The Little Mermaid (soundtrack)

## Singles

1. "Part of Your World"
Released: April 26, 2023

***The Little Mermaid (soundtrack)*** is a soundtrack album by the cast of the film of the same name, was released on May 19, 2023, by Walt Disney.

The revamped soundtrack brings back its original composers, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as adding Lin-Manuel Miranda to the mix for four new tracks and a revisit to some of the older song’s lyrics in order to suit modern society. The soundtrack is produced by Alan Menken, Mike Highman and Lin-Manuel Miranda, with the score being produced by Alan Menken and Mike Highman. Rob Marshall, Marc Platt and John DeLuca are the album's executive producers.

## Album History

On March 17, 2017, it was announced that Alan Menken, who previously scored and co-wrote songs for the original film, would return as the film's composer and to write new songs alongside producer Lin-Manuel Miranda. Three months later, Menken stated that his work on the film's music had been put on hold due to Miranda and Marc Platt's schedules with *Mary Poppins Returns*. On May 20, 2019, Menken stated that *The Little Mermaid* would be his next project, following the release of the live-action adaptation of *Aladdin*, and on July 9, he and Miranda started working on new songs for the film. On replacing the original film's lyricist, the late Howard Ashman, Miranda felt that "[he] will definitely fall short" to Ashman's work, arguing that "no one can write like him". On January 16, 2020, Halle Bailey confirmed that the song "Part of Your World", from the original film, will appear in the remake. On February 10, 2020, Miranda revealed that he and Menken wrote four new songs for the film. On February 19, 2021, Menken said that the new songs would be a "blend" of his and Miranda's styles. He elaborated that the songs would feature "some rapping" in the vein of Miranda's previous works, as well as a closer style to his usual work.

On September 22, 2021, Menken sat down with Disney's *For Scores* podcast and confirmed that the film will feature four new songs. He also recalled that Miranda was "*daunted*" by the prospect of following on in the footsteps of the late Howard Ashman, the lyricist who worked with Menken to write the original film's songs. On November 24, 2021, in a recent interview with *Collider*, Miranda talked about his admiration for *The Little Mermaid* and how Ashman and Menken helped shape his childhood. He said:

On January 20, 2022, Halle spoke with *Stylecater*, saying that she was so emotional while filming "Part of Your World". She said:

On February 17, 2022, during a podcast interview with *Variety*, Miranda revealed that one of the new songs for the live-action film will take place when Ariel is on land in her human form. He also revealed that star Daveed Diggs might rap in the film. This was confirmed later on March 31, 2023 by Menken, revealing the title of the new rap song as "The Scuttlebutt". He described it as a "harebrained" song for Scuttle and Sebastian "…trying to figure out what's going on because they hear rumors that the prince has decided to marry. They think it must be Ariel but of course it's Ursula in the form of Vanessa. It's all this delicious imagination. Lin’s lyrics are to die for."

Menken then provided more details on the new songs, revealing that the first of the four that was written during the film's development was a solo for Prince Eric, "Wild Unchartered Waters", resulting from Marshall wanting "…a new song for this moment of waves and all the wildness of what's out there in the ocean…[Ariel] represented that to [Prince Eric]; she being the girl who saved his life. Live action films are really a director's medium." He then revealed that the fourth song did not make the final cut and was supposed to be a new song for King Triton entitled "Impossible Child", as he and the filmmakers felt that it "dramaturgically" was not needed, but did say that the song would be released to the public at a later date, possibly on the film's home media release. Some of the lyrics for "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and "Kiss the Girl" were updated as well, with Menken explaining that for "Kiss the Girl", it was because "people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel]," while that for "Poor Unfortunate Souls", it was because of "…lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn't speak out of turn, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice."

Two songs from the original film were cut: "Daughters of Triton," sung by Ariel's sisters and "Les Poissons," sung by the character of Eric's french cook Chef Louis, who also was cut from the film. Menken explained the reasons for cutting the former, saying that it felt "not needed" given the new approach the filmmakers gave to the sisters, and that they wanted the film to begin "with a much more of a live-action feel of the ocean and meeting Ariel, and then we wait a little bit, make you wait until we get to 'Part of Your World.' And I think that was, you know, it was an amazing choice because it just builds the power and anticipation." On cutting the latter, Marshall explained "It's literally a Saturday morning cartoon section. If we had filmed it – I don’t know how we would've filmed it –- it never would have played. It's also a vacation from the story and has nothing to do with the story, so you can't do that in a live-action film."

The soundtrack album was made available to pre-save and pre-order on March 13, 2023, and was released digitally on May 19, and will be released on CD and vinyl on May 26, 2023, by Walt Disney Records. Bailey's version of "Part of Your World" was released as a digital download single on April 26, 2023, one month before the film's release, as well as the Korean version by Danielle of NewJeans. Bailey performed the song on *American Idol* for its Disney Night special on May 14, 2023.

## Singles

"Part of Your World", performed by Halle, was released as a single on April 26, 2023, a month exactly from the movie’s release. Along with its reprise, it was used as the promotional sound to the film’s trailers and teasers. The song was written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.

## References

1. ↑ Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alan Menken team up for live-action Little Mermaid
2. ↑ Alan Menken Talks Working With Guy Ritchie on Live-Action 'Aladdin,' Progress of 'Little Mermaid'
3. ↑ Disney legend Alan Menken talks about updating Aladdin and the movie he thinks won't get remade
4. ↑ Photo: Lin-Manuel Miranda & Alan Menken Get To Work On A New Song For THE LITTLE MERMAID
5. ↑ Lin-Manuel Miranda on Writing Lyrics for New 'The Little Mermaid': 'I Will Definitely Fall Short'
6. ↑ Halle Bailey Reveals the 1 Thing She Hopes to Bring to Her 'Little Mermaid' Character
7. ↑ Lin Manuel Miranda spills details on 'The Little Mermaid' remake on Oscar's red carpet
8. ↑ LISTEN: Alan Menken Talks THE LITTLE MERMAID, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM Musical, New Upcoming Animated Film, and More!
9. ↑ 'The Little Mermaid' Live-Action Film Will Feature Four New Songs, Alan Menken Reveals on 'For Scores' Podcast
10. ↑ Lin-Manuel Miranda on Writing the Songs in 'Encanto' and Working With One of His Musical Heroes on 'The Little Mermaid'
11. ↑ Halle Bailey Cried the 'Whole Time' Filming This 'Surreal' Song For 'The Little Mermaid'
12. ↑ Lin-Manuel Miranda Defends Not Submitting 'Bruno' for Oscars, Teases New 'Little Mermaid' Songs
13. ↑ Lin-Manuel Miranda Defends Not Submitting 'Bruno' for Oscars, Teases New 'Little Mermaid' Songs
14. ↑ Sebastian Might Rap In Disney's Little Mermaid Live-Action Movie
15. ↑ 'The Little Mermaid's New Original Song Will Celebrate Ariel's First Time on Land
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 How Alan Menken, Disney's Most Prolific Composer, Inspired a Generation of Songwriters
17. ↑ Alan Menken Reveals Details on New LITTLE MERMAID Songs Written With Lin-Manuel Miranda
18. ↑ The Little Mermaid: Alan Menken Explains Why "Daughters of Triton" Song Was Cut (Exclusive)
19. ↑ ‘The Little Mermaid’ Filmmakers Talk the Sea Creature Designs, Bypassing “Les Poissons” and Cutting Javier Bardem’s New Song
20. ↑ 'The Little Mermaid' Soundtrack Gets an Official Release Date
21. ↑ THE LITTLE MERMAID Soundtrack to Be Released in May Featuring New Songs By Lin-Manuel Miranda & Alan Menken
22. ↑ Halle Bailey Dreams Whozits and Whatzits Galore on New Version of 'Part of Your World'
23. ↑ ‘The Little Mermaid’ Live Action Soundtrack Has Arrived
24. ↑ Watch Halle Bailey’s Breathtaking Performance Of “Part Of Your World”