Music is just as big of a driving force in the plot of Netflix’s Purple Hearts as the movie's romance. Following the unconventional love story of musician Cassie and soldier Luke, Purple Hearts sets audiences up to expect plenty of musical numbers to support the love, struggles, and heartbreak onscreen. Luckily, the movie’s soundtrack includes plenty of memorable songs to underscore its most important moments.
Purple Hearts perfectly marries covers of iconic rock songs with original compositions into one cohesive soundtrack. The story follows the budding romance between Cassie and Luke, who ostensibly marry solely for Luke's military benefits before inevitably falling in love.
The entire soundtrack is performed by Sofia Carson, who is no stranger to performing music for her films, given her contributions to the soundtracks of the Descendents movie franchise). Sofia plays Cassie in the movie, which makes her role feel that much more intimate and memorable. Here is a guide to every song in Purple Hearts and where it appears in the movie.
"Sweet Caroline" by Sofia Carson: Cassie performs a live cover of the classic Neil Diamond song “Sweet Caroline” early in the movie at the bar she works at on the night that she first meets Luke.
"Feel It Still" by Sofia Carson: Cassie plays a live cover of the Portugal. The Man song “Feel It Still” the night she nearly passes out due to complications from her financial inability to properly manage her diabetes.
"Come Back Home" by Sofia Carson: "Come Back Home" plays multiple times in Purple Hearts. Cassie was inspired to write “Come Back Home” by Luke’s deployment in Iraq. She first performs the song over FaceTime for Luke and his squad while they are in Iraq (at the behest of Chosen Jacobs’ Frankie, who also played Mike Hanlon in the It franchise). She also later performs it live at both Alt Fest and at a smaller venue with her band, The Loyal, after the song goes viral. An instrumental version of the song also plays at the end and end credits scene of Purple Hearts when Luke is being taken to serve his sentence for his and Cassie’s fraudulent marriage.
"I Hate The Way" by Sofia Carson: "I Hate The Way" also appears multiple times in Purple Hearts. It is first heard over a montage of Cassie performing it live and Luke doing PT. Cassie also later plays "I Hate The Way" live at the Whisky A Go Go the night she throws Luke out of the house because his past as a drug addict led to her mother’s house being broken into by his former drug dealer, Johnno.
"Blue Side Of The Sky" by Sofia Carson: Luke plays one of Cassie’s songs, “Blue Side Of The Sky”, for his family while they are at a cookout. It also plays over the Netflix movie's end credits.
"I Didn’t Know" by Sofia Carson: Cassie performs “I Didn’t Know” live in concert near the end of Purple Hearts, where she realizes she really does love Luke. After this performance, she rushes to confess her love to him, and they both agree that their marriage is real after all.