Beyoncé is, without question, one of the biggest stars in the world, and she has been for quite some time. She’s won more Grammy awards than any other female singer in the history of the world. However, when it comes to other major awards, Beyoncé hasn’t had quite the same success. While many expected to see her nominated for an Oscar for her song Spirit in the Lion King remake, that did not happen, but now she’ll be taking another shot with a new song in Will Smith’s King Richard.
When Beyoncé does anything we’ve come to expect it to be the best. Her talent is seemingly limitless. She once performed every original song at the Academy Awards, but she’s never been nominated for one. She’ll be in the running for next year’s ceremony, however. Her new song “Be Alive” will be in the movie King Richard, about the lives of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams and the father that pushed them to conquer the sport.
Will Smith recently talked to EW about just how excited he is to have the new Beyoncé song in King Richard. Apparently Beyoncé got to see an early screening of the film, and was so inspired by it that she asked to contribute a song. Smith explains…
The marriage of a movie and a song is a kind of magic that’s unmatched in entertainment. I was so happy when Beyoncé called.
I’m sure when Beyoncé was cast as Nala in the remake of The Lion King, there was a conversation early on about her contributing a new song to the film. Most of the Disney remakes that were also musicals have added at least one new song, and it’s usually one sung by the main character’s love interest, who didn’t get a solo song the first time around. And besides, when you have Beyoncé in your movie, there must be some sort of expectation she will also sing.
But in the case of King Richard there was no expectation that Beyoncé would get involved. It’s possible the reason she was shown an early screening was that there was hope she’d contribute to the project. It’s also possible she just got to see the movie early because she’s Beyoncé. Give a listen to the new song in the trailer below.
I’m SO excited for you to watch the new trailer for #KingRichard starring Will Smith and featuring the song “Be Alive” by @Beyonce. It’s in theaters and streaming exclusively on @HBOMax November 19. pic.twitter.com/pILYvbJsbwOctober 21, 2021
You’ll have to sit through all of King Richard in order to hear Beyoncé’s song, as it will be played over the closing credits, but based on the hype the song is already getting, I can imagine getting people to hang out in the theater for a few extra minutes to hear it won’t be much of a problem. King Richard arrives in theaters and on HBO Max November 19.