Most anticipated Disney remake in recent years or not, one thing we can all agree about Emma Watson’s live-action Beauty And The Beast is that it’s bound to be one of the most polarising films this year. But that isn’t a free pass for Disney to dish out a maddeningly pathetic excuse of a cover.
We’re, of course, referring to Ariana Grande and John Legend’s update of the iconic title number. The awkward pairing sees both music superstars trying unsuccessfully to emulate the magnetic chemistry between Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson in the 1991 radio-friendly rendition.
But one can’t exactly fault Grande and Legend – who both excel at delivering pristine vocals – for this pop carnage. The song is let down by instrumentation that sounds unapologetically karaoke-y. This pop-friendly duet should have taken more artistic liberty – the way the movie does with a certain controversial character – and leave all that staying-true-to-the-original charm to the film version of the song (pleasantly performed by actress Emma Thompson).
It may be a song about a “tale as old as time”, but the lazy arrangements here make you wish it only lasts as long as the expiry date of low-fat milk.
Besides the original score, there are also two original numbers by Celine Dion (How Does A Moment Last Forever) and Josh Groban (Evermore) that are more in the vein of relatively new Disney greats such as Sarah McLachlan’s When She Loved Me and Phil Collins’ You’ll Be In My Heart.
Various Artistes
Beauty And The Beast Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Universal Music