Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron is an animated feature from DreamWorks that tells the story of a wild horse that will not be tamed. Sparse in its dialogue, much of the story is told via songs written and sung by me, and arranged by composer Hans Zimmer.
I first came onto the project after producer Jeffrey Katzenberg pursued me. He does not take 'no' for an answer. When I first met him, I said 'Jeffrey, I think you have the wrong guy.' But I was immensely flattered by insistence. He was sure my voice was the right voice, and I'm glad he insisted - because I really learnt a lot on the project.
When writing, I don't approach a song any differently, be it for a studio album or for a soundtrack. The unique thing about working on a film like this, and having the opportunity to work with a composer like Hans, is that I would never come up with some of his ideas.
In Cannes this year, we performed the songs live with cartoon projected behind us, which had never been done before. Hans is not a live performer. Basically, I pushed him into doing it. He was somewhat reluctant, but I'm glad he relented.
Ordinarily I would have played guitar, but I just sang, as I had just broken my hand in a motorcycle accident in London. I called Jeffrey up and said: 'Let me start with the good news...I can sing!'
