Halle Bailey has released a new rendition of the The Little Mermaid classic “Part of Your World.”
The melody is one of the most well-known from the original animated version of The Little Mermaid, with Ariel eagerly imagining life on land and attempting to learn human vocabulary.
Bailey’s powerful vocal performance over a lush orchestral orchestration makes the new recording feel like a fitting tribute to the original, performed by Jodi Benson.
The soundtrack for the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid will feature new recordings of a number of tunes composed by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman for the 1989 animated film.
Menken also collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda to compose four new songs for the film (three will be featured in the film, while the fourth will be a DVD extra).
Next month, Bailey will play Ariel in the live-action Little Mermaid adaptation.
Additionally, the lyrics of several iconic Little Mermaid songs were updated to make them more appropriate for the year 2023.
Menken recently told Vanity Fair that “Kiss the Girl” was altered to make Prince Eric and Ariel’s romantic encounter less one-sided. Ursula’s big number, “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” was also altered due to lines that could make young females feel they shouldn’t speak out of turn, despite the fact that Ursula is manipulating Ariel to give up her voice, according to Menken.
The Little Mermaid, directed by Rob Marshall, will eventually be released in theaters on May 26 next month.
Jonah Hauer-King as Eric, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Awkwafina as Scuttle, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina (Eric’s mother and a new character for the film) round out the cast.
