LONDON   –   The third season of TV drama Euphoria will not feature music by Labrinth, HBO confirmed on Sunday, after the pop star previously said he was “done” with the industry. The London singer and producer wrote the dramatic, moody score and several songs for the first two series of the popular US teen drama. Last year, HBO, which broadcasts Euphoria, announced that he would be part of the returning show, this time joined by fellow composer Hans Zimmer. But in March, Labrinth distanced himself from the forthcoming chapter in a strongly worded Instagram post which criticised the network and record label Columbia, which releases the soundtrack. Labrinth criticised the show in an expletive-heavy statement, which concluded: “I’m out. Thank you and good night.”  In an update posted on Saturday – ahead of the release of season three in the US on Sunday followed by the UK on Monday – Labrinth explained he will not let people treat him badly. “People will comfortably lie in this industry and still call themselves honest people,” he wrote. “So no cap, I decided to remove whatever music I had in [Euphoria]. I spoke to HBO, as far as I know, we are cool. I left because, last truth, when I work for someone, their vision is paramount to me. But I don’t let people treat me like [expletive]”. HBO confirmed he was no longer involved in the show but did not elaborate on the reasons why. BBC News has also approached Labrinth’s representatives and Columbia for a response. Labrinth sang several of his songs from the first two seasons of Euphoria, including Still Don’t Know My Name, while performing at the Coachella music festival in California this weekend. ‘The sound of Euphoria’ His eclectic brand of cinematic-sounding pop music blends R&B, electronic, hip-hop and soul. 

One atmospheric track taken from the show, Never Felt So Alone – a collaboration with Billie Eilish – earned him a Grammy nomination in 2024.

Asked to explain what had happened with Labrinth and Euphoria, the show’s creator and writer Sam Levinson recently told Rolling Stone: “I don’t know.”

He added: “He [Labrinth] is an incredible collaborator and someone who really built the foundation of the sound of Euphoria.”

On adding Oscar-winner Zimmer into the mix, Levinson said: “On Euphoria, each character’s storyline is like its own film in a way. “In general, I was less interested in needle drops and more interested in something that guided us through this world.