The new and updatedTheLittle Mermaidsongs have arrived.
Halle Bailey’s Ariel also gets a new tune, “For the First Time,” and Prince Eric actor Jonah Hauer-King belts the song “Wild Uncharted Waters.”
Bailey, 23,toldEntertainment Weeklylast month, “I couldn’t believe that [Ariel] only sang ‘Part of Your World’ in the original, as well as the reprise. But it’s cool ‘cause she’s singing more throughout this version. I think audiences can expect the new music from this film to be very upbeat, very fun, very lighthearted, as well as very emotional.”
Some of the classicsongs also got subtle lyric changesto reflect modern times. Composer Alan Menken — who wrote the music for the originalLittle Mermaidfilm — previously revealed he updated lyrics to “Kiss the Girl” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls” in the live-action film.
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Director Rob Marshalltold Deadlinethis week why they added an extra song for Ariel in the new version.
“Ariel had one song, and we had to hear more from her, even though she loses her voice to become a human,” he said. “We came up with this idea: what is she feeling when she first comes on land? And so John DeLuca and myself and David Magee came up with this idea for a song called ‘For the First Time,’ which allowed for a full montage of her experiences on land. We found a song for Scuttlebutt, written for Awkwafina, who’s really funny and also a wonderful rap artist too.”
Halle Bailey inThe Little Mermaid(2023).Disney
About Prince Eric’s song, Marshall said, “We found out [Hauer-King] could sing. He was new to that, but approached it not from a technical standpoint of here are my big notes I’ll hit, but from the character. He worked and worked to find his way through that, and they wrote a beautiful song, ‘Wild Unchartered Waters,’ which is his ‘Part of Your World.’ "
The Little Mermaidis in theaters May 26.
source: people.com
