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The march—or swim as it were—toward the May 26 release of the new live-action version of The Little Mermaid took one more step forward this week with the release of star Halle Bailey's version of the iconic song "Part Of Your World."
And to begin the official one-month countdown to the movie's release, Bailey announced the song's drop on Spotify on April 26 in an effusive tweet in which her own excitement for the long-awaited film is palpable.
Fans are every bit as excited as she is, and the song has gotten nothing but rave reviews since it appeared. See Bailey's tweet about it below.
\u201comg \ud83e\udd79y\u2019all you can now listen now to the full \u201cPart of Your World,\u201d performed by me \ud83d\udc81\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83e\udd79\ud83d\udc97from Disney\u2019s The Little Mermaid on spotify\ud83e\udddc\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83c\udfb6 only one month left until the movie ! \ud83d\udc95\n\nhttps://t.co/8Qbqz0x88P\u201d— Halle (@Halle) 1682529549
Many fans have been struck by just how closely Bailey's version hues to the 1989 original.
It turns out that was on purpose.
In an interview with Zayn Lowe on Apple 1 Music, Bailey said singer Jodi Benson's vocal in the original animated The Little Mermaid was top of mind when she recorded it.
She told Lowe:
“Every time I hear Jodi Benson sing it, the nostalgia that I get is just amazing and it fills me up with so much joy. I get goosebumps all over so I was very excited to do my own rendition of this song and try my very best to give the song justice, you know, because it’s an amazing work of art."
She then cited Benson as her version's greatest influence.
"I took inspiration from the original, really based off of the amazing base that we had of the original already... Jodi Benson is an iconic singer and she’s just such a lovely person inside and out as well."
"So when you are redoing a song that’s already great, you just have to really try your best to honor the original, as well as not be afraid to make it your own. So that’s truly what I tried to do.”
Fans online agreed she succeeded in honoring the original and they're loving Bailey's version of "Part Of Your World."
\u201c@HalleBailey You are everything, we are all so proud of you \ud83d\udc96\u201d— Halle (@Halle) 1682529549
\u201c@HalleBailey WE WILL BE BUYING AND SEATED FOR YOU QUEEN\u201d— Halle (@Halle) 1682529549
\u201c@HalleBailey\u201d— Halle (@Halle) 1682529549
\u201c@HalleBailey Sorry to everyone that has to listen to us try and hit these notes all month. \ud83e\udddc\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83c\udfbc\u201d— Halle (@Halle) 1682529549
\u201c@HalleBailey halle your voice is so beautiful! it feels so surreal that this is all finally happening.\u201d— Halle (@Halle) 1682529549
\u201c@HalleBailey INSANELY STUNNING\u201d— Halle (@Halle) 1682529549
\u201c@HalleBailey chills\u201d— Halle (@Halle) 1682529549
\u201c@HalleBailey so good \ud83d\ude2d\u201d— Halle (@Halle) 1682529549
\u201c@HalleBailey magical. beautiful. stunning. EVERYTHING \ud83e\udd79\u201d— Halle (@Halle) 1682529549
\u201c@HalleBailey You BODIED that. Halle Bailey IS Ariel!!!!\u201d— Halle (@Halle) 1682529549
Bailey also revealed to Lowe she's "a little bit nervous" now that The Little Mermaid's release is just around the corner.
But if fans' responses are any indication, she has nothing to worry about.