Circle of Life

This article is about the Disney song. For other uses, see Circle of Life (disambiguation).

"Circle of Life"
European variant of the standard artwork
Single by Elton John
from the album The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
B-side
Released9 August 1994
Recorded
StudioBOP (Mmabatho, South Africa)[1]
GenreRock
Length4:51
Label
Composer(s)Elton John
Lyricist(s)Tim Rice
Producer(s)Chris Thomas
Elton John singles chronology
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight"
(1994) 		"Circle of Life"
(1994) 		"Believe"
(1995)
Music video
"Elton John - Circle of Life (From "The Lion King"/Official Video)" on YouTube

"Circle of Life"[note 1] is a song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. Composed by English musician Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice,[3] the song was performed by Carmen Twillie (the deep female lead vocals) and Lebo M (opening vocals in Zulu) as the film's opening song.[4] In an interview, Rice said he was amazed at the speed with which John composed: "I gave him the lyrics at the beginning of the session at about two in the afternoon. By half-past three, he'd finished writing and recording a stunning demo."[5] John sang a pop version (with alternative lyrics) of the song with the London Community Gospel Choir, which was included in the film's soundtrack and made into a music video.

"Circle of Life" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1994, along with two other songs from The Lion King: "Hakuna Matata" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight",[6][7] the latter of which won the award.[6] "Circle of Life" was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. The song reached No. 11 in the UK and No. 18 in the US and is featured frequently in attractions based on The Lion King, such as Disney theme parks and parades. Michael Crawford sang it as part of a medley for The Disney Album in 2001.

The song was featured in Disney's 2019 photorealistic computer-animated remake of The Lion King and was used in the first trailer of the film, a near shot-for-shot remake of the opening of the original animated film.[8] This new version of the song was performed by Brown Lindiwe Mkhize, the actress who performed as Rafiki in the stage adaptation of the movie in London from 2005 to 2018.[9] However, the new version also retains the original Zulu opening vocals by Lebo M from the 1994 film.

In the United States, music critics praised the song's structure and its message.

  1. ^ Wilmes, Josh, ed. (24 May 1994). "The Lion King: Film Notes". lionking.org. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  2. ^ Viagas, Robert (ed.). The Playbill Broadway Yearbook: June 2008 – May 2009: Fifth Annual Edition. Hal Leonard Corporation. p.174
  3. ^ Rosenthal 2001, p. 379.
  4. ^ Rosenthal 2001, p. 380.
  5. ^ Walt Disney Company. (1998). The new illustrated treasury of Disney songs (5th ed.). Milwaukee, Wisc.: Hal Leonard. p. 19. ISBN 0-7935-9365-4.
  6. ^ a b Willis 2000, p. 52.
  7. ^ "1994 Academy Awards Nominees and Winners by Category". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  8. ^ Child, Ben (28 November 2018). "Is Disney's remake of The Lion King too nostalgic?". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Disney Reveals the Tracklist For 2019 'The Lion King' Soundtrack". The Source. Retrieved 25 June 2018.


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