Halle Bailey once again proves why she deserves to sit on Beyoncé’s list of iconic Black women on the “Break My Soul†x “Vogue†remix. Case in point: She’s taking the reprise of “Part of Your World†(the iconic one where Ariel is on a rock framed by waves) up an octave in the upcoming Bailey-starring live-action Little Mermaid film. The news broke in her Variety profile, partly because you can tell director Rob Marshall has been desperate to talk about it. “It’s the most chilling, and the most thrilling, film moment because it crystallizes not just her incredible vocal ability but the emotional passion she has in singing it,†said Marshall of the performance.
To go along with a voice of her magnitude, there will also be new songs, written by the original Little Mermaid composer, Alan Menken, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Menken’s previous composing partner, Howard Ashman, died in 1991. Variety reports that the choice to add new music was due to Bailey’s “singing chops,†but Miranda is but one “O†away from EGOT. Whatever it takes — we just want to be part of Halle Bailey’s world. The Little Mermaid is out May 26, 2023.