Toy Story 4 Releases New Original Song From Chris Stapleton

Just like the first three films in the franchise, Pixar's upcoming Toy Story 4 will have some new music from Academy Award-winning songwriter and composer, Randy Newman. The musician created hits like "You've Got a Friend in Me" and "We Belong Together" over the years and he's jumping back in action with Toy Story 4, writing a couple of new songs and composing the score. While we will need to wait until the film's release to hear all of Newman's work, Pixar did decide to release one of the tracks online a little early.

On Wednesday afternoon, Pixar unveiled the first single for Toy Story 4, "The Ballad of a Lonesome Cowboy." While Newman wrote the song, it's actually performed by country superstar Chris Stapleton. You can check out the entire song in the video above!

This is one of two new songs written by Randy Newman for Toy Story 4, and it tells a story from Woody's perspective. The other track, "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away," is about Bonnie's love for her craft-turned-toy, Forky.

"I have great affection for the films, and it was good to be back in that world again," Newman said. "Important things are happening to people we love. There's plenty of action, but there's a lot of deeper stuff. This picture had a lot of opportunity to do things of some depth emotionally -- but not overdo it."

"To me what has made the Toy Story films hold up over time has been the strength of the stories and the songs and the writing and the characters," Stapleton said. "There's something for people of all ages to enjoy in the world that is Toy Story. It's a tremendous honor to get to sing a Randy Newman song in what is without question one of the most iconic animated franchises in history."

Newman praised the work of the country star on the new track, adding, "Chris Stapleton did a great job on this song."

What do you think of the newest Toy Story song? Are you excited to see the movie? Let us know in the comments!

Toy Story 4 arrives in theaters on June 21st.