Niall Horan Surprises Ella Bright on Off Campus with Duet

Prime Video’s hit series Off Campus has expanded its musical footprint as Island Records released Off Campus: The Mixtape (Extra Credit Edition). The expanded soundtrack features a surprise duet between Niall Horan and star Ella Bright on Baby Now That I Found You, alongside viral hits from the series.

Niall Horan Surprises Ella Bright With a New Duet

Secrets are an essential part of the hit coming-of-age romance series Off Campus, and the team behind the music kept Ella Bright in the dark until the right moment. Bright, who plays classical music major and songwriter Hannah Wells in the Prime Video adaptation of Elle Kennedy’s bestselling book series, recorded her live reaction when Island Records handed her a phone to watch a video message from Niall Horan.

The team behind the project left Ella Bright in the dark until the perfect moment came to reveal their own surprise twist: Niall Horan recorded vocals to turn her cover of the Foundations’ Baby Now That I Found You into an endearing duet. In the clip, Bright sits at a table and is handed a phone. After pressing play on a video, she looks shocked to see Horan onscreen. You don’t know this yet, but you’re about to listen to our version of ‘Baby Now That I Found You,’ he tells her.

Niall Horan – Steal My Girl (One Direction cover) (Live at Capital's Summertime Ball 2026)

The updated track turns Bright’s stripped-down cover of The Foundations’ 1968 hit into an endearing duet featuring Horan’s added vocals. Upon listening to the playback, Bright immediately compared the collaboration to Horan’s debut solo single “This Town,” calling it her favorite song. Oh my god, this is so wild, she gushes. Oh my god, that’s beautiful! I’m obsessed. Bright also compared the surprise duet to Horan’s 2016 Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hit “This Town” — That’s, like, my favorite song — before taking a moment to fangirl. I’ve got a song with Niall Horan, she cheers. That’s actually wild.

Author Elle Kennedy praised the actress’s contribution to the series, telling Rolling Stone that Bright brings an undeniable joy and dedication to the role of Hannah. Ella is magnetic, author Elle Kennedy told Rolling Stone earlier this year. When you see her, you feel this joy. She’s so talented and she brought Hannah’s dedication to music. In the narrative of the show, music serves as both performance and storytelling material. The original version of Baby Now That I’ve Found You plays a pivotal romantic role when Briar University hockey player Garrett puts it on to help Hannah feel comfortable before they are intimate, and later when Hannah sings the track to him at the hockey rink before they decide to date in earnest.

Expanded Soundtrack Features Suki Waterhouse, The Beaches, and Warrant Revival

The newly arrived Extra Credit Edition tacks six bonus songs onto the original soundtrack. The edition adds six bonus tracks featuring Ella Bright, Niall Horan, Suki Waterhouse, The Beaches, and Carol Ades, alongside music from the show’s original soundtrack. Alongside the Horan collaboration, Suki Waterhouse contributes a cover of Bright’s original track Girl That I Am, while The Beaches take on Keep Pretending, originally performed by the show’s fictional band After Hours. The Beaches take on Keep Pretending, originally credited to the show’s fictional band After Hours. Bright also appears on updated versions of Elton John’s The Bitch Is Back and Warrant’s “Cherry Pie,” alongside a contribution from Carol Ades. Bright also appears on versions of Elton John’s The Bitch Is Back and Warrant’s “Cherry Pie,” and Carol Ades contributes a cover of Bright’s “Page One.”

Niall Horan joins 'Off Campus' star Ella Bright for a duet recording of the Foundations' hit single 'Baby Now That I Found — Photo: rollingstone.com

The original soundtrack includes music from Asha Banks, The Two Lips, Chloe Lilac, Matthew Perryman Jones, Winifred, and Will Linley. It also features Remi Wolf’s “Soup,” a version of Dancing With Myself, and several songs performed by After Hours. Bright, who plays songwriter Hannah Wells in the series, sings original material written by songwriters including Amy Allen and Ethan Gruska. Music supervisors Amanda Krieg Thomas and Anna Romanoff worked with executive music producer Alana Da Fonseca and series creator Louisa Levy on the show’s music. Off Campus is based on Elle Kennedy’s bestselling book series and was created for television by Levy. Season 1 follows Hannah and Briar University.

The inclusion of Warrant’s glam metal anthem “Cherry Pie” has driven a massive wave of nostalgic chart success. “Cherry Pie” is a quintessential hair metal epic that has gained a new audience after it featured in an iconic episode of Off Campus, a hockey romance series that took Prime Video viewers by storm. After Bright performed the track during a karaoke scene following the show’s Prime Video premiere, fans flooded streaming platforms with requests for an official studio version. Since the premiere on May 13, 2026, fans have been begging for an official release of Bright’s cover, and a month later, Island Records delivered, releasing the song onto streaming platforms on July 10, 2026.

As well as being a hit among Off Campus fans, Bright’s cover has seen chart success. The song debuted at No. 15 on the iTunes chart and the 19-year-old actress has racked up over 3.5 million monthly streams on Spotify. Bright also got the seal of approval from the OGs themselves, with Warrant sharing their thoughts on Cherry Pie’s revival.

I'm glad that the producers and the actors and writers are having fun with it. It's awesome that they're not scared to get a little edgy, push the boundaries, and it's working, guitarist Erik Turner told TODAY Australia, explaining that he didn’t know that the song would be featured in the show. It's great entertainment. Everybody's having fun with it. We're…

One Direction Fandom and Musical Easter Eggs in the Series

Ahead of the show’s debut, Prime Video shared an official character playlist for Hannah tied to the shows release in May. Among the long list of songs were cuts from Olivia Rodrigo, the 1975, SZA, and of course, One Direction. “Steal My Girl” and Where Do Broken Hearts Go from the band’s fourth studio album Four both appear on the playlist. Music is everything to Hannah, and these songs helped me find and understand her voice, Bright shared in the playlist description. In the series, One Direction is something of a recurring minor character. In one episode, Josh Heuston’s character performs.