ATTENTION ALL DISNEY PRINCESSES: this is possibly the most emotional you will get until a sequel to Frozen is released (fingers crossed). Although recently we have come to know 1989 as The Year Taylor Swift Was Born, the truth is plenty of iconic things happened that year, including the release of The Little Mermaid, aka, that movie about the runaway lovestruck 16-year-old we were all obsessed with as kids. And because Ariel is the girl-fish who just keeps on giving, we now have footage of Jodi Benson's first recording of "Part Of Your World," and it's every bit as emotional to watch how that song got made as you would think.
The video shows Howard Ashman (who wrote "Part Of Your World") directing her in the first few recordings of the song, and it truly does sound different from the final product. In the early takes, Benson has yet to capture the tomboyish-ness and yearning she eventually puts into the character. But still, holy smokes—for a first go at it, she sounds pretty freaking amazing. Also, if you're ever too hard on yourself, please take comfort from the fact that even a literal singing princess rips herself to shreds after singing so beautifully that the Ursula in me wanted to come after her.
The role was a breakout for Benson, who went on after the smash hit to voice Ariel in the sequels and television show that followed, as well as many other roles in her career, including the ever-so-perky Tour Guide Barbie from Toy Story (MIND BLOWN, right?). But back in the '80s, she was just like any other girl with a cool sweater rockin' retro hair, except that she happened to be singing the song that will now be stuck in your head for the rest of the day (sorry not sorry):
