Jhené Aiko returns with her uplifting song “Lead the Way.”
The record serves as the opener of Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon soundtrack, which hit all major streaming services on Friday. The album features an original score by Oscar-nominated composer James Newton Howard, who has contributed to films like The Dark Knight, The Last Airbender, The Hunger Games, and Detroit.
Aiko—a self-described “Disney kid”—spoke about her involvement with the film during a recent interview on Apple Music, saying she was immediately drawn to the film’s title.
“The number one thing was I heard dragon, and I love dragons. I have a big dragon tattoo on my back,” she said, as reported by Urban Islandz. “I was born in ’88, which is the year of the dragon. And I just think it’s a beautiful, mystical creature that is just so many things, symbolizes so many things for me, personally. I’ve always had this little fantasy of being a Disney princess, voicing one, or like being the character. And so this was the closest that I’ve gotten, so I was pretty excited.”
You can listen to “Lead the Way” via YouTube above or Spotify below.
Billboardreports the song will receive an official video from Carlos López Estrada, one of the Raya and the Last Dragon directors. The visual is expected to arrive next month.
Raya and the Last Dragon will premiere on March 5 at select U.S theaters and via the Disney+ platiform with Premier Access.
Following the release of the song, it was announced that Jhené Aiko would be hosting the 2021 Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony, which is set to take place at 3 p.m. ET on March 14. A number of artists are scheduled to perform, including Burna Boy, Poppy, Rufus Wainwright, and more. The event will be livestreamed at Grammy.com.
