What Is Glen Powell's Serenity Song In Anyone But You?
In "Anyone But You," audiences eventually learn that Ben — Glen Powell's leading man — has a "serenity song." So what is the song in question, and what the heck is a "serenity song" in the first place?
Will Gluck's charming romantic comedy — a spin on William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," which stars Powell and Sydney Sweeney — kicks off with an enemies-to-lovers relationship between Powell's Ben and Sweeney's Bea. (The two actually had a meet-cute years before the movie's main narrative takes place, but it ended badly thanks to a senseless miscommunication.) When the two end up flying to Australia together for a wedding they both have to attend, Bea overhears Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" playing on Ben's noise-canceling headphones while he snoozes on the plane; later, the two end up floating in Sydney's harbor after falling from a moving boat. While being rescued by a helicopter, Ben gets incredibly nervous and explains to Bea that "Unwritten" is his "serenity song," and both start singing it to help him calm down.
"Unwritten" is a perfect choice for this romantic comedy — amusingly, Gluck used one of Bedingfield's other hits "Pocketful of Sunshine" as a recurring gag in his delightful Emma Stone vehicle "Easy A" in 2010 — and it's a super-funny left-field choice for Ben's comfort song in "Anyone But You." An added bonus? There's a little treat involving the song at the very end of the movie.
Unwritten also played during Anyone But You's amazing closing credits
Naturally, Bea and Ben overcome their past miscommunications and admit their love for each other at the end of the film. Ben even braves his fear of heights to hop on a helicopter to the Sydney Opera House during the film's big climax — and while they're dancing together at the wedding, Ben, Bea, and the audience hear the plucky opening notes of Natasha Bedingfield's beloved song. The two start singing it together ... just before every person at the reception joins them. "How do you know my serenity song?" Ben demands. "How do they know my serenity song?!"
From there, various supporting cast members — as well as Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney, of course — sing the song in various outtakes over the original track, revisiting moments from several different points in "Anyone But You" that now feature everyone goofing around and belting out a song about how one's future is still, well, unwritten. (Some of the performers take deliriously huge swings, like rom-com veteran Dermot Mulroney, who performs the song underwater.) It's entirely charming and an excellent touch from writer-director Will Gluck. Just try to watch this fun montage without cracking a smile. You probably can't.
Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell performed the serenity song live at an awards show
Anyone who paid even a little bit of attention during the press tour for "Anyone But You" knows that Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell have incredible chemistry outside of the movie itself, and after the movie became a huge box-office hit, the two stars kept the PR party going and appeared at the 2024 People's Choice Awards. The whole bit was that when the two got up to present, Powell admits that he's actually really nervous: "Yeah, it's just a ... a lot of people here."
"Do you need me to do that thing that calms you down?" Sweeney asks, before starting to sing "Unwritten" with the help of some audience members (while a handful were really psyched about this move, others looked extraordinarily confused). Powell then says the "serenity song won't help," but luckily Natasha Bedingfield sweeps in pretty quickly to save the day, arriving to sing the chorus live. Awards show bits can range from cringe-inducing to actually funny depending on the overall vibe, and this one has a rocky start ... but Bedingfield saved it in the end.
"Anyone But You" is in theaters now.