If the trailer starring Halle Bailey as Ariel in Disney’s live-action of The Little Mermaid hasn’t made you cry, then her magical performance of the movie’s classic song will definitely do the trick. Bailey performed the classic, “Part of Your World.” The pre-recorded performance premiered on American Idol’s Disney Night on May 14th. She described performing the song at Disneyland overnight on her Instagram about the May 14 performance.
“…singing vocals in freezing cold weather at 3 am in the morning while the park is closed is no joke but we did it!” she wrote in part.
Bailey, who plays the underwater Disney princess in the live-action wore a custom Aphrodite Gown by designer Michael Fausto.
Watch the tear-dropping performance below:
The Little Mermaid also stars Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Javier Bardem as King Triton, and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula the sea witch, as well as Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay and Noma Dumezweni.
When news of Bailey playing the redhead mermaid first broke in 2019, there was backlash on the casting. Hashtags such as #NotMyAriel started trending on social media. “The world we live in today, just being a black woman, you have a certain awareness that comes with life, in general. So I wasn’t very surprised or shocked,” she told UK’s The Guardian.
But the cultural impact is no doubt outweighing the ignorance. “It means the world to me, especially for the beautiful babies to be able to see a reflection of themselves,” she told Deadline. “I am just honored to be a part of this and be one of the princesses now because for me it was Brandi as Cinderella and then Anika Rose as Princess Tiana. So the fact that I am getting to continue this and live on this legacy is really exciting and I’m just grateful.”
The Little Mermaid premiered in theaters on May 26. This is not the last we will see of Bailey this year. The multitalented songstress and actress will be starring in The Color Purple remake, set to premiere on Dec. 25.