Daniel Johns Pens Qantas Jingle

Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns has released his first new music in a very long time, but it's not quite what his fans will be expecting. The new song, Atlas, is being used by Qantas as the jingle to replace the iconic Peter Allen song I Still Call Australia Home, which has been used by the airline since 1998 and a major part of their marketing campaign for a number of years.

The news came as Qantas launched their new television advertisement, part of a larger marketing campaign that sees them look to better main rival Virgin Australia. The song features Johns backed by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

This is the first time Johns has penned a commercial piece of music and said that the idea of representing Australia through song was what really appealed to him about the project.

“I wanted it to sound big, something special,” he said in a statement released by Qantas today. “It was a conscious effort to create a good piece of music and not just a jingle. I've also wanted to work with the Australian Chamber Orchestra for a long time now so it was great to finally be able to do that.”

It will be interesting to hear Silverchair fans' response to the advertisement and Johns' first foray into the world of commercial songwriting, his followers are notoriously dedicated.

So, what do you think?