Stan Walker celebrated the release of the Lion King Reo Māori soundtrack by giving fans a powerful glimpse behind-the-scenes while recording 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight' in Te Reo.
"This one is for my tamariki me nga tamariki mokopuna katoa… And for little Stan who went to the pictures with my koko…" Stan captioned an Instagram video of his process in the studio.
"It was the very first movie I had ever seen and still to this day my favourite film ever," he said.
"I never thought in a million years that we would experience this film i roto i te reo māori… Now my kids & our tamariki for generations to come will have this…"
Elton John made a rare exception for our very own Stan to sing the iconic song in Aotearoa's native language - no other version of the Lion King in any other language has been granted permission to re-record it.
"I was privileged enough to have sung 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight'/'Tāiri Te Aroha' by the incredible @eltonjohn over the closing credits," Stan added in his post.
"This has been an actual dream come true. Words can’t explain the emotions I feel being a part of this."
Stan took the time to acknowledge a bunch of the crew behind the movie and the soundtrack, thanking them for "trusting him with this beautiful taoanga of a waiata, kaupapa."
"I feel so blessed to be a part of this… Thank you for making one of my biggest dreams come true," he said.
No doubt the Lion King Reo Māori soundtrack will be iconic - earlier this year the cast and crew performed an acapella version of 'Circle of Life' in Te Reo at the world premiere, and it was spine-tingling to say the least.
You can watch Lion King Reo Māori on Disney+ now.
