China's 'Star Trek Beyond' Theme Is Space Travel Synth-Pop

Move over Rihanna! Chinese pop star Zhang Jie released a new Star Trek Beyond theme song just in time for the movie’s China debut, and yeah, it’s space-pop-perfect.

Jie’s new song, “Lost in Stars,” is similar to Rihanna’s promotional hit “Sledgehammer,”; in this case, Paramount Pictures partnered with their Chinese investor Huahua Media to promote the film for Star Trek Beyond in China.

While Rihanna’s “Sledgehammer” felt more like a soaring, sci-fi ballad, accompanied by an equally futuristic music video, “Lost in Stars” has a more synth-pop vibe. The track lays down some funky space beats accompanied by Jie’s R&B inspired melodies. Notably, Jie sings the whole track in English so, presumably English-speaking listeners can enjoy the Chinese pop-sensation for themselves (Jie sometimes goes by Jason Zhang when performing). This seems to have worked, since Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, and Simon Pegg all appeared on stage with Zhang Jie at his concert for the Chinese premier of the film.

Paramount Pictures is pulling out all the stops for the Chinese premiere of Star Trek Beyond. Alongside Jie’s theme song and character poster, an entire episode of the popular Chinese variety show, Happy Camp, will be dedicated to Star Trek Beyond. The show’s host, Xie Na, is an immensely popular local celebrity with over 85 million followers on the country’s domestic social media platform, Weibo. Coincidentally, Xie Na and Zhang Jie are also married, making the whole thing incredibly potent brand synergy.

Zhang’s songs have reportedly been downloaded 11 billion times, making him one of China (and the world’s) biggest artists.