Beyonce was simply glowing during a special appearance on Good Morning America on Thursday. The 23-time Grammy-winner, 38, who spoke from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, shared an exclusive look at her new visual album Black Is King. The musical film will make its debut on Disney+ on July 31.
EXCLUSIVE: A special message from @Beyonce with never-before-seen footage from #BlackIsKing! The visual album streams TOMORROW exclusively on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/tPFC9gGY9o
— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 30, 2020
“‘Black Is King’ is finally here. I’m so excited that you guys get to watch it tonight on Disney+. It’s been a year in the making,” the mother-of-three said, explaining, “I worked with a diverse group of very gifted directors, actors and creatives from all over the world to reimagine the story of The Lion King.” Beyonce’s star-studded list of collaborators includes: husband Jay-Z, her mom Tina Knowles-Lawson, former Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland, Pharrell Williams, Lupita Nyong’o, Naomi Campbell, and models Aweng Ade-Chuol and Adut Akech.
“The narrative story unfolds through music videos, fashion, dance, beautiful natural settings and raw, new talent,” Beyonce said before she revealed that Black Is King was filmed all over the world. “But it all started in my backyard. So, from my house to Johannesburg, to Ghana, to London, to Belgium, to the Grand Canyons. It was truly a journey to bring this film to life,” she said.
With Black Is King, Beyonce hopes fans will walk away more educated on Black culture. “And my hope for his film is that it shifts the global perception of the word ‘Black,’ which has always meant inspiration and love and strength and beauty to me. But Black Is King means Black is regal and rich in history, in purpose and in lineage,” she said, adding, “I hope y’all love it, I hope you enjoy it and I hope y’all see it tonight.”
The visual album will tell the story of “a young king’s transcendent journey through betrayal, love and self-identity,” according to a press release. With the help from his father and his ancestors, the king is guided toward his destiny and “earns the virtues needed to reclaim his home and throne,” GMA said. It is being described as “a celebratory memoir for the world on the Black experience.”
In June, Beyonce previously revealed that she feels the events of 2020 — the death of George Floyd and the continued fight for social justice — “have made the film’s vision and message even more relevant.”
“We are all in search of safety and light. Many of us want change,” she wrote in a post on Instagram. “I believe that when Black people tell our own stories, we can shift the axis of the world and tell our REAL history of generational wealth and richness of soul that are not told in our history books.” She continued, “With this visual album, I wanted to present elements of Black history and African tradition, with a modern twist and a universal message, and what it truly means to find your self-identity and build a legacy.”
Black Is King arrives almost one year after the release of The Lion King, which starred Bey. More recently, the singer dropped a surprise track on Juneteenth — “Black Parade,” which was co-written by her husband Jay-Z.