If Beyonce, 37, didn’t already have you in the “Spirit” with her latest single, her new video, which features an incredible cameo by Blue Ivy, is sure to win you over. The songstress shared the official video for her hit from the Lion King soundtrack on July 16, after first debuting it on ABC. This was not your run of the mill Beyonce video though! In the clip, Bey headed to the Grand Canyon and enlisted the help of a powerful chorus, as well as her daughter, to mirror the majestic nature shots of Kenya from the Lion King. Beyonce changed into a variety of ethereal pieces — a majestic ruffled gown and a feathered blue jumpsuit, just to name a few — as she belted out her soul. Breathtaking would be an understatement.
The song is just one of the tracks set to be featured on Bey’s new album, The Lion King: The Gift. While Beyonce secretly produced the entire album in full, she had a little help from a few famous friends. The album’s tracklist is set to include her husband Jay-Z, Blue Ivy, and a TON of hip-hop superstars like Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, and more.
The singer gushed about making “Spirit” and her new album when chatting with ABC ahead of the video release. “This soundtrack is a love letter to Africa and 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 told ABC. “I wanted it to be authentic to what is beautiful about the music in Africa,” she said, adding that they used “a lot” of drums and “incredible new sounds mixed with some of the producers from America,” she said.
As HollywoodLife previously reported, “Beyonce is proud and overjoyed for The Lion King to come out and she just loves her work on her new song ‘Spirit,’” a source close to Beyoncé told us EXCLUSIVELY. “She knows that it’s going to be in the discussion for award season and she would be honored and feel very blessed to be nominated and win multiple awards for the song.” The Lion King: The Gift is set to arrive on July 19, the same day the feature film hits theaters.