscionable similar Homelander. There's virtually the 1 enactment wherever Eric was like, ‘well, that's the enactment that's got to beryllium successful there.’ And it says, ‘We request a God who's beardown and conscionable and American similar us.’ And past Daveed improvised the salute, and connected the day, I was watching him bash it. I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is truthful perfect.’ But adjacent then, I didn't cognize that it was exactly what's going on, [with Pete] Hegseth virtually talking each time astir however what we're doing is divine. I deliberation our writers country is the caller Simpsons, and it blows my caput each time however galore things they get right. It's precise scary. It's a small spot sad. But it's besides amazing.”

Since the bid finale probably doesn’t extremity with a large opus and creation fig recapping the show, this is apt Lennertz’s last philharmonic fig for The Boys. “It's bittersweet to spell out, certainly, but it is simply a large mode going retired with Daveed Diggs announcing the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ successful a cape and suit with a codpiece, arsenic idiosyncratic who loves to bash satire,” Lennertz said. “I don't cognize if I could deliberation of a amended setup than that. It truly was the pinnacle, [putting] Homelander connected the highest rung, and to bash it with idiosyncratic who is astir apt 1 of the top performers connected Broadway successful the past 20 years. Man, that was a treat. I'll archer you that.”

That said, this isn’t the past you’ll spot – oregon alternatively perceive – from Lennertz successful The Boys’ universe. “I americium coming backmost for Vought Rising,” Lennertz teased astir The Boys prequel series. “[I’m] precise excited. We really started the euphony a small bit. And Eric seems to emotion the songs. So without immoderate spoilers, I anticipation that there's going to beryllium immoderate songs successful the show.”

Perhaps Lennertz, who wrote songs for the extended mentation of Marvel’s Rogers: The Musical that concisely played astatine Disney’s California Adventure taxable park, volition bring immoderate of the “Star Spangled Man” with a program to Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy successful the upcoming series? We’ll person to hold and spot connected that one, but connected the flip side, volition we ever get to spot Diggs execute this episode’s philharmonic fig unrecorded connected stage?

“I don't know!” Diggs said. “I haven't thought astir that until you said it. You won't spot it connected my tour, lone if The Boys is asking maine to bash it.”

So is that confirmation of The Boys: Live On Broadway?

“Yeah, yeah!” Diggs said, laughing, earlier adding, “Eight shows a week is simply a gangly bid for Oh Father.”