The film version of the musical The Prom appears to be an in-depth psychological experiment about what it’s possible to get A-listers to do with Netflix money. As we can see from the trailer, the movie’s got James Corden bouncing around a mall, Nicole Kidman dancing, Kerry Washington raging against the queer people of the world, and Andrew Rannells preening as a Juilliard grad. But the real coup appears to be that Meryl Streep herself is spitting rhymes, for some reason, in a new song for the movie. In advance of The Prom coming out on December, Sony’s put out the song “Wear Your Crown,†which is a new addition to the film from the original Broadway cast recording. Adam Anders and Peer Astrom, who’ve written music for Ryan Murphy’s Glee and American Horror Story, also worked with original writers Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar for the film soundtrack. While the stage version mostly featured various forms of showbiz pastiche, this new song goes for more of a generic pop vibe, and includes a section where Meryl breaks things down in verse. I have transcribed her bars in full below:
Gotta wear your crown or your tiara
Now is the time to bust out the mascara
Who needs shade, there’s nothing dullah
We’re living life in full technicolor
But if your sparkle starts to fade
Go out and start your own parade
And if somebody starts in with new drama
Just go high like Michelle Obama.
The existence of this song has torn Vulture asunder into factions who claim that it’s either a crime against art itself or kinda fun. We eagerly await the release of the complete film so as to better render our judgment.