(Image: PA News Agency)
North East-born singer Jade Thirlwall has teamed up with Hans Zimmer for a new Blue Planet III song.
The former Little Mix star, from South Shields, worked with the Oscar-winning composer on Into the Deep (Seas Cry), written for the new BBC series.
Sir David Attenborough will narrate Blue Planet III, which is expected this autumn, 25 years after the first series.
The song features in the series’ first-look trailer, released on October 6. Its launch was marked by a takeover of London’s Piccadilly Lights.
Thirlwall spoke about the project on Radio 1 with Greg James, calling her work with Zimmer a “real privilege."
A listener dubbed her “Geordie Moana” after Thirlwall said her North East accent could be heard in the recording.
In a video shared on social media, Thirlwall said the track was among her favourite career projects so far.
Thirlwall said: “It is so magical, it is so ethereal.
"It's theatrical and dramatic.
"Hopefully you listen to it and you think it goes perfectly with the show.”
The launch won praise for Thirlwall’s vocals and Zimmer’s orchestral arrangement.
One commenter wrote: "This may be one of THE most beautiful compositions I have ever listened to - tears, goosebumps, heart flutters.
"It’s Enya-esque with a touch of The Snowman in its rise and fall. Yet so very original Jade."
Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon called the song “beautiful”, while former Little Mix bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock described it as “stunning”.
Listeners welcomed the South Shields singer’s accent popping up throughout the song, with her quickly embracing nicknames including “Geordie Moana” and “Geordie princess” online.
Thirlwall won a BRIT Award with Little Mix and has also been nominated for the Mercury Prize.
The trailer and song have unveiled the collaboration ahead of the series’ expected autumn release, but the BBC has yet to announce a broadcast date.
Blue Planet III has been nearly four years in the making, with Zimmer and Bleeding Fingers Music providing the series’ original score.