'Degrassi: Next Class' Updates The Original Theme

Television shows come, and television shows go. It's the rare few that seem to stick around forever, and most of those seem to be soap operas. So it's truly remarkable for a teen drama to be around, in one form or another, since the '70s. Degrassi is that remarkable show. Its earliest incarnation was 1979's Kids of Degrassi Street. It's been through a bunch of iterations this then, becoming Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High (which we used to watch in health class in high school, since I'm that old), and, after a break, Degrassi: The Next Generation. Now, the show has transformed once again, and Degrassi: Next Class is hitting Netflix on Jan. 15. A new show means changes, and in this case, that means new opening credits for Degrassi.

I know what you're thinking, and, yes, it would have been awesome, but, no, it didn't happen. We all were hoping that Drake, Degrassi Community School's most famous alum, would return to record the theme. But the chances of that happening were like the chances of winning the billion-dollar Powerball, aka it was impossible. And, obviously, it didn't happen. Check out the new opening credits below, and be sure to listen to the song playing over them.

The opening credits for Degrassi: Next Class mark a big change for the series. This is the first time in a while that it hasn't followed the students as they go about their normal activities in the halls of the school. "For the first 10 seasons, we did credits that were little vignettes of characters," Executive Producer Stephen Stohn told TV Insider. "We won't necessarily be doing that, but we will be doing something that is very reflective of Generation Z and how tuned-in they are to technology."

Still, no matter how radically different the opening sequence looks, the lyrics are the same. I don't know what I'd do if Degrassi ever changed the words to its opening. The show needs that "Whatever it takes!" opening to get pumped.

But, even though the words are the same, there's clearly a different tone to the theme song. It's more amped up, more electronic, and sounds less like something a high school chorus would be able to produce. It's unclear to me whether or not Alexz Johnson, former star of Instant Star and vocalist for the theme from the last few seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation, returned to do the vocals on this theme song. I wouldn't be surprised if it was someone new, though. The new theme has less of that charmingly cheesy feel to it, the way Johnson's theme for The Next Generation did.

No matter who sings it, get used to this version of the Degrassi: Next Class theme song. You're going to hear a lot of it as you marathon the season on Netflix this weekend.

Image: Netflix