Entertainment
This 'Aladdin' Performance Is Everything
To celebrate Disney's release of Aladdin: Diamond Edition, Brad Kane and Lea Salonga reunited on Good Morning America this week. If you are thinking, Well ,that's nice but I have no idea who those people are, you better brush up on your Disney trivia! Kane and Salonga are the original singing voices of Aladdin and Jasmine, respectively. And as a special treat, the two vocalists from the Aladdin original cast performed a "A Whole New World," aka the most romantic song Mickey Mouse has ever produced.
I never got the chance to see Aladdin on Broadway, so this clip was my first time seeing an Aladdin song performed live, and wow, the original cast surely did not disappoint. Kane and Salonga were joined on the Good Morning America stage by composer Alan Menken (aka the man who wrote the soundtrack of my childhood) and other members of the original cast and crew. Menken accompanied the couple's performance on the piano and the entire experience is simply breathtaking. When Brad Kane and Lea Salona sing, it is like seeing the movie come to life. The duo are pitch perfect and the fact they can still spark magical feelings of gooeyness 23 years later is totally mind boggling.
If you a huge Disney fan like me, you will go on a magic carpet ride of emotions and feels as you watch the performance. Here's what might be going through your head:
1. Yay. It's starting. I love Aladdin!
2. Oops, I spoke too soon. Ginger Zee has to do an intro speech.
3. Zee says Aladdin came out in 1992. Wasn't expecting that — I now feel old.
4. Oh, I see what Zee did there.
5. Ginger Zee really likes puns!
6. Shout out to Alan Menkin.
7. I love Alan Menkin.
8. Which do I love more, Alan Menkin or Aladdin?
9. Such a tough question, I can't decide.
10. Never mind, I choose Menkin — Menkin's the man.
11. Brad Kane is beginning to look very familiar. I wonder why.
12. Wait, I know, dude looks like Anthony Marentino from Sex and the City.
13. Now I can't un-see Brad Kane as Anthony.
14. Are they the same person?
15. Nope, I googled it — they are not the same person.
16. Where was I? Ugh, they are still talking. Where's the singing?
14. Lea Salonga totes looks like a real-life Disney princess.
15. Ginger Zee is saying people play "A Whole New World" at their wedding. I will be one of these people.
16. OMG, it's starting for realzs.
18. Brad is starting to sing.
19. He sounds like an angel — a really sexy angel.
20. I think I am love with Brad Kane.
21. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
22. I feel like I'm dreaming.
23. Lea Salonga has chimed in.
24. Sing it, Jasmine!
25. Menkin is really tearing it up on the piano. He's like a rock star.
26. When Brad and Lea make eye contact, I can tell true love is real. Or they are both really good actors.
27. It doesn't matter. I am invested in what they are selling.
28. How do they sound the same as the movie?
29. It's like Brad and Lea aren't even real. They are just Jasmine and Aladdin brought to life.
30. My stomach is doing flip-flops. I feel gooey.
31. This music makes me wanna find someone to slow dance with.
32. Yay, it's getting to the best part of the song!
33. And now they are harmonizing. I love harmonizing.
34. Oh my goodness, yes, I am totally in a whole new world with you, Brad and Lea.
35. I know I'm nearing the end of the performance, but I don't wanna be! I don't want it to ever end.
36. Nooooo! It's over.
37. Now I'm crying.
38. Sobbing is more like it.
39. Brad and Lea are hugging — this is my favorite thing.
40. Brad screamed, "We did it!" I love him.
41. This is cuter than puppies.
42. That's a lie. Nothing is cuter than puppies, but this is still pretty cute.
43. I can't believe it's over.
44. I can't believe its been 23 years since Aladdin came out.
45. I'm having a flash flood of emotions.
46. Okay, the clip has ended — I gotta pull myself together.
47. Screw that, I'm gonna go watch Aladdin on DVD instead.
Check out the performance for yourself, but be prepared: You are gonna feel all sorts of feelings.
Images: Walt Disney; Giphy (8); HBO