The Live-Action "The Little Mermaid" Features 4 New Songs: Listen Here

Published on May 23, 2023 at 1:15 PM

"The Little Mermaid" — Disney's latest live-action remake — makes quite a few changes from the original. One of the biggest is the addition of four new songs, written by Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Menken wrote the music for the original 1989 movie with his longtime collaborator Howard Ashman, who died from complications of HIV/AIDS in 1991. Miranda, meanwhile, previously wrote music for Disney's "Moana" (2016) and "Encanto" (2021). Plus, he appeared in 2018's "Mary Poppins Returns."

The four new songs include two for Halle Bailey's Ariel — including a new reprise of "Part of Your World" — one for Jonah Hauer-King's Prince Eric, and one for Awkwafina's Scuttle the bird and Daveed Diggs's Sebastian the crab. In addition to the new songs, "Kiss the Girl" — the song where Sebastian tries to convince Eric to kiss Ariel — also got some new lyrics for the film.

Miranda told Empire magazine in April that he didn't want to add in unnecessary songs. "I do not want to shoehorn [in] a song that no-one wants to sit through, because they want to get to 'Under the Sea' already," he explained. "I'm that person! 'GET ON WITH "UNDER THE SEA"!'" He added that he felt his role in the film was to make sure they didn't "f*ck it up."

Technically, the 2023 "The Little Mermaid" isn't the first time Menken has written new music for the story of Ariel and Prince Eric. In 2008, the stage musical of "The Little Mermaid" premiered on Broadway with 10 new songs by Menken and Glenn Slater. Those songs aren't included in the 2023 film, however.

Ahead, listen to the four new songs from 2023's "The Little Mermaid."

New "The Little Mermaid Song": "Wild Uncharted Waters"

In "Wild Uncharted Waters," Prince Eric sings about how the sea calls to him. In the new film, his mom, the queen, has forbidden him from leaving their island, afraid he'll die in an accident. Eric also sings about hearing Ariel's voice, how she saved him, and how he hopes she'll find him again. The song also interpolates some of "Part of Your World."

New "The Little Mermaid Song": "For the First Time"

In "For the First Time," Ariel sings as she experiences life with legs — not a giant fin — for the first time. "Look at me, suddenly I am on land and I'm free," she sings. She also sees her first fire, a callback to "Part of Your World." At the same time, she begins to realize that life for women on land isn't quite as easy and ideal as she imagined it would be back when she lived under the sea.

New "The Little Mermaid Song": "The Scuttlebutt"

In "The Scuttlebutt," Awkwafina's Scuttle, a bird, shares some of the gossip she's heard about Prince Eric's plans to propose to "somebody nobody knows." Diggs's Sebastian shares her concerns in the quick-paced rap.

New "The Little Mermaid Song": "Part of Your World (Reprise II)"

Yes, the original "The Little Mermaid" features Ariel singing a reprise of "Part of Your World," but the new movie adds its own. In this short song, Ariel grapples with returning to the sea or staying on land.