Last night Disney and Beyoncé fans were surprised with a new single sung by the icon. The song is called “Spirit” and comes from The Lion King: The Gift album. Shortly after the film’s world premiere, the song was released. Queen Bey who plays “Nala” produced the album and shared her thoughts on the process of curating the project: “This is a new experience of storytelling. I wanted to do more than find a collection of songs that were inspired by the film. It is a mixture of genres and collaboration that isn’t one sound. It is influenced by everything from R&B, pop, hip-hop, and Afro Beat.”

Director Jon Favreau expressed the hard work put into the production of the songs: “It’s a privilege to be counted among these actors. And then the music – there was such a rich tradition surrounding the songs that Hans Zimmer and Elton John and Tim Rice, and now Pharrell, worked on. It’s also nice to have actors who are both the performers and the singers. You have Beyoncé and Donald, they present something totally new and exciting. These are real musicians bringing their real voices to this.”

Other stars such as James Earl Jones, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Keegan- Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Eric Andre, and John Oliver will be joining Beyoncé and Donald Glover in the cast of the upcoming film.

Next week the live-action Lion King reboot will be out in theaters! Check out the trailer if you haven’t seen it.

Written by Gayla Bridges