Hailee Steinfeld Covers The Cars' "Magic" for Disney's Hexed

Hailee Steinfeld has released a cover of "Magic," the song The Cars first put out in 1984, for Disney's animated film Hexed. Billboard reported that the new version came out on Oct. 23, about a month before the film opens in cinemas on Nov. 25.

The track is released under Walt Disney Records. The original song is credited to Ric Ocasek, The Cars' frontman, as both composer and lyricist. YouTube upload of the single lists the release under the Disney label.

Steinfeld voices the lead character, Billie Doe. In the film, Billie discovers magical powers she did not know she had, and she travels from ordinary suburbia into a witch realm called Hexe. The voice cast also includes Rashida Jones, Jodie Foster, Walton Goggins, Tracey Ullman and Stephen Fry.

The original "Magic" reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, the US singles chart that ranks songs by radio airplay, streaming and sales. The Cars had four other top 10 hits on that chart: "Drive" at No. 3, "Shake It Up" at No. 4, and "You Might Think" and "Tonight She Comes", both at No. 7.

Steinfeld has five entries on the Hot 100 so far. Her biggest is "Starving," her 2016 collaboration with Grey and Zedd, which also peaked at No. 12. She recorded the song "Dangerous" for the film Sinners.

A full Hexed soundtrack is due on Nov. 20, according to IMDb's news page, which gives the release as the date for the complete album.

For readers coming to the song from the film, the cover sits in a long line of older hits reworked for movie soundtracks. For those who know the 1984 version, the Hot 100 history above is the clearest public record of how far the original travelled on the charts. Both versions are now available to stream, and the film arrives in cinemas on Nov. 25.