Beyoncé, who voices Nala in Disney’s upcoming remake of The Lion King, has unveiled the music video for ‘Spirit’, the first single off accompanying album ‘The Lion King: The Gift’.
The striking clip features scenes from the movie and shots of Bey rocking colourful and extravagant outfits against picturesque desert landscapes. Her daughter, Blue Ivy, also makes a brief appearance in the video. According to USA Today, parts of the music video was shot at Havasu Falls in Arizona. You can watch it below.
The clip premiered during ABC’s one-hour primetime special The Lion King: Can You Feel the Love Tonight with Robin Roberts. In an interview segment, Beyoncé described her new album as a “love letter to Africa”.
“I wanted to make sure we found the best talent from Africa, and not just use some of the sounds and did my interpretation of it,” she explained. The pop star also called the album an “authentic” showcase of the region’s beautiful sounds mixed with “some of the producers from America”.
She said: “We’ve kinda created our own genre. And I feel like the soundtrack becomes visual in your mind. It’s a soundscape. It’s more than just the music because each song tells the story of the film.”
‘The Lion King: The Gift’ is executive produced by Beyoncé. It features 14 tracks, including ‘Spirit’ and several new original songs from the pop singer. The song titled ‘Brown Skin Girl’, features Bey alongside Blue Ivy. Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Childish Gambino, Tierra Whack, Pharrell and more also contribute.
The album is out this Friday (July 19), the same day Disney’s The Lion King remake hits theatres. Check out the full tracklist and album artwork below.
The tracklist for ‘The Lion King: The Gift’:
- ‘Bigger’ by Beyoncé
- ‘Find Your Way Back (Circle of Life)’ by Beyoncé
- ‘Don’t Jealous Me’ by Tekno, Yemi Alade and Mr. Eazi
- ‘Ja Ara E’ by Burna Boy
- ‘The Nile’ by Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar
- ‘Mood 4 Eva’ by Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Childish Gambino
- ‘Water’ by Beyoncé, Salatiel and Pharrell
- ‘Brown Skin Girl’ by Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter, SAINt JHN and WizKid
- ‘Keys to the Kingdom’ by Tiwa Savage and Mr. Eazi
- ‘Otherside’ by Beyoncé
- ‘Already’ by Beyoncé and Shatta Wale
- ‘My Power’ by Beyoncé, Tierra Whack, Busiswa, Yemi Alade and Moonchild Sanelly
- ‘Scar’ by 070 Shake and Jessie Reyez
- ‘Spirit’ by Beyoncé
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz_-D6Sn6L2/
In addition to ‘The Lion King: The Gift’, Beyoncé will also appear on the film’s official soundtrack, duetting with Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino), the voice of Simba, on ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’. You can check out a snippet of the song in a new trailer.