Rapper Lil Yachty Is the Voice of New ‘Saved by the Bell’ Theme Song
For the past year, NBC has been teasing Saved by the Bell fans with news about the reboot.
With many of the original cast members on board to return to Bayside, the revival series is setting out to recapture the same vibe as the first one by combining two different eras. Leaving no stone unturned, the network commissioned a remixed theme song courtesy of rapper Lil Yachty.
‘Saved by the Bell’ kicks off on Peacock
Peacock, NBC’s streaming service, is gearing up to release the first season of Saved by the Bell on Nov. 25. Viewers will get reacquainted with A.C. Slater, Lisa Turtle, Jessie Spano, and Zack and Kelly Morris as adults. Bayside High will introduce a new set of teens, one of whom is the child of Zack and Kelly.
According to Deadline, the sitcom will see Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s Zack as the governor of California who catches flak for shutting down underfunded schools. His solution is to route those students to districts with more resources. It’s Bayside High’s clash of the classes in this modern take on privilege and adolescence.
Tiffani Thiessen reprises her role as Kelly, while Lark Voorhees will appear as Lisa, Mario Lopez as Slater, and Elizabeth Berkley Lauren as Jessie. Dustin Diamond is not part of the cast.
Lil Yachty creates ‘Saved by the Bell’ theme
“By the time I grab my books/And I give myself a look/I’m at the corner just in time to see the bus fly by/It’s alright ’cause I’m saved by the bell…” Remember that?
In the interest of reinvention, the show’s old theme song also received a makeover. Lil Yachty, known for his singing style of bubblegum rap, is behind the revamped version.
The 23-year-old Atlanta native recycled the old lyrics and wrapped up his verse with a sprinkle of auto-tune sounds. Peacock shared a video on its YouTube channel that compares the old and new songs.
The original Saved by the Bell theme was created by Scott Gale, who also produced the show’s soundtrack. He told Great Big Story when he first received a call about the new series, he hung up the phone and came up with the song in two minutes.
The network chose his creation and for the rest of show, requested that all the music be rock. Gale shared that one time, he and his team even wrote a rap song.
Fans react to new theme
Though the YouTube video doesn’t have that many views, early birds who wanted to preview the new theme checked it out.
Many of the comments are critical of Lil Yachty’s re-do, with fans calling it “terrible” or “garbage.” One person wrote, “Why not just use the old theme song or an updated version of it that sounds similar? The new one is trash.”
Another added, “They could have tried to make an updated rock version. But the new one sounds cornyyyy.” Others shared this sentinment: “Why is it so terrible?”
Currently, audiences can stream old Saved by the Bell episodes on Peacock for free to catch up before the reboot drops on Nov. 25.
