Movies

The soundtrack for Disney's live-action version of 'The Little Mermaid' is full of classics.
Disney

The New Little Mermaid Soundtrack Blends Familiar & New Songs

“Under The Sea” is just so good.

Updated: 
Originally Published: 

If you grew up in the ‘90s you probably know most of the words to songs from the 1989 Disney animated classic The Little Mermaid. Much like the other Disney movies from around that time — Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King — the music was catchy and infectious. Most kids were doing their best to memorize the words and, if parents were being honest, so were they. The music was just as important as the story for The Little Mermaid, so naturally we can’t wait to hear the soundtrack for the 2023 live-action version of the movie. And lucky us, Disney debuted the official soundtrack one week before the movie’s premiere on May 26.

The Little Mermaid soundtrack is a mix of classics and new music from Lin-Manuel Miranda.

In addition to including some of the great classic songs written by Alan Menken for the original film, Lin-Manuel Miranda contributed new tracks for the 2023 live-action version of The Little Mermaid. Miranda, who actually first met Menken when he was in the fourth grade was delighted to work with the Disney mainstay on new songs like “For The First Time,” a song written for Ariel (Halle Bailey) that Miranda described to Entertainment Weekly as giving a “kind of Caribbean island vibe that we were already headed towards.”

Director Rob Marshall explained to Empire that the new song is “about her experiences the moment she hits land.” He added, “We needed to create a number that could almost work as a montage, so we could take her through that experience — coming onto the land, what it’s like to put on shoes, have legs.”

The new version of “Under The Sea” is incredible.

Ahead of The Little Mermaid’s release in theaters, Disney released a few samples of classic songs revised for the new film. And this new version of Sebastian the crab (voiced by Daveed Diggs of Hamilton) manages to sound satisfyingly familiar while also bringing something new to the table. It was just a short clip, but much as Miranda said, it really gives a cool Caribbean vibe.

Halle Bailey’s “Part Of Your World” is bound to be a classic.

Halle Bailey’s version of “Part Of Your World” as Ariel has also been released as a short clip, and fans couldn’t get over how magical she sounded. In fact, one critic took to Twitter to note than an early screening of the film saw the audience break out in applause when she started to sing, which is a pretty incredible endorsement.

The full set list looks great.

A great mix of old and new, the official setlist for The Little Mermaid soundtrack looks amazing and features Melissa McCarthy singing “Poor Unfortunate Souls” as Ursula the Sea Witch.

  • “Triton’s Kingdom” — Score
  • “Part of Your World” — Halle Bailey
  • “Fathoms Below” — Jonah Hauer-King, John Dagleish, Christopher Fairbank, and Ensemble
  • “Part of Your World” — Halle Bailey
  • “Under the Sea” — Daveed Diggs and Cast
  • “Wild Uncharted Waters” — Jonah Hauer-King
  • “Poor Unfortunate Souls” — Melissa McCarthy
  • “For the First Time” — Halle Bailey
  • “Kiss the Girl” — Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, and Ensemble
  • “The Scuttlebutt” — Awkwafina and Daveed Diggs
  • “Eric’s Decision” — Score
  • “Vanessa’s Trick” — Score
  • “Part of Your World” — Halle Bailey
  • “Kiss the Girl” — Score
  • “Finale” Score

You can listen to The Little Mermaid soundtrack now.

The Little Mermaid soundtrack was officially released on May 19 in digital form. Having the soundtrack one week before the movie’s release feels like a great way to get ready to see The Little Mermaid in theaters on May 26.

This article was originally published on